In a distressing turn for many customers, a surge of delays caused by recent changes in customs regulations has resulted in significant disruptions within the shipping industry in the United States. The situation has left numerous individuals and businesses confronting the haunting possibility that cherished items are lost or destroyed.
Graduate student Nicole Lobo moved back to the US from the UK in late August, shipping ten boxes of belongings expected to arrive within days. However, six weeks later, her shipment is still missing, and she worries it may be condemned by UPS as the company grapples with the influx of packages facing new import rules.
It's been horrific, says Lobo, who received a notification indicating her boxes were at risk of disposal, prompting frantic phone calls and emails to save her possessions. The disruption follows new customs rules imposed by the Trump administration, which commenced in late August, restricting the entry of parcels valued under $800 without inspection and corresponding tariffs, thus adding complexity to clearance processes.
This change has subjected an estimated four million packages daily to overly burdensome documentation requirements, leading to longer processing times and unanticipated costs across the logistics sector.
Janani Mohan, a 29-year-old engineer from Michigan, tells a similarly heartbreaking story. After hours spent on hold and countless emails regarding a box sent by her parents in India, she discovered it was scheduled for disposal, holding her wedding dress—an heirloom sari—and precious wedding photos. I literally cried to them on the phone, says Mohan, expressing her fear of losing items intimately connected to her family's history.
The saga extends beyond individual consumers. Mizuba Tea Co, a business importing matcha from Japan, finds itself with five shipments totaling over $100,000 stuck in processing limbo. Co-founder Lauren Purvis fears inventory depletion if delays persist. It's clear our importing systems were unprepared for the volume and paperwork required, she states.
Under the new regulations, importers face a tight window of ten days to provide requisite documentation, pay tariffs, and facilitate package delivery. Unfortunately, UPS and FedEx report that many packages now struggle to meet the clearing criteria due to missing information regarding product origins and material content.
The ongoing chaos has also significantly impacted businesses like Swedish Candy Land, which incurred roughly $50,000 in refunds for lost shipments during the initial weeks of September. Co-founder Tobias Johansson explains the transition to FedEx resulted in smoother shipping experiences, but the initial challenges left financial scars.
Experts like Bernie Hart from Flexport highlight that these shipping issues are pervasive, indicating impending challenges as trade volumes dip due to businesses rushing goods ahead of the new tariff regulations. The operational shifts and uncertainties provoke worries that the shipping crisis may deepen before resolution.
