Jaguar Freight | The Weekly Roar: The Worst Laid Plans

In this week’s Roar: A comprehensive look at tariffs, the impact of policy volatility, tariff ruling timing, air cargo’s turbulent performance in 2025, and the challenges of disruptions for supply chains.

President Trump has been in office for a year,… and what a year it’s been for trade and global supply chains. Keeping track of tariffs and sorting through the noise has become a daily chore for many companies. The areas getting the most attention lately have been Europe and Canada, with the EU stating it’s pausing negotiations on its trade deal with the U.S. and the Canadian Prime Minister speaking out harshly against U.S. threats against Greenland and Canada’s sovereignty. Even with so many trade deals announced over the past year, the threat of instability remains.

Is policy volatility the new “congestion” for supply chains? Although the threat has passed (for now), the rhetoric over Greenland-related tariffs is a perfect example of the persistent and disruptive impact of using trade policy for political advantage. The situation shows how much of the chaos happens in the space between headline announcements and enforceable rules. Supply chains need to operate in that gap by using scenario planning, assigning clear decision-makers, and monitoring official signals rather than reacting to every rumor.

The Supreme Court has delayed ruling on President Trump’s controversial IEEPA tariffs, pushing any decision back to at least late February. This prolongs uncertainty over the legality of the “Liberation Day” tariffs and related levies. A ruling against Trump could mean $130 billion in refunds and weaken his threats of further tariffs as leverage in trade negotiations.

Air cargo on-time performance dropped to 62.7% in 2025 as carriers tried to keep up with rapidly changing tariffs, network realignments, and peak season volume. Airlines had to act fast to adjust routes and capacity, causing delivery volatility, especially on Asia–Europe lanes. Short routes in East Asia held up the best for reliability, even as the rest of the world’s air cargo struggled.

It’s probably not surprising to find new data supporting the idea that supply chain disruption is a universal problem. A new report finds that logistics disruptions, mostly caused by factors like port congestion, labor shortages, and geopolitical events, have become a constant challenge for global supply chains, not the occasional shock. Over half of the surveyed companies lose more than a month of operational time annually. Firms are urged to invest across their entire logistics network, prioritize visibility, and develop systemic, long-term strategies to build resilience and reduce disruption costs.

For the rest of the week’s top shipping news, check out the article highlights here.