Fueling the Flames, Georgia’s Tariff Whiplash, & Steel Shockwave
Good morning! ☀️
Oil's up over $2 a barrel (nope, not an OPEC+ twist), Georgia’s tangled in a tariff-fueled identity crisis involving wine, solar panels, and maybe your next Marvel movie, and the U.S. just hit steel and aluminum with a 50% tariff hike. That’s not a typo—that’s your freight budget crying in the break room.
If you're in logistics or supply chain, this isn’t just news—it’s your reality. Let’s break it down before something else spikes.
“Management is nothing more than motivating other people.”
Oil Prices Are Up, and So Is Your Freight Budget
Oil just spiked over $2 per barrel—and it’s not because OPEC+ pulled a surprise move. Nope, they stuck with their planned 411,000 bpd output hike. The real pressure? Wildfires in Alberta, Trump-era tariff threats, a slipping U.S. dollar, and Ukraine-Russia tensions. Translation: the market is riding high on chaos, not just fundamentals.
Brent hit $65.06 (+3.65%) and WTI climbed to $63.11 (+3.82%). And with demand rising and summer in full swing, analysts say more hikes are on the horizon.
Why This Matters:
Fuel surcharges are going up. Margins are getting squeezed. And if you’re in transportation, freight, or supply chain, your ops better be bracing for volatility. This isn’t just about oil—it’s about every mile you move.
🔥 Hot Take:
The oil market is outside this summer—meanwhile, your profit margin’s stuck in the breakdown lane. If you're not pricing for fuel chaos now, you're about to get cooked.
🍑 Georgia’s Tariff Whiplash: When Policy Hits the Port
From French wine and solar panels to flooring and film gear, Georgia’s $900B economy is caught in a full-blown tariff tailspin—and logistics professionals should be watching closely.
Importers are racing to beat policy U-turns. Wine distributors like Carson Demmond are stuck watching cargo tracking like it’s Vegas, hoping their shipments clear customs before tariffs strike. Meanwhile, Savannah’s port is bustling—for now. But one unexpected move from D.C., and volumes could nosedive or spike overnight.
Georgia’s massive film industry (thanks, Marvel & Netflix) is sweating too, with Trump floating a 100% tariff on foreign-made content. The uncertainty? Brutal.
Why This Matters:
Tariffs don’t just disrupt trade—they clog supply chains, throw off freight scheduling, and leave warehouse ops scrambling. This isn’t just a Georgia problem—it’s a warning shot for anyone moving goods.
🔥 Hot Take:
Tariffs are the traffic jam of trade. One tweet, and your freight flow’s toast. No flex in your routing plan? You’re just one French champagne container away from a crisis.
Steel Shockwave: Tariffs Just Got Real
The U.S. just doubled down on steel and aluminum tariffs—50% starting June 4. That’s not a typo. Prices reacted instantly: hot rolled coil jumped 7.4%, aluminum premiums soared 54%, and even copper surged on fears more metals could be next.
Domestic producers are celebrating. Global exporters? Not so much. Asian and European steelmakers took a hit, and international supply chains are scrambling to reroute and recalibrate.
Why This Matters:
This isn't just a trade headline—it’s a freight cocktail. Construction, auto, and packaging sectors are reworking orders, slashing volume, or fast-tracking sourcing. That means lane shifts, capacity swings, warehouse flux, and cost volatility. If your network isn’t built for flex, you’re already behind.
🔥 Hot Take:
Steel tariffs don’t just bend markets—they break your freight plan.
One day you're hauling beams, the next your customer hits pause. In 2025, “normal” is just a setting on a washing machine.
The Workday Dash is an aggregation of articles regarding the transportation logistics, trucking, and supply chain industries for June 26, 2025, from iLevel Logistics Inc.