NEWS
INFIOS REPORT FINDS TARIFFS ARE RESHAPING THE RULES OF GLOBAL TRADE
I
nfios, this month, published a new proprietary research report, ‘The Rise of the Tariff-Optimised Supply Chain: Inside the New Rules of Global Trade’, showing how the 2025 U.S. tariff policy created a structural break in global
trade and permanently changed how compa- nies execute their supply chains. Based on year-over-year analysis of more
than one million U.S. customs entries, the report fi nds that tariffs are no longer a predictable cost line item. They are a live execution variable that companies actively manage through classifi cation, mode selection, routing, warehousing and fi nancial sequencing. “At Infi os, one of our guiding principles
is thinking ahead, helping customers to anticipate change instead of reacting to it after the fact,” said Ed Auriemma, CEO at Infi os. “This research highlights how global trade patterns are evolving and where companies are adjusting routes, transportation modes and execution strategies in response. Organisations that recognise those shifts early and respond quickly will be best positioned to deliver execution without interruption.” The report identifi es two distinct phases
of response. In the initial shock period, importers experimented with ‘panic routing,’ short-term mode shifts and temporary United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) surges. The 50 per cent+ duty bracket, which had barely existed before 2025, spiked sharply before settling at a lower but still elevated level. And with urgency overriding cost discipline, air freight and truck share both rose as speed became
the priority. Over time, the behaviours that lasted created a structural and deliberate redesign for global trade execution. “What we’re seeing isn’t just a shift in
sourcing or supplier mix. It’s a fundamental change in how trade is executed,” said Don Mabry, SVP, Global Trade Solutions at Infi os. “Tariffs have introduced a level of volatility that companies can no longer manage with periodic adjustments or manual processes. Organisations able to sense change early, evaluate options quickly and reconfi gure execution paths will outperform those operating within rigid, single-path systems designed for a more stable world. The organisations that treat trade execution as a dynamic discipline, not a back-offi ce function, are the ones gaining a durable competitive advantage.”
Notable findings include: Effective duty rates reached 20 to 80 per cent higher in some categories due to tariff stacking. Air freight increased by 12 percentage points and stayed elevated, while ocean freight declined 10 to 12 points and did not rebound, signalling that mode choice is now used as policy-risk insurance, not just cost optimisation. Truck freight rose 8 points, refl ecting
sustained nearshoring and demand for more stable, shorter supply chains. Bonded warehouse usage jumped from 10
per cent to 16 to 18 per cent of entries and kept climbing, signalling that duty deferral is now mainstream. Harmonised Tariff Schedule (HTS)
classifi cation complexity nearly doubled from 6 to 11.6 sequences per entry, pushing
8 MAY 2026 | FACTORY&HANDLINGSOLUTIONS
many organisations beyond what manual compliance workfl ows can support. Shipment value rose 78 per cent while
entry counts fell 7 per cent, indicating consolidation and ‘smarter shipping’, not a retreat from trade. Not all sourcing shifted equally. Consumer
goods and light manufacturing diversifi ed away from China; specialty chemicals and industrial components stayed dependency- bound regardless of tariff exposure. At the same time, entirely new trade corridors emerged while others collapsed under policy pressure. The data reveals a supply chain landscape in motion: new corridors opening, unviable ones falling away and early signs of manufacturing relocation, making route intelligence a strategic asset, not a logistics afterthought. Infi os’s analysis concludes this is not a
sourcing story, but an execution story. In a volatile policy environment, fl exibility beats effi ciency and execution precision is key. Companies thriving will be those that can sense change early, evaluate options quickly and reconfi gure execution paths before conditions force their hand. The report introduces a consistent
defi nition for this new operating model: a tariff-optimised supply chain, which treats duties as a live execution variable, actively managed through classifi cation, mode selection, routing, warehousing and fi nancial sequencing, rather than as a fi xed cost to absorb. In an environment where volatility is structural, those capabilities are what will separate the leaders in global trade.
www.infios.com
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