Is Amazon replacing the 3PL? In this episode of Air Cargo Unpacked, Mike King and co-host Neel Jones Shah dig into Amazon Supply Chain Services and what it really means for third party logistics providers, freight forwarders and the air cargo market. Is this a genuine supply chain management revolution or just a repackaging of existing services?

Also in this May episode: the Middle East capacity recovery -- Rotate's latest data on the Gulf region and what 74% recovery actually means for shippers. Neil Wilson, Editor of TAC Index and calculating agent for the Baltic Air Freight indices, unpacks the rates picture -- including the extraordinary Europe-Dubai lane, up 140% year on year as Emirates capacity collapsed. Shantanu Gangakhedkar of Frost & Sullivan Asia Pacific on air cargo demand in the region and the scenarios that frame what happens next, from the Strait of Hormuz to growing e-commerce volumes. Jet fuel up almost 100% -- what the supply chain logistics implications are for carriers and shippers paying surcharges. ULD market disruption. And the FedEx MD-11 -- back in the skies despite all predictions.

Produced with the support of Ontegos Cloud, the freight forwarder profitability specialists. https://www.ontegos.cloud/

Co-host: Neel Jones Shah (ex-Delta, United, Flexport) Neil Wilson -- Editor, TAC Index Shantanu Gangakhedkar -- Principal Consultant and Aviation Lead, Frost & Sullivan Asia Pacific

Produced by Karen Ball and Tom Matthews

#airfreight #3PL #supplychain #logistics #aviation #FedEx #MD11 #straitofhormuz #supplychainmanagement #aircargounpacked

The Trump administration’s tariff programme has suffered another legal defeat. The US Court of International Trade ruled 2-1 against the 10% Section 122 global surcharge, the replacement for the IEEPA reciprocal tariffs struck down by the Supreme Court in February. So which tariffs are actually still standing, and what comes next?

Mike King is joined by Karen Kenney, founder and president of K2 Trade Solutions and Dimerco Express Group Trade Compliance Strategist, and Nancy O’Liddy, Executive Director of the National Industrial Transportation League, to map out the current tariff landscape, explain how the four remaining pillars stack, and look at what the $166 billion CAPE refund process means in practice for importers.

They also get into tariff fraud, including transshipment evasion, the growing risk of refund interception through the CAPE portal, and double-brokering in US domestic freight. Plus: diesel prices up 60% year on year, carrier surcharges, the Federal Maritime Commission’s pushback, and what the war in the Middle East actually means for shipping costs. And Nancy O’Liddy on why the NITL is calling for the Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern merger to be denied.

A wide-ranging, practical episode for anyone managing freight costs or supply chain risk in 2026.

Produced with the support of Dimerco Express Group: https://dimerco.com

Contents

0:03:00 The Section 122 ruling: another legal defeat for Trump tariffs

0:06:00 Which tariffs are actually still standing?

0:08:00 The global tariff map: what it means by country and product

0:11:00 Tariff stacking explained: how 80% ends up on a tin can

0:15:00 The $166 billion refund: how the CAPE process is working in practice

0:23:00 Transshipment fraud: the $107 billion evasion problem

0:30:00 Refund fraud and the risk building around the CAPE portal

0:34:00 Double-brokering and domestic freight fraud

0:37:00 Fuel costs: diesel up 60% and what it means for shippers

0:47:00 Rail consolidation: why NITL is calling for the UP/NS merger to be denied

Related episode

Carrier consolidation, AI & freight fraud: Gebrüder Weiss North America CEO Mark McCullough

https://youtu.be/N7kVfrHfAAo

Data and press credits

Data and graphics: TPC Tariff Rules Engine v1.6 | American Automobile Association

Press coverage cited: The Guardian | The New York Times | Dow Jones Risk Journal (Liz Young, 28 April 2026) | The Washington Post (Linda Miller, 23 April 2026) | Journal of Commerce

Research cited: Gaia Dynamics, “The Refund Trap: Why IEEPA Recovery Can Trigger Hidden Compliance Exposure”, 21 April 2026 | Altana AI, tariff evasion report, April 2026

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Website: thefreightbuyersclub.com

#TrumpTariffs #TradeWar #SupplyChain #FreightBuying #Logistics

In this clip from The Freight Buyers' Club's latest AI and logtech special, Eric Johnson, Senior Technology Editor at the Journal of Commerce, gives freight buyers and logistics operators a practical framework for cutting through the AI vendor noise.

He covers how he evaluates vendor claims as a journalist, why the compulsion to understand how AI works is the wrong instinct, what blockchain taught us about technology hype, and the specific questions every buyer should be putting to vendors before they commit.

#AI #Logistics #FreightTech #SupplyChain #FreightBuying #LogisticsTech #ArtificialIntelligence #FreightForwarding #FreightBuyersClub #SupplyChainTech