U.S. Truckers Lose $18 Million a Day to Cargo Theft

U.S. imports of containerized goods dropped 8.4% year-over-year in September, with shipments from China plunging 22.9%, according to data from Descartes. The decline comes amid President Donald Trump’s escalating tariff measures, which have triggered shifts in sourcing and earlier-than-usual peak-season shipments.

Despite the drop, U.S. ports still handled 2.31 million TEUs, marking the third-highest September on record.

🇨🇳 Disadvantage China: China-origin imports fell to 762,772 TEUs, reducing its share of total U.S. imports to 33%, the lowest since mid-2023. Sectors hit hardest included aluminum, footwear, and electronics, while Vietnam, India, and Indonesia gained share.

🚢 Global Impact: Imports from South Korea, Taiwan, Germany, and Italy also declined, while Drewry’s freight rate index fell 3% year-over-year, signaling cooling trade momentum. Analysts warn that ongoing tariff volatility and policy uncertainty could suppress container volumes below 2 million TEUs for the rest of the year.

A new report by the American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI) reveals that cargo theft costs the U.S. freight industry over $18 million per day, totaling $6.6 billion annually, and that nearly three-quarters of stolen goods are never recovered. The study cites growing digital vulnerabilities, urban crime clusters, and inadequate enforcement coordination as key drivers behind the surge in thefts.

📦 Digital Fraud: ATRI warned that online freight platforms have created openings for scammers posing as legitimate carriers, exploiting shipment visibility tools and global contracting systems.

🌍 Hotspots: California, Texas, Illinois, and Tennessee ranked as top states for cargo theft, with Los Angeles, Dallas-Fort Worth, Atlanta, and New York leading metro-level incidents.

💰 High-Risk Goods: The most targeted goods include food and beverages, which are easily resold. On average, cargo theft costs motor carriers roughly $520,000 a year, while logistics service providers incur losses of nearly $1.84 million annually, ATRI found.

President Donald Trump announced that all medium- and heavy-duty trucks imported into the U.S. will face a 25% tariff starting November 1, escalating efforts to protect domestic manufacturers.

The duties, initially scheduled to take effect on October 1, target imports from major suppliers, including Mexico, Canada, Japan, Germany, and Finland, which together account for most U.S. truck imports. Mexico — the largest exporter — has tripled shipments since 2019 to around 340,000 vehicles, according to government data.

The move could affect Stellantis, which builds Ram trucks and commercial vans in Mexico, and Volvo Group, which is investing $700 million in a new truck factory there. Trump’s administration says the new duties are intended to support U.S. truckmakers like Paccar’s Peterbilt, Kenworth, and Daimler Trucks’ Freightliner.

The U.S. warehouse market steadied in the third quarter for the first time in three years, as rising demand met a sharp slowdown in new construction, according to a new report from Cushman & Wakefield.

The national vacancy rate held at 7.1% in the three months to September 30 — the highest level in 11 years, but unchanged from Q2. That stability followed a period of rapid vacancy expansion since 2022, when pandemic-driven logistics booms gave way to slower trade and excess capacity.

Demand showed clear signs of recovery. Net absorption reached 45.1 million square feet in Q3, up 30.4% from the prior quarter.

At the same time, new warehouse completions fell 14.6% quarter over quarter, easing some of the pressure on vacancy rates. The slowdown in construction reflects tighter financing conditions, rising costs, and a pullback in speculative development after years of rapid building.

Container freight rates on the Asia–US West Coast route have fallen to their lowest level in nearly two years, as soft demand, trade uncertainty, and muted capacity reductions pressure the market heading into year-end.

Spot rates on the West Coast declined 15% last week to $1,853 per FEU, according to the Freightos Baltic Index — their lowest level since December 2023, when rates were approximately $1,744 per FEU. By contrast, East Coast rates rose 16% to $3,967 per FEU over the same period.

Import volumes remain subdued. The SONAR Inbound Ocean TEUs Volume Index for October 1 showed a 14.6% year-on-year decline, with volumes essentially flat from the previous week.

Carriers have responded by withdrawing sailings, but less aggressively than in previous downturns. As of October 5, 13% of scheduled trans-Pacific sailings had been blanked, compared with 15.4% on the West Coast and 11.9% on the East Coast during Golden Week last year, according to Sea-Intelligence.

President Donald Trump on Monday ordered federal agencies to approve construction of a 211-mile gravel road through Alaska’s wilderness to access major deposits of copper, cobalt, gold, and zinc, reviving the long-debated Ambler Road project that was blocked under the Biden administration.

The road would cut through Gates of the Arctic National Park, crossing 11 rivers and thousands of streams to reach a mineral deposit valued at over $7 billion. Supporters, including Alaska’s congressional delegation, say the project will boost jobs and critical mineral supply, while opponents — including 40 federally recognized tribes — warn it threatens subsistence hunting and fishing grounds.

Trump’s order directs the Bureau of Land Management, National Park Service, and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to reissue the permit.

China has tightened export regulations on rare earths, formalizing controls on processing technologies and restricting cooperation with foreign companies to “safeguard national security,” the Ministry of Commerce announced Monday.

The new rules make it clear that licenses will not be issued to foreign arms manufacturers and certain semiconductor firms, a move expected to impact U.S. defense and electronics manufacturing. The regulations cover mining, smelting, the production of magnetic materials, recycling, and even the assembly and maintenance of production equipment, all of which now require state approval for export.

The move mirrors U.S. export curbs on advanced chip-making equipment and comes ahead of a planned meeting between Xi Jinping and President Donald Trump later this month. Trade experts say Beijing is strategically targeting U.S. vulnerabilities, particularly in the electronics and weapons supply chains.

A price dispute between BHP Group and China Mineral Resources Group (CMRG) — Beijing’s state-controlled iron ore buyer — has reached a stalemate, threatening to drag on into early 2026 after China suspended new purchases from the mining giant.

CMRG last month instructed major steelmakers and trading houses to halt buying dollar-denominated seaborne cargoes from BHP, part of Beijing’s effort to gain more control over pricing terms in long-term supply contracts. The move followed the suspension of BHP’s Jimblebar blend fines, escalating tensions between the two sides.

For now, BHP’s shipments remain largely unaffected, as the company has already sold most of its November and December cargoes. Analysts say any material impact would begin when BHP starts selling January deliveries, giving the miner short-term breathing room.

U.S. President Donald Trump vowed to treat Canada “fairly” in ongoing discussions over U.S. tariffs on Canadian steel, autos, and other goods, but stopped short of firm commitments on broader trade reforms.

The remarks came during Prime Minister Mark Carney’s second White House visit in five months, held amid mounting pressure from Ottawa to ease levies that have strained cross-border industries.

Trump signaled openness to renegotiating the U.S.–Mexico–Canada Agreement (USMCA) — or even pursuing separate bilateral deals — as the 2026 review approaches. “We can renegotiate it, or we could just do different deals,” Trump said.

Labor unrest has intensified across Northern Europe’s key shipping hubs, worsening congestion that has plagued the region through 2025. Around 700 lashers at the Port of Rotterdam began a 48-hour strike on Wednesday, halting cargo operations and doubling the ship queue from seven to 13 vessels.

The workers, demanding a 7% pay raise to match inflation, rejected employers’ 4–6% offer. Major terminals, including APM Maasvlakte II and Rotterdam World Gateway, are affected.

Meanwhile, in Belgium, 300 maritime pilots at the Ports of Antwerp-Bruges and Zeebrugge have restricted work hours to protest pension reforms that could cut younger pilots’ benefits by up to 45%. The move has disrupted over 90 vessels across the two ports, extending average wait times to 66 hours in Rotterdam and 51 hours in Antwerp.

Germany’s industrial production fell 4.3% in August, reaching its lowest level since 2005, according to the federal statistics office. Output in the auto sector dropped 18.5% from July, marking one of the steepest monthly declines outside the pandemic and financial crisis period.

Economists warn the downturn raises the risk of a technical recession, as Germany’s manufacturing sector remains 20% below pre-pandemic levels. Weak demand from China, U.S. import tariffs, and slower EV adoption have weighed heavily on carmakers such as Volkswagen and BMW, which are also managing production changeovers and temporary factory closures.

Chancellor Friedrich Merz is set to meet auto industry leaders to discuss measures to stabilize the sector. The government projects only 0.2% GDP growth in 2025, rising to 1.3% in 2026, primarily driven by public spending rather than industrial recovery.

The Trump administration confirmed it will not impose tariffs on generic drugs, narrowing the scope of its Section 232 investigation into pharmaceutical imports.

According to reports, the decision was arrived after an internal debate over whether duties on low-cost generics—about 90% of U.S. prescriptions—would lead to higher prices and drug shortages. While President Trump has threatened 100% tariffs on name-brand drugs, the administration determined that applying the same to generics would not make U.S. production profitable, given their low margins and heavy reliance on imports from India and China.

The White House is now weighing alternative measures, such as federal grants or loans, to encourage domestic manufacturing of essential generic drugs and reduce reliance on foreign suppliers.