Importers take note: The Department of Justice is making the detection of, and punishment for, trade and customs fraud a top enforcement priority.

Even traditional automation of assigning HS codes, in the form of digitally stored and searchable codes, is of limited utility. Enter artificial intelligence.

Goldman-Sachs predicts that AI will drive a 160% increase in data center power demand by 2030, and require an estimated $720 billion in upgrades to global power grids to account for that growth.

"Shifting timelines means shifting volume," Port of LA executive director Gene Seroka said, predicting that lower inventories and higher prices are likely to become the norm headed into the holiday shopping season.

Supply chains consist of imperfect humans struggling to make perfect decisions. In the end, though, it all comes down to a game of numbers.

The U.S. administration has offered multiple, often conflicting, explanations for reversing decades of largely free-trade policies by introducing higher tariffs. But boosting revenues is a compelling benefit.

Already, crops are rotting in the fields and warehouse managers are struggling to find workers. How will the push for goods made in America play out?

A port operating at 90% of capacity generates a lot of inefficiencies, with increased dwell times that can quickly create delays further down the supply chain. 

Demand-sensing is important, and is much improved by AI. But pricing and inventory modeling are important too.

High tariffs won’t guarantee a return of manufacturing to the U.S. — not until industry addresses the structural barriers that keep the country from competing with cheaper sources of production.