Rates, tariffs, ZIM and what happens next, with Hapag-Lloyd and US retailers

US container imports are heading for a record month, and then four months of decline. Mike King puts that to both sides of the transpacific: Torsten Hartmann, who runs the trade for Hapag-Lloyd, and Jon Gold of the National Retail Federation, representing America's retailers.

They discuss where contract rates landed, why Hapag-Lloyd's long term rates are barely breaking even, what the ZIM deal would mean for the transpacific, and what happens to importers as one tariff expires and several more line up behind it.

Produced with the support of Dimerco Express Group. https://dimerco.com/

00:00 Welcome
02:00 2026 in three words
03:15 Hormuz and uncertainty
05:50 Spot rates and contracts
08:55 Hapag-Lloyd's profit upgrade
10:50 Surcharges and the FMC
13:40 Capacity and blank sailings
17:15 Hapag-Lloyd's transpacific outlier
18:58 The ZIM deal
20:20 Consolidation and the regulator
21:15 A record month, then the drop
23:10 Imports against the consumer
24:45 The tariff queue
27:45 Forced labour tariffs
30:10 Tariff refunds
31:55 Sourcing and investment
33:00 De minimis and e-commerce
36:40 The shift to Southeast Asia
37:30 Planning around policy
38:40 As good as it gets?
39:55 One ask each
42:30 Terminal handling charges