The postal price increases in the near term have proven to be a failure. The USPS modeling predicted that revenue would increase and demand wouldn't fall. However, the data tells a different story. In 2023, revenue of “marketing mail” decreased by $920 million and volume decreased by 7.7 billion pieces. The USPS produced and relied on an economic model that proved to be wrong. Mail volume fell for “marketing mail” and the result was a loss in top-line revenue and a bottom-line loss of $1.6 billion. These losses prove that the postage increases were counterproductive and need to be rolled back. The USPS is a classic fixed cost business where incremental volume is highly profitable because the increased volume has little incremental cost. The postage increases for marketing mail clearly resulted in the huge volume declines between 2022 and 2023. The losses from volume declines were not made up by the postage increases.

Proposed forced-labor tariffs, USMCA negotiations and refund litigation create another summer of uncertainty for importers A new round of tariffs and policy moves could include proposed Section 301 tariffs tied to forced labor concerns, changes to Section 232 metal duties, uncertainty surrounding the future of USMCA negotiations, and continued litigation over tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). Marcus Eeman, director of customs at Flexport, said importers should not expect major changes when the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement reaches its scheduled July 1 review milestone. “The July 1 deal is looking unlikely, but benefits continue,” Eeman said, noting that USMCA preferences would remain in effect even if negotiators fail to reach new agreements this summer. According to Eeman, the U.S. is seeking a stronger U.S.-specific labor content requirements, particularly in automotive manufacturing, while Canada and Mexico continue pushing for relief from Section 232 tariffs on steel, aluminum and other metals.

In many ways, Father’s Day -- always a bit of a retail afterthought, compared to mom's day -- will look the same as it always does this year. The National Retail Federation reports about 77% of the consumers it surveyed intend to celebrate Dad in some way, in line with previous years. And while it expects spending to hit a record $27.9 billion, that’s likely due to inflation rather than devotion. For context, the NRF forecast $38 billion on Mother's Day this year, nearly $10 billion more than Dad's record haul. But the research did detect some shifts, with more people looking to give a gift like a wearable tech item or shaving-related products. While nearly every gift category is seeing an increase in planned spending this year, electronics and personal-care items have the largest gains.