Freight Forwarding Services NAICS 488510

Mar 18, 2025 - North American Trade in Throes of Tariff Chaos

• The on-again, off-again tariff uncertainty of the Trump administration is causing freight importers headaches in not only increased and unexpected costs, but in operations and financial planning as well. Businesses have been all over the place stockpiling goods ahead of tariffs, pausing shipments altogether, or raising prices. The main US entry points for Chinese goods - the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach in California - saw a 25% increase in import containers in January as goods were stockpiled. Canadian and Mexican factories grew inventories at record levels in December and January, before leveling off and even falling in February as US companies rushed to import goods. Freight forwarder Kuehne + Nagel reports that cross-border trade between Mexico and the US fell sharply at the end of 2024 in preparation for tariffs and have still not rebounded.
• The International Monetary Fund projects global trade volume will increase 3.2% in 2025, driven by easing geopolitical tensions, expanding e-commerce, and growing consumer demand in emerging markets. These developments provide fertile ground for freight forwarders and logistics providers to enhance their services and seize new opportunities in cross-border shipping, according to Air Cargo Week.

• The global freight forwarding market is reverting to the historical trend as demand for air and sea freight forwarding services remains soft, according to the Global Freight Forwarding 2024 Report from Ti Insight. The market is contracting due to challenges arising from a global economic downturn, shifts in consumer behavior, and supply surpassing demand, which have led to a 1.3% contraction in real terms (holding prices and exchange rates constant) in 2023.
• Freight forwarding industry employment and average wages for nonsupervisory employees increased slightly during the first 10 months of 2024, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Freight forwarding services increased their prices significantly during the first nine months of 2024 before decreasing them slightly during the last quarter, according to the BLS. Freight forwarding industry sales are forecast to grow at a 4.32% compounded annual rate from 2024 to 2028, faster than the growth of the overall economy, according to Inforum and the Interindustry Economic Research Fund, Inc.