ECONOMICS

By Eric Kulisch of FreightWaves

U.S. plans next month to cancel tariff-free access for low-value parcel shipments from China and Hong Kong, coupled with a new 145% tariff rate on Chinese imports, could bleed more than $22 billion in revenue from the air cargo sector over three years and put thousands of online sellers with direct-to-consumer fulfillment models out of business, according to an e-commerce and logistics consulting firm. 

Derek Lossing, the founder of Cirrus Global (more…)

Since December's Trump-optimism-driven surge in Leading Economic Indicators (the first since last February), The Conference Board's headline index has decelerated rapidly with March data released today plunging 0.7% MoM – the biggest drop since October 2023…

Consumer Sentiment and Stock Prices were the biggest negative contributors, while Building Permits and Jobless Claims were the biggest positive contributors…

That dragged the total index level (more…)

Japan's already collapsing population just posted its biggest annual drop on record, falling by 898,000 people as of last October compared to a year earlier, Kyodo News reported.

This marked the 14th consecutive year of population decline in the country, according to a government estimate. The previous record drop was 861,000, reported in July 2024.

This was the largest demographic drop since 1968.

Some more details: according to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and (more…)