From the desk of Sheila Hewitt V.P. international / AFS LOGISTICS    As you likely know, U.S. Customs has been ordered to begin collecting 25% additional duty on items from China...

President Trump continues his threat to impose a new 25 percent additional tariff on $200 billion worth of goods originating from China as part of his section 301 efforts to...

On 12/5/2018, UPS announced their General Rate Increase for 2019, with an effective date of 12/26/2018.  Typically carriers are required to provide 30-day advance notice to...

Shipping business or personal packages gets more expensive in January as FedEx has announced higher shipping prices for 2019. While year-over-year price increases seem to be...

The international shipping market is about to get even more complicated, and potentially costly. Starting January 1, 2020, the worldwide cap on sulfur imposed by the...

Every Fall, the major Parcel carriers typically announce new logic changes that will affect how much it’ll cost to use their shipping networks. In the past year, we’ve seen a...

International shipping is a challenging and complex environment. Tariffs, unique trade regulations per country, complicated routes and longer-than-average shipping times all...

As predicted, the 2018 shipping market has faced capacity issues due to a blend of a booming economy, e-commerce growth, a driver shortage and the full implementation of the ELD...

This year’s international peak season is already in full swing, getting an earlier start than normal. Are you prepared to deal with tighter capacity, higher rates and more...

In our increasingly electronic, connected world, we’re constantly under attack by individuals and institutions with the intent to facilitate some form of fraud, whether it’s...

Shipping internationally is a complicated and sometimes arduous process. Trade wars, carrier alliances and capacity issues are all contributing to rising international shipping...

2018 has been an interesting year so far, and it’s only half way over. We’ve seen the ELD Mandate go into full effect, capacity issues, the price of oil rising, the economy...

When it comes to paying bills, no one likes paying more than they should. Your freight bills should be no exception, as transportation costs average around 10% of an...

Tariffs seem to be all the rage right now. Everyone is doing it, the US, China, Canada, the EU. Will 2018 be the summer of tariffs? It’s looking that way. The Office of the...

A common trend in the 2018 MLB Draft was player versatility. Teams are looking for players with a diverse skillset to round out their pool of talent. The same can be said when...

Every year the major parcel carriers announce a general rate increase (GRI), which historically averages out to around five percent. Additionally, these carriers implement logic...

Most people are always looking to work smarter not harder which is why businesses consistently strive to become more efficient and streamline shipping processes. In the current...

Whether it’s controllable or uncontrollable returns, effective product returns strategies and reverse logistics are imperative to reducing transportation costs, improving...

As e-commerce retail sales continue to claim a larger share of the market, carriers are evolving their processes to meet the needs of an increasing population of digital...

We all know that capacity has been an issue since the ELD Mandate went into effect last December, but we’ve just hit another deadline in the rollout that could mean the trend...

“Trade War” makes a good headline. It’s both eye-catching and stress-inducing, especially for US importers. We’re taking a moment to go beyond the headlines and dig into the...

At times, shippers face many challenges in the world of LTL shipping. They must know how to maximize efficiencies and utilize the most cost-effective methods for shipping. The...

For the first time this year volumes and prices are declining. DAT industry analyst Mark Montague indicated one reason for lower prices on van freight could be a result of rail...

We all know shipments come in various shapes, sizes and of course weights. To establish fair measures and standardize pricing, the National Motor Freight Traffic Association...

On Friday, Feb. 9, the Wall Street Journal published a report detailing a new service from e-commerce giant, Amazon called “Shipping with Amazon,” an Amazon owned and operated...

Did it sneak up on you again? Much like that dreaded diet you keep saying you will start next week. While 2018 may already be flying by, the most important holiday season in...

Truckload rates are skyrocketing and capacity is tightening. In typical supply and demand fashion, as demand rises – so will costs. LTL carriers are leveraging market conditions...

Even people who have been in the industry for years have trouble differentiating between a freight forwarder and an NVOCC (Non-Vessel Operating Common Carrier). Although they are...

There are a multitude of advantages that businesses can utilize by outsourcing their logistics and supply chain needs to a third party logistics (3PL) provider. While every 3PL...

Yes, there are some carrier delays. Yes, we’re seeing capacity tighten as non-compliant drivers and carriers aren’t able to move freight. And yes, there’s a strong chance this...

2018 is a few short weeks away, which means the big industry mystery will be revealed. How close to that 50,000 mark will the American Trucking Association’s driver shortage prediction be? If that trend were to hold true, the ATA predicts that shortage to surpass the 174,000 mark by 2026. Let’s hope that doesn’t happen.

It’s been quite a year for natural disasters, from Tropical Storms Cindy and Emily and the devastation caused by Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, Maria and Nate, a massive earthquake in Mexico to wildfires ravaging a huge portion of Northern California.