international business

This is a guest post by Rocco Pascente. The truck arrives at the dock. The driver has the right paperwork, a clean-looking rig and the confidence of someone who does this every day. The load [...]

This is a guest post by Bao L. Zhou. Picture a routine order. A U.S. importer has signed off on the sample and agreed to the deposit. The supplier sent over a business license. Everything looks [...]

It’s possible freight rates from Asia could reach new record highs. I know it’s not what U.S. importers like to hear, but freight rates are way up from Asia right now due to a number [...]

This is a guest post by Jai Akash. [Editor’s Note] Universal Cargo accepts guest article submissions for publication in our blog. We do not charge people or businesses to submit. Universal [...]

Freight Rates behave differently this decade than they did through previous periods. The prices shippers pay climb, even skyrocket, seemingly with every disruptive event. But freight rates [...]

This is a guest post by Daniel Mercer. Tariff changes can alter import costs very quickly. That can affect margins and pricing decisions. It can also change sourcing plans and inventory levels. [...]

This peak season was supposed to fizzle out early, supposing it would even really happen at all. In May and June, analysts were caught off guard by an early surge in shipping, pointed to as [...]

This is a guest news release submitted to Universal Cargo by James Ellerington of Fourteen Forty Communications. Note from the editor: We don’t ordinarily publish releases announcing [...]

2026 started as a promising year for shippers when it came to freight rates. A combination of severe overcapacity and decreased demand plummeted massively bloated 2025 freight rates. Then [...]

This is a guest post by Talya Turgeman. For a U.S. importer, port congestion is more than an inconvenient delay. A container that arrives several days later than expected can leave inventory [...]

Just a week ago, it looked like a tariff hike on Canadian goods was averted with a last minute trade deal between the U.S. and Canada. But, suddenly, the deal was called off. Now, we’re in [...]

This is a guest post by Harper Lane. A container lands at the wrong port. Suddenly, nothing moves the way it should. Supply chains buckle, budgets bleed, and timelines collapse faster than most [...]

After experiencing setbacks to his tariff agenda in court, President Trump was excited to announce last week that the Court of International Trade (CIT) upheld his striking down of the de minimis [...]

“Peak season is fraud season.” It’s a catchy slogan, and one shippers would do well to heed. Fraud spikes every year during peak season, and this year is no different. [...]

Introduction: The Post-Tariff Shipping Paradox Demand is supposed to be dropping this week, but freight rates are rising. What’s happening in the international shipping market right now? [...]

Universal Cargo CEO Devin Burke gave a candid interview at a coffee shop about the international shipping market, covering topics like how companies survive tough times in this business and an [...]

As expected, President Trump’s sweeping new tariffs arrived last week to replace his struck-down IEEPA ones. On Thursday, the Trump Administration announced the U.S. would impose tariffs [...]

Last Thursday, we posted a candid interview with Universal Cargo CEO Devin Burke. He sat down at a coffee house and spoke about the international shipping industry and how businesses – both [...]

Last Thursday, Universal Cargo CEO Devin Burke sat down at a coffee house and gave a great candid interview, which includes an outlook of the international shipping industry and how businesses – [...]

A practical walk-through with a worked example — factory price, ocean freight, duties and fees, insurance, plus the line items first-time importers routinely miss (consolidation, compliance, the [...]