Tariffs impact: Trucking rush inside U.S., huge drop in Chinese freight orders, signal trouble for economy

A surge in freight trucking activity, from the Texas-Mexico border to the warehouses and distribution centers of major U.S. retailers, shows the extent to which U.S. companies have rushed to move more imports into the country ahead of President Donald Trump's so-called "Liberation Day," with an announcement expected Wednesday afternoon detailing wide-ranging tariffs on trading partners that will take effect "immediately," according to the White House.

But all of that frontloading of imports into the U.S. economy also corresponds to a more concerning trend in the trade data that is now taking shape: a steep decline in new freight order activity in every region across the U.S., as uncertainty about consumer demand spreads.

Data shared with CNBC by supply chain research firm Motive shows a significant surge in trucking activity at the Port of Laredo, the busiest land port in the U.S., with a 48.5% year-over-year increase that hit peak levels as of ...
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