Waves of new tariffs lifted U.S. waterborne import peak shipping volumes earlier and higher than ever in 2018, while the promise of more to come pushed an atypical December surge. U.S. import peak shipping volumes charted a new course in 2018, driven largely by...
Hot Pursuit: Competition for EV Battery Metals Revs Up
A global scramble is on to secure supplies of EV battery metals – the cobalt, graphite and lithium – that go into the batteries that make electric vehicles go. The global market’s growing embrace of electric vehicles is driving demand, and sparking volatility...
Truce Called in U.S.-China Trade War
A 90-day truce has been declared in the escalating trade hostilities between the U.S. and China after a sidebar meeting at the G20 summit in Buenos Aires between Donald Trump and Xi Jinping. The U.S. has agreed to postpone for 90 days a tariff hike from 10% to 25% on...
U.S. Electronics Imports and Exports: Market Trends and Analysis
As the impact of shifting trade policy on the electronics sector remains to be fully seen, Descartes Datamyne has released it’s quarterly commodity report that contains detailed import and export data that shows the early effect of tariff changes. In the first half of...
U.S. and Canada’s Ongoing Lumber Dispute
Since 1982, the softwood lumber market has been a hot topic between the United States and Canada. Both countries are heavy producers with the United States producing an average of 2.9 billion board ft. (bbf) per month and Canadian sawmill’s producing 2.37 bbf/month....
Web Seminar: Top Supply Chain Disruptions and How to Minimize Risk
Join us for a Web Seminar, October 25, 2pm ET When major disruptions occur, some supply chains break down and take a long time to recover. From tariffs, to trade policy shifts, to natural disasters, businesses do not need to be a “deer in the headlights” when changes...
Avocados Top Bananas In U.S. Fruit Imports
Ranked by value of trade, avocados moved up to No. 1 among U.S. fruit imports in 2017 and are holding a lead over bananas, formerly the most valuable fruit import, so far in 2018. Long the top among U.S. fruit imports, bananas have ceded the lead to avocados. Based on...
Reel Experts can tackle anything: U.S. seafood imports on the rise
The ease and healthiness of preparing fish, combined with concerns of over-fishing in U.S. resources and environmental implications has lead to the burgeoning growth of seafood imports. It is estimated that the United States imports nearly 80 percent of the seafood it...
Snapshot: U.S. Automobile Imports and Exports
As the U.S. Commerce Department examines whether to impose section 232 tariffs on passenger vehicles, data from Descartes DatamyneTM reveals significant changes in U.S. automobile imports and exports. U.S. Automobile Imports According to data from Descartes Datamyne,...
NVOCC’s Import Cargo into the Top 25 U.S. Ports Outpaces GDP
Outpacing the gross domestic product (GDP), Non-vessel operating common carriers (NVOCCs) accounted for some 11.25 million 20-foot equivalent containers of import cargo (FAK, freight of all kinds) at the top 25 U.S. ports for the first six months of 2018. This is...