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Why everything is “out of stock” right now

Oct 11, 2021
Four charts and a new series to help you understand ongoing product shortages.
Patrick Baranic, general manager of the Marine Exchange of Southern California, discusses the delays at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach with “Marketplace’s” Kai Ryssdal.
Maria Hollenhorst/Marketplace

Trade is still a mess, and that's keeping this customs broker busy

Jul 30, 2021
Gretchen Blough, a customs broker at Logistics Plus in Erie, Pennsylvania, said that the ships, trucks, tariffs and supply shortages are peppering the shipping industry.
Containers stacked in the Port of Los Angeles on April 19, 2021.
Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images

In London's Borough Market, importing is a "roller coaster" after Brexit

Jun 14, 2021
Britain's departure from the EU created a new trade regime for British businesses. A honey seller describes her importing experience.
Beekeepers harvesting honey. "We pay tariffs to Italy, to let our products out of Italy," says Samantha Wallace. "And then we pay a tariff to the U.K., which is quite ironic, as a U.K. business."
Marco Bertorello/AFP via Getty Images

August's trade gap was the biggest in 14 years. That's probably good news

Oct 6, 2020
It's a sign that Americans have money to spend on consumer goods and businesses are importing parts for things they'll sell to consumers.
A container ship sits at the Port of Oakland in Northern California.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

As imports boom, warehouses fill up, and businesses face a storage shortage

Oct 1, 2020
The ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach handled record amounts of imports in August. Meanwhile, warehouse rents increased by 10% from this time last year.
Warehouse space is shrinking as the holidays approach.
Virginie Goubier/AFP via Getty Images

How trucking offers clues about where the economy’s headed

Aug 28, 2020
Trucking volume offers a glimpse into consumer demand today, and what that demand might look like down the road.
Container trucks arrive at the Port of Los Angeles. Import transportation companies are doing better than most during COVID-19.
Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images

USMCA disappoints Southeastern growers

Jul 4, 2019
According to one farmer, the "new NAFTA" spells disastrous consequences for her family's business.
Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto (L), US President Donald Trump (C) and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau are pictured after signing a new free trade agreement in Buenos Aires, on November 30, 2018, on the sidelines of the G20 Leaders' Summit.
MARTIN BERNETTI/AFP/Getty Images

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Tariffs are stifling the region with world's largest BMW plant, official says

May 15, 2019
Spartanburg, South Carolina, had “white hot” growth before the taxes, councilman says.
CHRISTOF STACHE/AFP/Getty Images

Export-Import Bank might shake years of reduced powers

May 7, 2019
The Senate will vote on confirming three new board members who would enable the Export-Import Bank to perform its full mission. Click the audio player above to hear the full story.
People arrive for the U.S. Export-Import Bank's annual conference in Washington, D.C., in 2013.
Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images

Customs officials struggle with the uptick in volume of goods shipped into the U.S.

Dec 28, 2018
A 2016 law that allows goods from abroad to enter the U.S. duty free as long as they are valued at $800 or less has opened up the door to more counterfeiters.
Customs officers in the DHL warehouse at JFK Airport.
Ashley Milne-Tyte for Marketplace