THE DAILY

Tuesday, March 31, 2026

The five minutes that will make you the most informed person in freight today

Newsletter Brought to You By — Descartes

The #1 freight visibility platform, Descartes MacroPoint delivers real-time tracking via ELD, mobile app, and agentic AI — meet the future of intelligent visibility. Learn More

The Daily

Supreme Court strips IEEPA tariff authority, setting up $166 billion in potential refunds

The legal architecture behind IEEPA tariffs just collapsed. The clock is running for every importer that paid duties under it.

Trade attorneys at Dykema broke down the implications in a webinar last Thursday. The core ruling is direct: The Supreme Court found that IEEPA does not grant the president authority to impose tariffs. "The court held that the word ‘regulate’ in IEEPA does not include the authority to impose tariffs," said attorney Tina Toma. "Taxing imports is a distinct constitutional power that requires express delegation from Congress." The decision invalidated duties imposed on goods from China, Canada, Mexico and dozens of other countries. Those tariffs covered hundreds of billions in annual trade.

The refund math is without precedent. The prior benchmark for a large-scale customs refund case was the Harbor Maintenance Tax, roughly $2.8 billion, resolved over years. This situation dwarfs it. "In terms of precedent for refunds of this scale… we’re looking at about $166 billion," said Dykema attorney John Rhoades. Customs and Border Protection is building an electronic portal to process claims. The scale is staggering. Manual processing would require reviewing more than 70 million entries.

The most urgent issue for importers right now is liquidation status. Entries go through unliquidated, recently liquidated and finally liquidated stages. Once an entry is finally liquidated, importers have 180 days to file a protest before forfeiting any refund claim. "Just keep an eye on that so you don’t find yourself in a position where you have forfeited claims," said attorney Joanne Zimolzak. There’s also a live legal question about scope. The government is arguing that refunds should flow only to companies that filed suit in the Court of International Trade, not to all eligible importers. That argument, if it holds, would exclude most of the market from automatic relief.

The ruling does not end tariffs. It ends one category of them. The Trump administration has already imposed a temporary global import surcharge under Section 122 of the Trade Act. Additional actions under Section 232, Section 301 and Section 201 are expected. Those statutes require formal investigations and administrative processes. That gives companies more lead time. But the direction of travel is unchanged.

So What? If your company paid duties under IEEPA, the refund window is open but has hard deadlines attached. Pull your entry liquidation records now, not after the quarter closes. If the government’s argument for a narrow reading on refund eligibility holds, filing suit in the Court of International Trade may be the only way to preserve your claim. IEEPA is gone. The broader tariff exposure is not.

Read the full story →

Top Stories

FMC says China is using port inspections to punish Panama over Hutchison terminal seizure

The Federal Maritime Commission said it is closely monitoring China’s surge in detentions of Panama-flagged vessels. It characterized the inspections as economic retaliation. "China has now imposed a surge in detentions of Panama-flagged vessels in Chinese ports under the guise of port state control, far exceeding historical norms," said FMC chair Laura DiBella. The move followed Panama’s seizure of CK Hutchison’s concession to operate the Balboa and Cristobal terminals near the Panama Canal. That led Cosco to suspend its Balboa services. Panama is the world’s largest ship registry, with more than 4,700 vessels accounting for roughly 15% of global tonnage — a significant share of U.S. containerized trade.

So What? The FMC is watching but hasn’t acted yet. Monitoring is not the same as deterrence. If China’s vessel detentions escalate, shippers routing cargo through Panama-flagged carriers face real schedule risk. The Hutchison terminal dispute is unresolved. Arbitration is pending. The political overlay between U.S.-China trade tensions and Panama Canal control isn’t going away.

Read the full story →

ATA gets nothing in Rhode Island truck toll fee fight after asking for $21 million

After years of litigation over Rhode Island’s truck-only RhodeWorks tolling program, a federal judge ordered the American Trucking Associations to receive zero in attorneys’ fees or cost reimbursement. The ATA had requested just over $21 million. The state sought $7.6 million and received only $185,000 in costs. Federal District Court Judge John McConnell cut the magistrate’s recommendation of roughly $2.7 million for the ATA down to nothing. The ATA did win on a narrow cap provision that the First Circuit found discriminated against interstate commerce, but that narrow win wasn’t enough to justify fee-shifting in McConnell’s view. The larger irony: even with the case resolved, the RhodeWorks toll infrastructure isn’t operational. The state says the equipment needs to be rebuilt, pushing the launch to March 2027.

So What? The ATA fought Rhode Island because it feared a truck-only tolling model going national. That fear is still valid — the program was upheld at the appellate level. The fee ruling closes the book on compensation, but the policy precedent is what matters. Carriers operating in the Northeast should watch how RhodeWorks actually performs once it launches in 2027.

Read the full story →

Redwood Logistics lands as a Visionary in Gartner’s 4PL Magic Quadrant after five-year run

Redwood Logistics reached a major enterprise sales milestone this year: landing as a Visionary in Gartner’s first Magic Quadrant for the 4PL category. The path there took five years and required the company to kill its own terminology. Analysts rejected Redwood’s initial "Logistics Platform as a Service" positioning and pointed the company toward the emerging fourth-party logistics category Gartner was already formalizing. Redwood pivoted, built its messaging around "modern 4PL," sustained analyst engagement across multiple domains and landed exactly where it aimed. "It’s kind of a game-changing event for these guys," said Will Haraway of LeadCoverage, who guided the analyst relations program. "And not only that, it’s great for investors and it’s great for companies that are up for sale."

So What? For logistics technology companies chasing enterprise contracts, Redwood’s playbook is worth studying. Analyst placement in the Gartner Magic Quadrant removes procurement friction at the C-suite level — it’s institutional cover for million-dollar purchasing decisions. If you’re a 4PL or TMS provider without an analyst relations strategy, the cost of not having one just went up.

Read the full story →

Stellantis sues ZF Chassis Modules over $70 million dispute, Jeep Compass production halted in Mexico

Stellantis has been locked out of its Toluca, Mexico assembly plant since March 14 after supplier ZF Chassis Modules stopped delivering suspension components over a payment dispute. Stellantis says it paid more than $26 million and agreed to price increases in December. But ZF then demanded an additional $70 million, prompting a Michigan lawsuit. The Toluca plant produces the Jeep Compass and Jeep Cherokee for North and Latin American markets. The disruption also threatened Stellantis’ Windsor, Ontario facility, which employs about 4,300 workers. A court order temporarily required ZF to continue shipping parts there.

So What? This is a live example of what just-in-time manufacturing failure looks like across a cross-border supply chain. The Toluca shutdown rippled to Windsor within days. The underlying pricing dispute isn’t resolved. Carriers and 3PLs handling Stellantis Mexico freight should maintain contingency capacity.

Read the full story →

Sponsored By PCS

Strategy Guide for Mid-Market Carriers: How Winning Carriers Are Preparing for 2026 Freight conditions may stabilize in 2026, but profitability will separate fast. Mid-market fleets can’t rely on market recovery alone — rising costs, tighter labor, and growing compliance demands require disciplined cost control and technology with measurable ROI. This free planning guide from PCS Software shows how winning carriers are building data-driven decision systems and choosing tools that pay off. Built for fleet decision-makers navigating an uncertain freight cycle. Download the guide →

Sponsored Insight

From the Research Desk

What We’re Watching

▸ IEEPA refund deadlines. The 180-day protest window from final liquidation is already running on some entries. If you haven’t audited your entry liquidation status this week, do it before the quarter closes. Missed deadlines forfeit claims that may be worth millions.

▸ FMC response to China’s Panama ship detentions. "Monitoring isn’t a strategy. Watch for DiBella to escalate beyond statements. The FMC has enforcement tools it hasn’t deployed yet.

▸ Stellantis-ZF Chassis Modules litigation resolution. A court order keeps Windsor running for now. But the $70 million gap hasn’t closed. A second assembly shutdown is possible. Carriers handling Stellantis Mexico freight should keep contingency capacity available.

That’s your Daily for today. See you tomorrow.

Have a tip? Reply to this email.

Subscribe to FreightWaves

FreightWaves  405 Cherry St., Chattanooga TN 37402

Forward to a Friend   |   Unsubscribe