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North American containerboard prices remained flat in October after September’s increases, but another hike could come in 2027.

Linerboard prices rose $70 per ton, and medium prices increased $100 per ton in September, according to Fastmarkets RISI. Producers have announced price increases of up to $140 per ton this year, with implementation expected to continue through March 2027.

Truist Securities expects another $50-per-ton increase in April 2027, potentially adding to packaging costs for e-commerce businesses, retailers, and fulfillment providers.

Let's dive into the top news.

U.S. warehouse rents rose 3.2% year over year to an average asking rate of $10.55 per square foot in the third quarter, the fastest annual increase since Q2 2024, according to real estate services firm JLL.

The company attributed the growth partly to AI data center construction, particularly around Dallas/Fort Worth and Washington, D.C., where infrastructure projects are generating additional demand for industrial space.

What’s Happening: Data center expansion by companies including Alphabet, Microsoft, Meta, and Amazon is driving demand for warehouses near major projects.

Suppliers and infrastructure providers are clustering around large data center campuses, particularly in freight hubs such as Dallas/Fort Worth, JLL said. Demand from construction, telecommunications and utilities-related tenants has also increased.

Big Picture: As AI infrastructure investment expands, warehouse demand is increasingly coming not just from traditional logistics and distribution businesses but also from companies supporting data center construction and operations.

The U.S. Postal Service has introduced new rules that let it bill senders for unpaid customs duties, taxes, and import-related fees charged by foreign authorities, even after postage is paid.

What’s Happening: Effective October 19, the rules apply even if a package is lost, damaged, returned, or never delivered. Unpaid invoices accrue interest at 6% annually, and USPS may also recover collection costs where permitted by law.

Key Details: The revised rules update USPS’s International Mail Manual and clarify that the sender may be liable when a foreign customs authority, postal operator, or broker cannot collect charges from the recipient and seeks reimbursement from USPS.

The charges can include customs-processing expenses and postal or brokerage fees, not just duties and taxes. Disputes over assessments made by foreign authorities must be taken up directly with the party that imposed them.

Record diesel prices and shrinking trucking capacity are pushing more long-haul freight onto US railroads, lifting revenue and profits at Union Pacific, Norfolk Southern and CSX in the third quarter. Diesel hit a record $6.53 per gallon in September, according to AAA, as the Iran war kept fuel prices elevated.

Road-to-Rail: The shift is most visible in intermodal freight, which uses rail for long-haul transportation and trucks for pickup and final delivery. Union Pacific’s domestic intermodal volume rose 13% year over year in Q3, compared with 7% at CSX and 3% at Norfolk Southern.

Smaller trucking companies have exited amid prolonged freight weakness, high operating costs and stricter driver enforcement, further limiting available capacity.

Big Picture: Higher fuel prices are also squeezing railroads’ margins. Union Pacific said fuel costs worsened its third-quarter operating ratio by 140 basis points, while Norfolk Southern attributed about half of its year-over-year increases in both revenue and expenses to fuel.

Cargo thieves have stolen more than $150 million in AI equipment in 2026, with thefts of data center equipment, chips, and computing components rising 34% since 2024, according to a report from freight security firm Overhaul.

Individual losses now regularly exceed $30 million, and the largest recorded AI cargo theft topped $100 million.

Key Details: The thefts increasingly rely on deception rather than physical force. Overhaul found that fraudulent carrier identities, double-brokering, spoofed communications, and falsified paperwork were used in 92% of thefts involving high-value technology shipments.

A single AI server rack can cost roughly $3 million, leaving individual truckloads carrying tens of millions of dollars in equipment.

Overall cargo theft incidents fell 14% quarter over quarter and 26% year over year in Q2 2026, according to CargoNet data cited in the report. Yet Overhaul estimated cargo theft losses reached $304.6 million in Q2, more than double its forecast.

The Panama Canal recorded 13,951 vessel transits in fiscal 2026, up 4.1% from 13,404 a year earlier, as stronger energy and container ship traffic boosted activity. Total tonnage rose 6.5% year over year, with vessels using the Neopanamax locks accounting for 52% of the total.

Key Details: Canal revenue climbed 16.6%, supported by shifting global trade flows as carriers sought alternative routes for energy shipments disrupted by restrictions around the Strait of Hormuz. Strong demand also drove record auction prices for priority transit slots.

Despite drought concerns linked to the arrival of Super El Niño, the Panama Canal Authority eased earlier transit and vessel-draft restrictions in late September after rainfall returned to the watershed. Water-saving measures implemented in the locks also helped stabilize operations.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is tightening filing requirements for imports valued at $2,500 or less, requiring electronic entry submissions on or before arrival instead of allowing filings within 15 days after arrival.

Filers must also provide the final deliver-to party when it differs from the consignee. CBP’s review of entries from September to November 2025 found that more than half would have missed the earlier filing deadline.

Key Details: For international mail, CBP has postponed mandatory implementation of Entry Type 13 (ET13) from October 22, 2026, to January 20, 2027. Postal entries will need to be filed electronically at or before arrival and include the sender’s details and package tracking number.

Shipments left unclaimed will face a 15-day voluntary abandonment deadline, down from 30 days.

Big Picture: CBP is also planning bond requirements for certain informal entries, though it has not announced an implementation date or final scope.

Kuehne+Nagel has raised its 2026 recurring operating profit forecast for the third time this year, lifting the range to CHF 1.5 billion–CHF 1.6 billion from CHF 1.35 billion–CHF 1.55 billion.

Key Details: Third-quarter operating profit rose 53% year over year to CHF 435 million, beating analysts’ median estimate of CHF 398 million by CHF 37 million.

Air logistics was the standout performer, with quarterly operating earnings jumping 84% as demand from semiconductor and cloud infrastructure customers boosted freight volumes. CEO Stefan Paul said technology remained the company’s strongest growth driver, with the U.S. market showing the most momentum.

Big Picture: The company raised its 2026 gross cost-savings target to more than CHF 150 million, up from at least CHF 120 million previously. Kuehne+Nagel expects AI-driven productivity gains to begin contributing in 2027, while prioritizing growth alongside cost discipline.

A Texas judge has upheld a $604.025 million verdict against freight brokerage C.H. Robinson over a March 2021 crash in Jackson, Mississippi, that killed three people. The Dallas County court ruling affirms a jury award issued in July in the case involving carrier Lupus Superior, which C.H. Robinson had hired to transport a shipment for Arizona Beverages.

Key Details: The case raises significant questions about freight brokers’ liability for accidents involving contracted carriers. The jury found that one of the drivers killed in the crash, Gorgonio Gonzalez, was operating on a mission benefiting C.H. Robinson and was subject to the broker’s control over the details of that mission.

What’s Next: If the finding survives appeal, it could expose freight brokers to broader liability for carrier operations, potentially reshaping how they select, manage and oversee trucking partners. The ruling comes amid wider legal uncertainty over brokers’ liability protections under federal law.

Stord has acquired third-party logistics provider AMS Fulfillment in its largest acquisition to date, adding more than 1 million square feet of warehouse space across key East and West Coast markets.

Key Details: AMS processes more than 10 million orders annually for beauty, wellness, and direct-to-consumer brands, with facilities near Los Angeles, Salt Lake City, and Philadelphia.

The deal expands Stord’s network to more than 100 locations worldwide. The company, which processes over $15 billion in annual gross merchandise value for more than 1,000 brands, plans to use the acquisition to extend its fulfillment capabilities and bring more brands onto its commerce platform.

Big Picture: The acquisition follows Stord’s $400 million credit facility announced in October and a $250 million Series F round in May at a $3 billion valuation.AMS is Stord’s 12th acquisition, following deals including Shipwire, Ware2Go and Pitney Bowes’ e-commerce fulfillment business.