How to Choose an Importer of Record: The Checks That Separate a Real Provider From a Liability
Choosing an Importer of Record is one of the few procurement decisions where the cheapest option can quietly become the most expensive. The IOR is the legal entity that takes responsibility for your goods at the border, pays the duties, files the entry, and stands accountable to the customs authority for the accuracy of everything […]
Brazil Section 301 Tariff 2026: The 25% Duty Is Live, Where It Hits, and Where to Go Instead
The Brazil Section 301 tariff 2026 is live. Since 12:01 a.m. Eastern Time on 22 July 2026, a 25% additional ad valorem duty has applied to most products of Brazil under HTSUS heading 9903.05.01. This is no longer a proposal or a comment window: it is a duty CBP is collecting right now. So the […]
How Much Does an Importer of Record Cost? A 2026 Pricing Guide for IT Hardware and Regulated Goods
Procurement teams evaluating Importer of Record services immediately encounter a universal friction point: opaque pricing. One provider quotes a flat fee per shipment, another a percentage of shipment value, a third asks for your shipping details before saying anything at all. This is not because providers are hiding the ball. It is because importer of […]
Customs Enforcement Executive Order 2026: New IOR Bond and Vetting Rules Every US Importer Must Act On
On June 3, 2026, President Trump signed an executive order titled “Strengthening Customs Enforcement” that rewrites the rules for every Importer of Record bringing goods into the United States. This is not a tariff. It is a structural overhaul of who is allowed to act as an IOR, what financial backing they must hold, how […]
US Imports from China Down 40.7%: The IOR and Compliance Gaps Nobody Is Mapping in the Shift to Vietnam, India and Mexico
US imports from China fell 40.7% in Q1 2026. The US Census Bureau confirmed that the US imported $60.87 billion from China through March 2026, down from $102.66 billion over the same period in 2025. China has dropped from America’s largest trading partner to its fourth largest, trailing Mexico, Canada, and Taiwan. In Q1, the […]
AI and Semiconductor Demand Is Squeezing Asia Air Cargo Capacity: What High-Tech Importers Must Do Now
Air cargo capacity across Asia’s major technology export hubs has been tightening steadily throughout 2026. The cause is a structural convergence: AI infrastructure investment has created a sustained surge in high-tech freight volumes from the same corridors: Taiwan, South Korea, Malaysia, Thailand, and Singapore. Jet fuel shortages jet fuel shortages linked to Middle East instability […]
Data Centre Construction Is Driving the Tightest Flatbed Market Since 2022: What Equipment Importers Need to Know
The FreightWaves June 2026 State of the Industry Report identifies data centre construction as the strongest flatbed freight growth pocket in a market that is otherwise soft. FreightWaves’ manufacturing upcycle analysis confirmed the operational picture at that point in the cycle: flatbed spot rates approaching $4.32 per mile, flatbed tender rejections above 38%, more than […]
Ocean Freight Rates Will Stay High Until October: What IT Hardware and Equipment Importers Must Do Now
On May 30, 2026, Tommy Hsieh, General Manager of Wan Hai Lines, stood at his company’s Annual General Meeting and told shareholders what every IT hardware importer, data centre operator, and equipment buyer planning a Q3 or Q4 shipment needs to hear: “We expect freight rates to stay high into October.” This was not a […]
Why AI Data Centre Hardware Is the Fastest Growing IOR Challenge in 2026
The AI infrastructure buildout is the largest coordinated technology procurement programme in history. The global hyperscale data centre pipeline currently totals 770 future facilities, with total hyperscale capacity expected to double in just over 12 quarters. Every one of those facilities needs hardware: GPU servers, AI accelerators, high-speed networking infrastructure, storage systems, and power equipment. […]
Pay to Play Is Back in Ocean Freight: What IT Hardware and Medical Device Importers Must Know in June 2026
The phrase that defined the 2021 supply chain crisis is back. Pay to play is the freight market term for carriers openly prioritising cargo from higher-paying shippers while rolling the bookings of lower-contracted shippers to the next available sailing. It happened in 2021 during the pandemic demand surge. It happened in 2024 during the Red […]