SUMMER 2026

14 THE DISTRIBUTOR’S

14 THE DISTRIBUTOR’S LINK Chris Donnell Chris Donnell is the National Sales Director for Scanwell Logistics International (CHI) Inc., specializing in Supply Chain Management, Inventory Control, Logistics Sales and Management. Chris excels at selling the “Solution” to advanced program analysis and implementation. A highly ambitious and effective team leader who thrives on the challenges of this industry, Chris currently oversees a National Sales and Partnership Program consisting of more than 100 Sales executives who focus primarily on SCM and Logistics development in most vertical markets. Contact Chris at 847-228-6789 or email: chrisdonnell@scanwell.com. MAKING SENSE OF THE GLOBAL SHIPPING MARKET Summer is here, and the transportation and global logistics industries are heating up. Unfortunately, by the time you read this, some of the topics or events I mention will have come and gone, but knowing the industry as I do, something tells me this is going to be an active summer. As I do with each article, I will highlight the major topics impacting the import and export markets, including the domestic trucking and rail industries. If you have any questions, comments, or just need logistics advice, please contact me at any time. Ocean Import/Export Market For imports, the market has certainly evolved, going from a buyer to a seller’s market, something importers haven’t been forced to endure in roughly 4 years. This changing of the markets has allowed the ocean carriers to regain lost leverage and, in turn, now have the ability to manipulate the market through various means, such as blank sailings, shifting vessel capacities from one market to another, in order to make it appear the market is more volatile than it really is. By doing so, they also gain control over costs, which is why, over the past month, we’ve seen ocean costs increase by almost 100% to their highest level since the pandemic. As an example, the national average cost for a 40’ft ocean container from Shanghai to Los Angeles in April was around 00.00, whereas today that cost exceeds 00.00, and I don’t think the ocean carriers are done. Making matters worse, big-box retailers are ramping up for what they expect to be a strong 2nd half of 2026. CONTRIBUTOR ARTICLE The National Retailers Association has stated that it is forecasting growth of more than 4 percent over the next 6 months, based on stronger-than-normal consumer spending despite growing concerns over inflation, tariffrelated jockeying, and global tensions. Making matters worse, importers are seeing these increases in real time and are pushing their manufacturers to produce and ship as much cargo as possible now to avoid future increases. By doing this, it increases the leverage of ocean carriers and diminishes the consumer’s market control. Then there is the conflict in Iran, which has had a growing impact on every sector of manufacturing, transportation, and supply chain management. Bunker (ocean carrier fuel) has increased by more than 75% over the past 3 months. Couple that with the conflict between Ukraine and Russia, and carriers globally have had to adapt to new routing, resulting in slower cargo movement, higher costs, and increased uncertainty. Much like the import market, the export market is surging. Exports are up around 12% year over year; however, export rates remain relatively flat, and ocean carriers are keeping their rates steady far longer than they are for imports. The driving factors for exports are tariffs, trade tensions, new trade agreements, and a weaker US Dollar. Currently, the US dollar is trading at its lowest level in years against the world’s dominant currencies. As of today, the US Dollar is trading around 10% lower year-over-year, and unless something changes, this trend will continue. CONTINUED ON PAGE 92