This Week In Logistics

← This Week In Logistics23 sep · 16 min

TWIL: A Cost Rule Peak — Canada's Tariffs Go Live, FedEx Guarantees Your Duties, and Peak Season Surcharges Land

TWIL: A Cost Rule Peak — Canada's Tariffs Go Live, FedEx Guarantees Your Duties, and Peak Season Surcharges Land23 sep16 min

<p>Canada&#39;s tariffs are live, FedEx is now guaranteeing duties and taxes at checkout, and peak season surcharges are landing three different ways — with one of them invisible on the invoice. CartonCloud CEO Shaun Hagen is joined by CartonCloud Account Executive Javier Hernandez to unpack what it means for logistics operators in Q4.</p><p>Welcome back to <em>This Week in Logistics</em>! In this episode, Shaun and Javier catch up on three weeks of trade and carrier moves since the Season 2 premiere. Canada&#39;s response against US tariffs took effect September 8, a fourth round of US-Mexico trade talks opened in Washington still deadlocked on automotive content rules and steel tariffs, FedEx launched a new tool that guarantees duties and taxes at checkout, and UPS, FedEx, and USPS are all locking in peak season surcharges in different ways.</p><p>This isn&#39;t a normal demand peak. It&#39;s a cost rule peak, and the rules are still being written while it happens.</p><p>This episode unpacks what that means for 3PLs and transport operators heading into Q4.</p><p>In this episode we cover:</p><ul><li>Why Canada&#39;s tariffs going live September 8 (dollar-for-dollar on roughly $27.6 billion of US goods, steel and aluminium doubled to 50%) mean trade compliance is now a standing watch</li><li>What a stalled fourth round of US-Mexico trade talks mean for anyone building a multi-year sourcing plan</li><li>Why FedEx&#39;s new Global Trade Navigator, and its $99-a-month guarantee on duties and taxes at checkout, pulls the trade decision upstream to the point of sale</li><li>How UPS, FedEx, and USPS are locking in peak season surcharges three different ways, and why the USPS increase won&#39;t show up as its own line item</li><li>Uber Eats&#39; new drone delivery partnership with Zipline, and what faster delivery windows mean for B2B fulfillment expectations</li><li>Three things to check this week: your Q4 shipping cost model, your landed cost accuracy, and which SKUs are exposed on both the Canada and Mexico sides</li></ul><p>If you run a 3PL, transport operation, or warehouse, this episode will help you cut through the noise:</p><p>From reconciling invoices against last year&#39;s line items → to comparing the underlying rate card, month on month</p><p>From assuming this week&#39;s number holds into next month → to naming what&#39;s moving and updating it out loud</p><p>From reacting to a surprise on the invoice → to telling customers what&#39;s changing befor