Wakool Weekly News

The July 4, 2025 Texas Hill Country floods—the deadliest U.S. inland flood since 1976—killed 135 people and inflicted an estimated $22 billion in losses, exposing critical weak points in America’s freight network. A 26-foot surge on the Guadalupe River washed out key highway arteries I-35 and I-45, forced 400-plus flight cancellations at Dallas–Fort Worth International, and stalled Amazon and parcel hubs across the Southwest.

On 12 July 2025 President Trump detonated the next stage of the trade war, slapping 30 percent tariffs on every good entering the United States from the European Union and Mexico and confirming a 50 percent duty on all copper imports, effective 1 August. The surprise move—announced just as annual customs revenues topped an unprecedented $100 billion—threatens to up-end the USMCA, fracture trans-Atlantic supply chains, and super-charge inflation at home.

Between June 24 and July 3, 2025, global logistics entered a new phase of “permanent volatility.” With President Trump holding firm on the July 9 tariff deadline, Vietnam clinched a last-minute exemption while Europe and Japan scramble to avoid 25–50 percent duties. Trans-Pacific spot rates whipsawed as shippers front-loaded cargo, port strikes in Sweden pushed global on-time arrivals below 60 percent, and congestion fees soared.

Tightened driver rules, peak harvest loads and carrier-led blank sailings are driving spot ocean rates to multi-month highs and straining domestic freight networks. With ports congested and mini-bids on the rise, logistics teams must leverage flexible routing, multi-modal options, and proactive bidding strategies to stay ahead of this freight frenzy.