US Logistics Update [Sep 13, 2025]-English

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) announced on the 11th that the August Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 2.9% year-over-year and 0.4% month-over-month. The 0.4% monthly increase was the largest since January's 0.5% rise. The core CPI, excluding volatile energy and food prices, rose 3.1% year-over-year and 0.3% month-over-month. The Producer Price Index (PPI), a leading indicator for the CPI, rose 2.6% year-over-year but fell 0.1% month-over-month. Core PPI rose 2.8% year-over-year and 0.3% month-over-month. With inflation still below the Fed's 2% target, job growth over the past year prior to March fell by 910,000 jobs—half the previously reported figure—and recent labor market tightening has significantly heightened concerns about rising unemployment.

Experts predict that despite prices moving further from the Fed's 2% target, the Fed is likely to

prioritize labor market stability over its inflation goal. Expectations are growing for a significant rate

cut of 0.5 percentage points, exceeding the expected 0.25 percentage points, at the upcoming

FOMC meeting on September 16-17. Immediately after the PPI announcement, President Trump

stated, "There is no inflation. It's too late. Rates must be cut significantly. Powell is a total disaster

and has no idea what's going on."

The White House and the Supreme Court agreed to expedite the IEEPA (International Emergency Economic Powers Act) tariff lawsuit, with the first hearing scheduled for early November. IEEPA tariffs remain in effect until then. If the Supreme Court upholds the federal appeals court ruling, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) must cease all collection of IEEPA tariffs and issue refunds. Tariffs affected by this case include “fentanyl” tariffs on Canada, Mexico, and China, and “reciprocal tariffs” on the rest of the world. However, non-IEEPA tariffs, such as steel and aluminum tariffs, are unaffected.

Many experts believe that imposing tariffs can resolve the U.S.'s most pressing issue—the fiscal

deficit— eliminating the need to raise taxes on Americans to cover the deficit, thus avoiding public

backlash and electoral consequences. Furthermore, using tariffs as leverage to pressure foreign

companies into building factories in the U.S. could revive American manufacturing. The only

drawback—inflation—can be blamed on the Federal Reserve and other entities, making these

“beautiful” tariffs something President Trump will never abandon.

Bloomberg criticized President Trump's ‘Made in USA’ policy—aimed at compelling foreign companies to create jobs and manufacture products in the U.S.—for revealing its inherent contradiction through the U.S. government's crackdown on the very workforce building factories for this purpose. This situation has prompted many global companies to halt business travel and investment entirely, with anxiety over immigration enforcement spreading across the board. While some view that the U.S. will ultimately have no choice but to ease and expand visa issuance due to a lack of skilled labor and technology, others believe finding a short-term solution will be difficult due to domestic job issues.

U.S. container imports expected to slow through 2026 due to tariff fallout
The National Retail Federation (NRF) and shipping consultancy Hackett Associates announced via Port Tracker that U.S. container imports are expected to peak in July 2025, followed by a gradual decline through 2026. Port Tracker's monthly projections are: August 2.28 million TEU (-1.7%), September 2.12 million (-6.8%), October 1.95 million (-13.2%), November 1.74 million (-19.7%), December 1.70 million (-20.1%), with December projected to be the lowest since March 2023. January 2026 is forecast at 1.80 million TEU (-19.1%). Consequently, the industry notes that shipping lines may shift to losses in Q4 due to slowing demand and excess capacity, while tariffs and supply chain disruptions are likely to be passed on as upward pressure on consumer prices.

Blank sailings expected to surge on trans-Pacific routes
With freight rates on Asia-US West Coast (USWC) routes declining for two consecutive months ahead of China's National Day holiday, major container carriers are set to implement large-scale blank sailings on Asia-North America trans-Pacific routes, JOC reported. According to shipping data provider eeSea, despite weak fourth-quarter cargo volume forecasts, carriers plan to deploy approximately 100,000 TEU of additional capacity in October compared to September, leading to expected oversupply. The market anticipates a surge in blank sailing announcements if the ‘push-out’ effect two to three weeks before the holiday proves weaker than usual.

Long Beach Port ZIM Container Ship Container Fall... Approximately 75 Containers Fall into Sea
On the 9th, an accident occurred at Long Beach Port's G Pier where approximately 75 containers fell into the sea from a ZIM chartered container ship. The U.S. Coast Guard has established a 500-yard safety zone around the vessel and is managing the situation. Port operations continue without disruption. The determination of general average and the schedule for unloading the remaining cargo are undecided as the cause is under investigation and response measures are being established.

Apple NPI May Cause Freight Rate Hikes and Supply Shortages 2.5 Weeks Before China's National Day
As Apple's New Product Introduction (NPI) season arrives, freight rates from China to the U.S. are rising, and some supply shortages are occurring. Particularly during the 2.5 weeks before China's National Day holiday, significant freight rate increases and supply shortages are expected due to pre-holiday ‘rush’ volumes, Apple's NPI, and increased transshipment volumes from Vietnam. The nationwide strike notice by the Korean Airport Workers Solidarity (September 19th to October 6th at the latest) is expected to have limited impact, as most of the striking personnel are not directly involved in ground handling operations.