IN THE NEWS: US Drayage Providers Bracing for Container Plunge Say Rebound Could Reset Market

Journal of Commerce
April 30, 2025
William Cassidy

FROM THE ARTICLE: Drayage providers who handled the early 2025 surge of US-bound cargo booked ahead of US tariffs are now bracing for a significant drop in business that will begin in May and potentially last into the third quarter.

They’re also girding for a disruptive import rebound once trade disputes abate.

“What happens in the third quarter is going to be the big story,” said Paul Brashier, Vice President of Global Supply Chain for ITS Logistics, a Reno, Nevada-based third-party logistics provider offering over-the-road truckload and drayage services.

Once US trade disputes with China and other trading partners are resolved, “there will be a wave of freight that will stress the system,” Brashier said. “We’re pretty much looking at a similar event as we saw with COVID in 2020. There will be pent-up demand.”

Indeed, container shipping lines are already warning that a rebound in Asian imports following the expected plunge linked to the US-China trade dispute may overwhelm major US ports. The biggest danger, they say, could be a lack of capacity outside port gates to handle a rapid acceleration in freight.

Potential for a ‘reset’

US drayage capacity appears to be slowly shrinking from a 2022 high, with some of those losses attributed to the migration of owner-operators to the security of larger carriers. Still, excess drayage capacity persists, putting pressure on already-low rates.

However, the Trump administration’s efforts to reshape global trade could reset the drayage market, especially if trade negotiations drag on without a resolution or a lowering of tariff rates that would encourage beneficial cargo owners (BCOs) to boost US imports.

Read the full article.