10 Min Risk Assessment – Protecting your lanes from Q4 spikes

From our partners’ offices, some industry news:

“Good morning,  Team.

I hope the weekend treated you well.

With Q4 here, we are seeing the door close on securing predictable capacity before the pre-holiday surge.

Let’s schedule aside 10 minutes to discuss this week to conduct a Q4 Risk Assessment on your top lanes.

Please also see a brief market update below.

FTL

·         Capacity Squeeze Incoming: The current oversupply is ending. Carrier bankruptcies are rising, and new truck builds are down 25%.

·         Expect tight capacity and rate spikes during peak retail/produce seasons. I can assist by securing drop trailer capacity now.

·         FTL spot rates are stable at low levels but are vulnerable to sudden spikes from weather and/or seasonal demand.

International

·         Ocean Rates & Capacity: Vessel capacity is up 6% YoY due to new ship deliveries. This massive oversupply has caused Transpacific rates to drop 50-60% since Q2.

·         Tariffs & Risk: Extreme uncertainty due to the potential end of the U.S.-China tariffs and the new 25% tariffs on Indian imports.

Thank you.”

Smart Pallets: The Future of Logistics Traceability and Control

The logistics industry is investing heavily in smart pallets—conventional structures enhanced with IoT, RFID, BLE, GPS, and even blockchain sensors—to improve visibility, monitoring, and efficiency at every stage of ground or air transportation.

Emerging projects such as the CHEP/BXB Digital program, where pallets incorporate temperature and location sensors, are already being piloted with major retailers in the US.

In Europe, the EPAL–Fraunhofer–Deutsche Telekom alliance launched the “iPAL” in 2018: more than 500 prototypes capable of reporting position, movement, and environmental conditions with batteries lasting up to 10 years. Another initiative validates RFID technology in industrial environments: Aucxis applied RAIN RFID tags to pallets and automated cranes to track more than 100,000 pallets annually in real time (cisper.com).

Among real-life cases, the implementation of RFID by an Asian appliance manufacturer stands out, improving inventory accuracy and reducing losses thanks to instant pallet tracking in global shipments. Furthermore, in environments with sensitive goods—such as food and pharmaceuticals—this type of pallet allows temperature and humidity control during transport, reducing the risk of spoilage (goodloading.com).

Despite their novelty, smart pallets face challenges: high costs, a lack of global standards, and the need for WMS systems capable of integrating the generated data (blog.toyota-forklifts.es). However, e-commerce demand, health regulations (such as the FDA in the US), and the evolution of 5G networks and industrial IoT are accelerating their adoption.

Overview of the next 10 years

Analysts estimate annual growth of ~4% until 2027, with progressive integration throughout the supply chain, replacing passive pallets. In a decade, we could see autonomous pallets that communicate with drones/flyers, fully automated warehouses, and blockchain-based platforms for secure traceability. Furthermore, their use will be widespread in road freight transport, where they can be integrated into routes, climate monitoring, and real-time contingency plans.

Smart pallets represent an evolution toward more efficient, secure, and transparent logistics, in line with the digitalization of land and air transportation in Mexico and around the world.

https://transporte.mx/pallets-inteligentes-el-futuro-de-la-trazabilidad-y-control-logistico

Mexico-US relations more tense and complex with Trump’s return

Jennifer Galindo    

The former Mexican ambassador to the United States warns of targeted tariffs, mass deportations, and tensions over the Chinese presence in Mexico.

In light of Donald Trump’s return to his second era as president of the United States, Arturo Sarukhán, president of Sarukhán and associates, warned about the critical challenges that the bilateral relationship will face, where he observes that the first years will be decisive, with immediate actions in trade, migration, and security, including the imposition of tariffs, mass deportations and possible unilateral operations against fentanyl laboratories in Mexico.

In a conference during the 2025 Economic Outlook Seminar organized by the Autonomous Technological Institute of Mexico (ITAM), Sarukhán stressed that the next four years will be critical, especially the first year, in which Trump will seek to measure the Mexican government’s response capacity through forceful actions.

As one of the main points to highlight, the specialist anticipated that the automotive and auto parts sector, as well as steel and aluminum, will be the first to face targeted tariffs, as part of a United States reindustrialization strategy to repatriate investments.

According to Sarukhán, Mexico is not adequately prepared to face this challenge due to the lack of technical staff in the government after the administration of Andrés Manuel López Obrador.

“Today, neither the Mexican private sector nor the government are reading this challenge well,” he said.

On the other hand, Trump could intensify the deportations of undocumented migrants, sending thousands monthly to Mexico, even from third countries, which could overwhelm the capacities of Mexican municipalities and border states.

“He is not going to deport the 11.2 million undocumented people, but he will release five, 10 or 15 thousand a month,” he said.

Regarding security, Sarukhán said that Trump could pressure the Mexican government to accept joint operations against fentanyl laboratories.

If cooperation is not obtained, he warned about the possibility of unilateral actions by the United States, such as drone attacks on Mexican territory.

The Chinese threat and the USMCA

The growing Chinese manufacturing presence in Mexico is viewed with concern by the United States, especially in strategic sectors such as telecommunications, energy, and lithium batteries.

In this regard, Sarukhán highlighted the importance of working together with Washington to prevent this from derailing the review of the Treaty between Mexico, the United States, and Canada (T-MEC) in 2026.

“The Chinese manufacturing footprint in Mexico could be the Trojan Horse that contaminates the bilateral relationship,” he warned.

Therefore, Sarukhán presented a decalogue with strategic actions, which could help Mexico to maintain a “healthy” relationship with its northern neighbor.

The specialist mentioned that the country should not engage in public confrontations with Trump, in addition to rebuilding the capacities of the Mexican State, particularly in trade and migration.

On the other hand, Mexico must modernize foreign policy reinforce security cooperation, and enhance diplomacy at the state level in the United States to strengthen alliances.

“If President Sheinbaum wants to avoid an earthquake in the bilateral relationship, she must make decisions that contravene even the legacies of the previous administration,” he said.