Weekly Freight Report: July 31, 2026
The tariff regime that took effect last week is already in court, and refunds are on the table. Two customs deadlines also land within days of each other, one in Mexico and one at the US border for copper importers. Cost pressure is building everywhere else too. Diesel posted its second straight double-digit jump, a second chokepoint is now pushing tankers onto longer routes, and federal driver rules are pulling trucks out of the market. Here is what moved this week and what it means for your cost per shipment.
Section 301 Forced Labor Tariffs Challenged in Court
Two US importers filed suit in the Court of International Trade on July 24 challenging the Section 301 forced labor tariffs that took effect the same week. The complaint asks the court to strike the duties and order refunds, arguing the rates were set before the evidence was assembled and that the roughly three-month investigation was too compressed for meaningful country-by-country analysis. The duties run 10% or 12.5% across about 60 trading partners and replaced the Section 122 surcharge that the same court found unlawful in May, a ruling still under appeal. Nothing changes at entry today, and the outcome is far from certain. But importers who lived through the IEEPA refund process know the value of clean entry records, so if you are paying these duties it is worth confirming how your entries are being filed and liquidated now rather than after a decision lands.
Mexico’s Electronic Value Declaration Becomes Mandatory August 1
Mexico’s Manifestacion de Valor Electronica takes effect August 1, after the latest extension expired July 31. Every importer bringing goods into Mexico must now submit shipment values and supporting documentation electronically before customs will release the freight. The filing itself is straightforward. The risk is data consistency across your commercial invoice, bill of lading, certificate of origin, payment records and contracts, including customs values that properly account for freight and insurance. Mismatches between documents are the main failure point, and they can bring fines of up to $6,000, held shipments and administrative proceedings. If you move freight into Mexico, audit your document set this week.
Copper Smelt and Cast Reporting Took Effect July 30
As of July 30, importers of certain copper articles must report the primary country of smelt and the country of cast on the entry summary in ACE. The requirement covers four HTSUS classifications, 8544.42.10, 8544.42.20, 8544.42.90 and 8544.49.10, from every country of origin except the United States. Filers use the new Importer’s Additional Declaration Type Code 12, with a secondary country of smelt optional and OTH available where the origin is genuinely unknown. CBP has established five validation error codes to flag missing or invalid entries, so incomplete data will surface at filing rather than later. If you import copper wire or cable, confirm your supplier data and your broker’s process now.
Tankers Reroute as Bab el-Mandeb Traffic Hits a Yearly Low
Traffic through Bab el-Mandeb fell to 14 commodity vessels in a single day, the lowest daily count this year, according to Kpler data. The more telling signal is what the large tankers are doing. The Olympic Luck, a Greek-owned VLCC carrying Saudi crude, took the longer Suez routing instead of the strait, in what appears to be the first major crude carrier to divert over Houthi threats. A second VLCC, the DHT Gazelle, followed the same path toward the Philippines. Longer routings absorb vessel capacity and add days to voyages, and the effect reaches container shippers through bunker costs and war risk surcharges rather than through box capacity directly.
Diesel Adds Another 18 Cents to $5.31
The national average on-highway diesel price reached $5.313 per gallon in the EIA reading published July 27, up 18 cents on the week and $1.51 above the same point last year. Every region posted an increase, led by the Midwest and Rocky Mountain at 21 cents and the West Coast at 19 cents to $6.067. AAA attributes the move to crude climbing into the $90 per barrel range on Strait of Hormuz volatility and Red Sea instability. This is the second consecutive week of double-digit gains at the benchmark most fuel surcharge schedules are pegged to, so the cost reaches your invoices within days.
Federal Driver Rules Keep Truck Capacity Tight
The capacity squeeze in truckload is being driven by regulation rather than demand. FMCSA rules that took effect in mid-March, covering nondomiciled CDL restrictions, tighter ELD and registration fraud enforcement, and driver school closures, pushed the Driver Availability Index to a five-year low of 30.4 in April. The Capacity Index has since climbed to 55.0 in June, a 43-month high, and the Freight Rate Index sits at 70.2, among the strongest readings in its 17-year history. Class 8 tractor sales remain below replacement levels, so the truck supply is not rebuilding quickly. Expect firm pricing at your next bid and build contingency into capacity-sensitive lanes.
Rail and Intermodal Volumes Keep Climbing
US rail traffic reached 527,162 carloads and intermodal units in the week ending July 25, up 2.5% year over year. Intermodal led at 293,062 containers and trailers, up 3.5%, while carloads rose 1.4% to 234,100. Year to date through 29 weeks, intermodal is up 3.7% and carloads up 2.8%. Petroleum and related products gained 11.8% and metallic ores and steelmaking metals rose 9.3%, while coal slipped 1.6% and chemicals eased 0.6%. With truck capacity tight, intermodal is worth pricing on longer domestic lanes where transit time allows.
EU Parcel Levy Pulls Freighter Capacity Out of Europe
The EU replaced its 150 euro low-value import exemption with a flat 3 euro duty per item line on qualifying B2C shipments from July 1, and the air freight market is adjusting fast. Daily average freighter capacity from Asia Pacific and the Middle East and South Asia into Europe fell 14% in July against June, equal to roughly 18 fewer widebody freighter flights a day. Hong Kong is the most affected origin, with dedicated freighter capacity down 47% week on week and tonnage to Europe off 12%. The driver is softer demand as each parcel costs more to land. If you move air freight into Europe, expect thinner schedules and confirm space earlier than usual.
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