Author: Kartik Dubey
Our May 2025 Market Research Report offers a deep dive into the pricing shifts, freight rate volatility, and sourcing risks shaping today’s supply chain landscape. View our May Market Research Report Here
Trade Tensions, Tariffs & Supply Chain Disruptions
As of mid-2025, the global metals and freight landscape is entering a turbulent phase. Businesses are facing heightened volatility in steel pricing, freight lanes, currency markets, and global trade relations.
Steel prices in North America have declined due to oversupply from newly added domestic capacity and reduced downstream demand. At the same time, the reintroduction of Section 232 tariffs—a 50% duty on steel imports—has reintroduced cost volatility and planning challenges for procurement leaders. The average supplier price increase has hiked up to 35% due to the existing tariffs levied on the first half of the year, and in anticipation of potential increase coming August 1st.
Freight markets are equally volatile. Red Sea rerouting, elevated fuel costs, and equipment shortages continue to strain global logistics. Inland bottlenecks are developing at East Coast ports and Midwest hubs. Spot rates surged in late May but plunged by mid-June as demand waned, leaving contract shippers with rolled containers. Another swing may come in August.
Understanding the Tariff Agenda
Recent developments in U.S. trade policy include:
Deadline Extended to August 1: The Reciprocal Tariff implementation window has been extended, with the U.S. Treasury signaling this is the final grace period before “boomerang-back” tariffs take effect.
Tariff Notices Sent to 20 Countries: Nations including Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, and Canada are facing potential duties between 20% and 50%, impacting manufacturers sourcing from these regions.
50% Tariff on Copper Imports: This has driven U.S. copper prices to $5.68/lb, affecting cost structures in electronics, automotive, and energy sectors.
New 50% Tariffs on Brazilian Goods: Targeting items like coffee, these have sparked political tension and currency devaluation in Brazil.
Pharmaceutical Tariffs Up to 200%: These proposed measures could affect pricing and inventories in the healthcare and biotech sectors.
Markets have reacted accordingly. The Dow dropped 600 points and volatility in commodities has increased. For supply chain leaders, this creates major challenges in budgeting, sourcing, and forecasting.
Why Tariffs? A Strategic Tool for Reshoring
While tariffs can raise short-term costs, they are often intended to drive long-term national objectives. In this case, one central goal is to encourage reshoring: rebuilding the U.S. manufacturing base.
Why Reshoring Matters
Economic & National Security: Domestic manufacturing reduces reliance on foreign supply chains for semiconductors, critical minerals, and pharmaceuticals.
Job Creation & Innovation: Shifting production closer to R&D enables more agile product development and growth in skilled sectors like robotics and AI.
Supply Chain Resilience: Localized supply chains are more responsive to global shocks.
The Reshoring Surge: Investments Taking Shape
The administration’s push to revitalize manufacturing has led to substantial foreign and private sector commitments in high-tech, defense, and green sectors.
Assessing the Probability of Successful Reshoring by Sector
As reshoring efforts accelerate across the U.S., not all industries face the same path to success. Each sector carries different levels of feasibility, investment needs, and infrastructure readiness. This overview breaks down the key factors influencing reshoring potential across various industries.
- Strong momentum in semiconductors due to the CHIPS Act and national security priorities
- Growth in green energy manufacturing driven by the Inflation Reduction Act and the energy transition
- Pharmaceuticals and biotech boosted by COVID-19 lessons and a focus on healthcare sovereignty
- Defense and high-tech reshoring remain a long-term strategic priority with bipartisan support
- Automotive and electronics may see partial reshoring, but complex global supply chains remain a challenge
- Apparel and consumer goods face low reshoring probability due to cost, labor, and scale disadvantages
- Small-scale manufacturing niches may see gains, but mass reshoring in labor-intensive sectors is unlikely
Gexpro Services: How We’re Staying One Step Ahead
To mitigate volatility and stay competitive, Gexpro Services has launched a range of strategic initiatives:
Metals Market Turbulence: Supply Chain Challenges & Our Response – Summer 2025
The global metals and freight landscape is becoming increasingly complex. Supplies of raw materials like coking coal, nickel, and manganese are tightening due to production cuts and geopolitical instability. As of June 2025, steel prices are softening across key regions, but rising trade tensions—such as U.S. tariffs on steel, aluminum, and copper surging to 50%—are driving up sourcing costs and straining global trade. Meanwhile, logistics disruptions like port congestion, Red Sea rerouting, and inland transport delays continue to stress already fragile supply chains. In this volatile environment, businesses must adapt quickly—and we’re no exception.
Freight Market Volatility: How We’re Staying Ahead
Mid‑2025 freight dynamics are proving volatile—and we understand our response needs to be just as agile.
- Supply Surge & Spot Rate Whiplash: Late May saw a transpacific spot rate spike as carriers blanked sailings and shippers rushed in front of tariff deadlines. But by mid‑June, oversupply hit—and prices plunged. Contract shippers learned the hard way: “paper rates” don’t guarantee space. Some containers were rolled when premium cargo emerged.
- What’s Next: Demand is winding down post‑tariff frenzy but grill the horizon—August may bring another round of blank sailings. Inland bottlenecks are already building at East Coast ports and Midwest hubs. And tariff decision coming in weeks could trigger another market swing.
While policy clarity is lacking, we’re not waiting on decisions to act. Our team is already optimizing procurement strategies and diversifying sources to reduce cross-border risk.
Author: Kartik Dubey
Kartik D. is a seasoned supply chain analytics leader with over 10 years of experience driving data-driven transformation in global organizations. He specializes in predictive analytics, market research on the metals industry, and global supply chain economics. Kartik has led initiatives delivering multimillion-dollar business impact across procurement, demand planning, and logistics. Passionate about enabling sustainable, scalable supply chain solutions through advanced analytics and cross-functional collaboration, he holds an MBA in Business Analytics from the University of Connecticut and is a Lean Six Sigma Green Belt certified professional.
