🚚 Largest Decline In History
Freight Day! 👋 As March Madness winds down, the Logistics Managers' Index (LMI) for March delivers a surprise of its own—showing a significant 5.6-point drop, the third-largest decline in its 9-year history. This follows two months of strong growth in 2025, making it feel like the economy just got hit with an unexpected upset.
More ahead 👇
💬 More in Freight:
⚫️ Tariff Watch: "Liberation Day"
⚫️ Cross-Border Truck Freight: YoY Growth
⚫️ FMCSA "Selfie" Program To Reduce Fraud
⚫️ March PMI: Manufacturing Stalls
Tariff Watch: "Liberation Day" 👀
Trump has labeled April 2 as "Liberation Day," when he plans to impose reciprocal tariffs on imports to reduce U.S. reliance on foreign goods. Details of these tariffs remain unclear, with White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirming an announcement will come later today, but specifics are still up to the president.
These tariffs could target countries like the EU, South Korea, Brazil, and India. White House advisor Peter Navarro suggested they could raise $600 billion annually, with an average rate around 20%. Economists caution that broad tariffs could have negative effects.
Previously delayed import taxes, including those on Mexican goods, are set to take effect soon, with the extension ending on April 2 (today). Further confirmation has not been provided.
Cross-Border Truck Freight 🇲🇽🇨🇦
Cross-border freight in January 2025 saw strong growth, with truck freight totaling nearly $88 billion, a 10% increase from January 2024. The southern U.S.-Mexico border saw a 13% rise, while the northern U.S.-Canada border grew by 7%. Key commodities included computers, electrical machinery, and vehicles.
This surge may be linked to President Trump's tariff threats, including a 25% tariff on steel, aluminum, and vehicles. The month saw a record 12.5% increase in imports, with the Canadian Trucking Alliance warning that tariffs could harm Canada’s trucking industry and delay recovery from the freight recession.
Overall, the value of cross-border freight surpassed $134 billion, an 8% year-over-year increase, with a decline in freight by weight, mainly affecting rail and vessel shipments.
REVIEW OF THE WEEK PRESENTED BY CARRIERSOURCE.
DJP Trucking: Carrier Review Of The Week 🏆
This week, we spotlight DJP Trucking, a family-operated trucking company based in Trevor, WI. With a fleet of 21 maintained trucks, along with 80 leased 53’ van trailers, DJP Trucking primarily serves the Midwest and South.
Known for offering reliable dry van services, DJP also provides drop trailer options for customers. They have earned a 5/5 rating on CarrierSource from 18 reviews.
DJP Trucking’s preferred lanes include routes from Milwaukee, WI to Minneapolis, MN, Muscle Shoals, AL, and Cedar Falls, IA.
Carrier Name: DJP Trucking
DOT Number: 3020304
Headquarters: Trevor, WI
Fleet Size: 21
Carrier Review: They have a 5/5 stars on CarrierSource based on 18 reviews. Tess, a verified broker, commented, "We have worked with DJP for many years. They are a wonderful family owned company. The dispatchers are all great people and fun to talk to. They communicate updates on shipments regularly and when we book a load with them we know it will be handled right."
What Else Is Moving 🚚
March's Downtrend 📉
The Logistics Managers' Index (LMI) for March shows a significant drop in sentiment, marking the third-largest decline in the 9-year dataset. The LMI fell by 5.6 points to 57.1, indicating a slowdown in logistics activity after two months of robust growth in 2025.
Economic Concerns Driving Logistics Slowdown
The drop in the index is attributed to two primary concerns: tariffs and inflation. Companies have been working to move goods ahead of expected changes in trade policies, but with new tariffs set to take effect, the growth in transportation and warehousing metrics has begun to cool off. A marked slowdown in transportation prices, coupled with inventory strategies influenced by tariff fears, signals that logistics professionals are bracing for the impact of potential cost increases.
Transportation & Warehousing Metrics Reflect Market Shifts
Transportation capacity showed minor improvement, staying in expansion territory, while utilization and prices both dropped sharply. The largest dip came in transportation prices, which saw their biggest fall since July 2022. Meanwhile, warehouse capacity saw a slight increase, but downstream facilities are feeling tighter as inventory volumes shift closer to consumers. The focus on inventory build-ups in anticipation of tariffs has also led to rising costs in warehousing.
Key Takeaways:
- LMI fell to 57.1 in March, signaling a cooling in logistics growth.
- Transportation prices saw their largest drop in over a year, indicating potential challenges ahead.
- Warehousing capacity remained tight, especially in downstream sectors, with rising costs as goods move closer to consumers.
FREIGHT SNIPPETS ✂️
💰 Lineage Makes WA Acquisition | Lineage has acquired Bellingham Cold Storage (BCS) and its three warehouses in Washington. The facilities, located at the Port of Bellingham and in Burlington, provide 85,000 pallet positions and 24 million cubic feet of space. This acquisition strengthens Lineage's network in the Pacific Northwest, expanding it to 40 locations across Washington, Oregon, and Idaho. The deal, which required approval from the Port of Bellingham, marks Lineage’s continued expansion in cold chain logistics. Financial terms were not disclosed. Read more.
🔥 Truck Cab Melted | A semi-truck was destroyed, and the driver suffered burns in an explosion caused by a portable stove inside the truck cab over the weekend. According to KMVT, the driver was using a portable stove to cook inside the truck cab when it exploded, sparking a fire that melted the cab and left the driver with burns on one arm. The driver was taken to a nearby hospital, while firefighters worked to extinguish the flames. Though the fire was contained before reaching nearby trucks, the bobtail truck was a total loss. Read more.
🚓 Cocaine Discovered | Laredo Sector Border Patrol agents stopped an attempt to smuggle approximately 130 pounds of cocaine at the I-35 Checkpoint. At around 8:40 p.m., agents stopped a blue tractor-trailer and, after receiving consent, proceeded to inspect the vehicle using the Multi-Energy Portal (MEP). With the assistance of a service canine, they discovered 51 packages of cocaine weighing 129.86 pounds, valued at an estimated $4.1 million. Read more.
🦾 FMCSA "Selfie" | As part of its new registration system, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) is introducing an identity verification process to help reduce fraud in the trucking industry. Under the current Unified Registration System (URS), individuals seeking new registrations will need to complete identity proofing and verification. In collaboration with security and biometrics firm IDEMIA, FMCSA will require users to scan a QR code with a smartphone or tablet to start the verification process. Users will then take photos of both sides of a government-issued ID and submit a facial scan or "selfie" for confirmation. Read more.
🚛 Truck-As-A-Service | R&M Trucking is utilizing a VNR Electric truck for local and regional deliveries at O’Hare International Airport in Chicago through Volvo on Demand, as announced in a March 26 press release. Volvo on Demand is a truck-as-a-service subscription model that allows companies to use battery-electric trucks without having to purchase them. Read more.
🔌 Expanding EV Yard Fleet | ABF Freight has purchased five additional electric yard trucks from Orange EV as part of its commitment to sustainability, the manufacturer announced last week. This follows ABF Freight's initial deployment of four electric trucks in 2022. The integration of these electric trucks is part of ABF Freight’s broader efforts to improve performance and sustainability. Additionally, the company is reducing emissions by installing aerodynamic aids on its fleet of over-the-road trailers and replacing older equipment with more fuel-efficient models, according to a March 3 filing. Read more.
Pallets of News 🚛
March Manufacturing Stalls 📊
Manufacturing performance dropped into contraction in March, with the Institute for Supply Management’s Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) falling to 49%, down 1.3 percentage points from February. A PMI below 50% signals contraction.
New orders decreased significantly, dropping 3.4 percentage points to 45.2%. The decline was driven by disagreements over who would absorb tariff-related price hikes and uncertainty about demand.
ISM’s Timothy Fiore stated that tariff uncertainty was the main concern for manufacturers, and S&P Global’s PMI echoed this trend, registering 50.2%. Concerns over government policies, particularly tariffs, are causing delays in spending and rising costs.
Prices increased in March, largely due to steel and aluminum tariffs. Fiore suggested that the price impact would likely resolve by May if only dealing with China-related tariffs, but with more tariffs on the horizon, manufacturers face continued challenges.
$400M For Humanoid Robotics Startup?! 🤖
Agility Robotics, the company behind the humanoid robot Digit, is reportedly close to securing $400 million in new funding. This follows a $150 million raise in December, bringing the company's total funding to $320 million so far.
The new funding round could value Agility Robotics at $1.75 billion, with WP Global Partners' venture arm leading the effort, and SoftBank likely participating.
However, Pitchbook data indicates that Agility closed the $400 million round on Monday with contributions from previous investors like the Amazon Industrial Innovation Fund, Playground Global, and DCVC.
MEME OF THE DAY 😂
📍 Upcoming events: Catch up with us at TIA: Capital Ideas Conference in San Antonio on April 9-12 and at the Broker Carrier Summit in Indianapolis on April 28-May 2. Let us know if you’ll be there – we'd love to connect!
