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LOGISTICS OUTLOOK 2026

Weak Demand, Shrinking Capacity: Trucking Eyes a Real Recovery

A freight recession stretching back to 2022 has kept the trucking industry under prolonged pressure.
A freight recession stretching back to 2022 has kept the trucking industry under prolonged pressure. 5m3photos via Getty Imaged

A freight recession stretching back to 2022 has kept the trucking industry under prolonged pressure, forcing carriers to navigate weak volumes as they look to late-2025 trends for evidence that the downturn is easing.

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AI Rewrites the Playbook for Reverse Logistics

Seventy-nine percent of online shoppers will abandon a purchase if the return policy does not meet their expectations.
Seventy-nine percent of online shoppers will abandon a purchase if the return policy does not meet their expectations. Michele Tantussi/Getty Images

As return rates remain elevated, margins compress and fraud tactics grow more sophisticated, retailers are being forced to rethink how reverse logistics fits into their broader business strategy.

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Xeneta’s Peter Sand on Ocean and Air Markets

Freight markets brace for another year of uncertainty.
Freight markets brace for another year of uncertainty Marc Asensio/NurPhoto via Getty Images

As freight markets brace for another year of uncertainty, carriers and shippers alike are navigating volatile rates, shifting trade lanes and an uneven path back to normalcy.

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Faster Than Ever: Holiday Delivery Gains Reset the Last-Mile Bar

A last-mile delivery courier.
A last-mile delivery courier. Evri

Solving the last mile comes down to meeting an always-on expectation, raising the stakes for carriers and retailers alike as they race to deliver speed at scale.

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Customs in the Age of Tariffs: Advice From the Experts

Shipping containers.
Paul Hennessy / SOPA Images / LightRocket via Getty Images

A second wave of tariff dominance has overtaken America’s economy after nearly a century, and the industry must now contend with a new era of compliance.

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Maersk Slashes 1,000 Staff as Slumping Freight Rates Sink Earnings

Cuts of $180 million will target 17 percent of corporate roles as the carrier braces for supply overcapacity, cratering rates and a volatile 2026 outlook.
Cuts of $180 million will target 17 percent of corporate roles as the carrier braces for supply overcapacity, cratering rates and a volatile 2026 outlook. Martin Bernetti/AFP via Getty Images

Maersk is cutting about 1,000 jobs, or nearly 17 percent of its roughly 6,000 corporate positions, as the ocean carrier prepares for a further freight rate slump and possible ripple effects of a broader Red Sea return.

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China Critiques Panama Over ‘Utterly Ridiculous’ Canal Port Ruling

Panama Ports Company, the operator of the Balboa and Cristóbal ports, is seeking “extensive damages” after levying arbitration proceedings against Panama.
Panama Ports Company, the operator of the Balboa and Cristóbal ports, is seeking “extensive damages” after levying arbitration proceedings against Panama. Martin Bernetti/AFP via Getty Images

China’s Hong Kong and Macau affairs office issued a scathing criticism of the Panama Supreme Court’s ruling that CK Hutchison’s contract to operate two Panama Canal-adjacent ports is unconstitutional—further ramping up international rhetoric surrounding the future of the gateways.

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