Drayage Costs Set to Ripple Downstream as GEODIS, Custom Goods Respond to Tariff Pressures

Cost pressures that have been building at U.S. ports and rail ramps for months are now poised to push further downstream, and freight market analysts, major 3PLs, and shippers are racing to respond before the next billing cycle.

June freight index puts drayage at the center of the cost alarm

ITS Logistics published its June Port/Rail Ramp Freight Index on June 11, warning that drayage and intermodal markets are bracing for downstream price surges. The index, authored by Taralyn Wallace, identifies the first-mile trucking segment, short-haul moves connecting ports and rail ramps to warehouses and distribution centers, as the primary transmission point for rate increases that then ripple through subsequent supply chain legs.

While ITS Logistics did not disclose specific rate figures in the published summary, the directional warning is consistent with a series of escalating cost alerts the firm has issued throughout 2025, according to MarketScale. When port-level increases take hold, the downstream pricing effect typically reaches truckload and final-mile segments within one to two billing cycles.

Fuel shock and broker ruling pile onto an already strained market

The June index does not emerge in isolation. ITS Logistics' May Port/Rail Ramp Freight Index flagged a Strait of Hormuz closure as sending a fuel shock through supply chains, a development with direct and immediate bearing on diesel-dependent drayage operations, according to MarketScale's reporting on the firm's research.

The firm's May supply chain report described current conditions as the most expensive freight market in years, citing a convergence of a broker liability ruling and a wave of inventory replenishment demand arriving simultaneously. Its Q1 Distribution and Fulfillment Index separately examined how lean inventory strategies are being stress-tested by the prevailing rate environment, according to MarketScale.

Carrier capacity constraints amplify rate sensitivity

On the supply side, ITS Logistics has flagged structural shifts that reduce the market's ability to absorb demand spikes. A recent firm blog post examined how regulatory compliance requirements and demographic changes in the driver workforce are reshaping available freight capacity, according to MarketScale, a dynamic that historically amplifies rate increases when import volumes surge.

The combination of constrained supply and multiple simultaneous demand catalysts creates a market environment where rate relief is unlikely to arrive quickly, even if individual cost drivers ease.

Tariff volatility adds a second front for supply chain managers

Freight cost pressure is compounding a separate and ongoing challenge: tariff-driven trade route disruption. Rob Walpole, CEO of Custom Goods, and Mike Jacob, President of PMSA, noted in a conversation published by Custom Goods that shifting trade policies are forcing businesses to reevaluate established practices, adjust costs, and seek new ways to streamline cross-border operations.

The Custom Goods analysis argues that 3PLs able to adapt quickly and implement scalable solutions in response to shifting tariffs and supply chain disruptions are providing an increasingly critical service for importers seeking business continuity in a volatile market.

GEODIS repositions customs tools as a direct tariff response

GEODIS has moved its customs advisory capabilities to the front of its client-facing operations in response to the current tariff environment. The firm is directing clients toward bonded warehouses, foreign-trade zones, and on-demand storage solutions as mechanisms for managing import cost exposure, according to the company's dedicated U.S. tariff advisory page.

GEODIS's IRIS platform, its online track-and-trace tool for international freight management, is being positioned as a real-time visibility layer for importers managing shipments through an unpredictable trade policy environment. The firm has also made its customs expert team available for supply chain reassessments from a regulatory and cost-optimization perspective, according to GEODIS.

Fraud risk rises alongside market stress

In a separate development, ITS Logistics was named a 2026 Fraud Fighters Award winner by FreightWaves for its logistics operations fraud prevention work, according to MarketScale. Carrier fraud and double-brokering have been recurring concerns for shippers and 3PLs during periods of market volatility, when capacity shortfalls create openings for bad actors, making fraud-mitigation an increasingly valued operational differentiator.

What supply chain managers should do now

Taken together, the ITS Logistics June index and the broader advisory posture of firms like GEODIS and Custom Goods describe a freight environment in which multiple cost drivers, fuel, tariffs, regulatory compliance burdens, and inventory demand cycles, are active at the same time. For supply chain managers relying on drayage to clear port congestion or intermodal ramps, the convergence of these pressures argues for revisiting rate negotiations and carrier commitments ahead of the next pricing cycle rather than waiting for conditions to stabilize.