The Daily | September 22, 2025

This week’s deep dive unpacks the relentless surge of nearshoring at the U.S.-Mexico border, where year-to-date trade has surpassed the $507 billion mark, cementing Mexico’s place as the number one U.S. trade partner. We examine how logistics firms like Uber Freight are heavily integrating customs, brokerage, and transportation services to digitalize the “black hole” at the border and navigate the growing complexity of USMCA rules and new tariffs. We shift from land to air to analyze how the U.S. policy ending the de minimis exemption for small parcels from China is hammering global carriers. This single change trimmed FedEx’s Q1 operating income by $150 million and created a projected $1 billion fiscal year headwind, forcing the company to cut its Trans-Pacific capacity by 25% and redeploy assets to the profitable Asia-to-Europe lane. Finally, we explore the domestic physical limits currently squeezing the supply chain, including the severe crisis on the Mississippi River where drought-driven low water levels are forcing capacity cuts and causing barge rates to jump nearly 50% . We also discuss the immediate pressure on the new Federal Highway Administration administrator, Sean McMaster, to prioritize the persistent lack of critically needed truck parking capacity across the country. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices