Sent Items #203: Tuesday, September 16, 2025

I’ve been up since 3 AM and am currently typing this while on a flight to Shiphero’s Supply Chain AI event in Vegas. It’s my fifth flight this past week so I’m tired and cranky, but excited for the next 24 hours. Looking forward to seeing some of you there.

In other news, Christmas is in 100 days. The countdown is on!

FedEx releases their quarterly earnings on Thursday, seen as a bellwether for the global economy given they move more than $2 Trillion worth of goods annually. I’ll be looking to see how volumes are sustaining both here in the U.S. as well as globally - particularly in light of tariffs - as well as their pricing power and market share given continued pressure from Amazon and a new alternative carriers.

Here’s some fantastic news and a terrific partnership between two stalwarts of industry:

A couple more PSAs:

For the month of September, we are upping the bounty for Third Person's Referral Program! Apply for the referral program here and start earning rewards⚡

The details:
💵Earn rewards: $75* every time a brand connects with a 3PL on Third Person

📈No cap on rewards: The more successful referrals, the more you earn

💥Signing bonus: $200* if a brand you referred signs with a 3PL

*only valid Sept. 1-30

Our inaugural Logistics & Leadership Retreat is less than a week away! Third Person brings together just 50 founders and executives across brands, 3PLs, and logistics tech companies. It's neither a conference nor a trade show—it’s an immersive, high-caliber experience built around deep relationship-building, not superficial networking. It is an opportunity to connect meaningfully and shape the future of e-commerce logistics through peer engagement.

Our inaugural event sold out within a week. Check out some of the fantastic brands who are coming to Nashville later this month for our inaugural event.

We have already begun planning our March 2026 Retreat and will soon be opening it to applications. Click here to sign up to be notified when applications are open in the next few days! While we will continue limiting the event to about 50 attendees, we are preparing a sponsorship kit for a few select companies - please reach out by replying here or emailing [email protected] if you are interested in exploring sponsorship.

Onto some headlines….

The odds haven’t moved much, last week I wrote that markets were predicting a 46% chance, and this morning they sit at 45%.

Meanwhile, The Supreme Court in a brief order said it would hear the case in early November, a schedule that could deliver a ruling before the end of the year. It will be the first time the high court has decided on the legality of a major policy from Trump’s second term.

The tariffs, which were dealt a string of defeats in the lower courts, are set to remain in place until the case is decided. The Trump administration had asked the Supreme Court to hear the challenge on an expedited schedule, saying the legal uncertainty was already hurting the White House in ongoing trade negotiations.

Digital freight forwarder Flexport will be profitable this year, but with a *but* … (WSJ). Flexport’s profitability is thanks to a one-time boost from its recent sale of the technology and freight business from defunct truck broker Convoy to DAT Freight & Analytics for $250 million. That’s a nice return on an acquisition Flexport scooped up two years ago for about $16 million.

Flexport has been working over the past two years to return the company to profitability ahead of a potential IPO. Ryan Petersen, Flexport’s CEO said he’s focused on making the company profitable in terms of organic growth as he leads its expansion into new countries, cuts costs and tries to win business from larger competitors. He says Flexport is on track to hit profitability in 2026.

Flexport earlier this month opened an office in Indonesia and plans to launch in six additional countries next year. Its airfreight business has suffered after the Trump administration ended de minimis. But Petersen said the policy change has also led e-commerce merchants to import more goods into the U.S. in bulk, helping its fulfillment business.

The U.S. collected just over $30 billion in customs duties in August, a new monthly record, according to the Treasury Department. Gross customs duties collected since October, the beginning of the federal government’s fiscal year, came to $171.9 billion—also a record. That is nearly $96 billion greater than during the same period in the prior fiscal year, and reflects the Trump administration’s higher tariffs on imports.

Meanwhile, Whirlpool Tells U.S. Authorities Its Rivals Could Be Evading Tariffs (WSJ). Its claims are based on federal data generated from import paperwork. Whirlpool said the data shows that the declared customs value of numerous appliances started to plummet in June. A smaller declared value would mean a lower tariff payment.

A Wall Street Journal review of the data shows that garbage disposals from China dropped from an average of $21 over the first five months of the year to $9 in June, and then less than $8 in July. Gas ranges from Thailand more than halved to $175. Washing machines from South Korea sank from $838 to $73.

Whirlpool said it cross-referenced the data with its knowledge of its competitors’ manufacturing facilities to come up with a list of companies it suspects of undervaluing imports. They include Samsung and LG, as well as China-based Haier, which owns GE Appliances.

OnTrac readies express, deferred ground delivery services (Supply Chain Dive). OnTrac Express will provide two-day and three-day transit times for long-distance shipments in the U.S. by leveraging partner ClearJet’s air transportation capabilities. The other service, OnTrac Ground Essentials, is designed to be an economical option for merchants shipping non-urgent parcels at scale.

OnTrac is looking to capitalize on what it views as underserved areas of the delivery market. Outside of national carriers like FedEx and UPS, options for coast-to-coast parcel shipping are limited, adding incentive for the carrier to launch its new express service. Despite the crowded environment, OnTrac’s domestic volume from shippers is up over 40% compared to last year.

Thanks for reading! Looking forward to seeing some of you at next week’s Leadership and Logistics Retreat!

- Matt

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