In this month’s episode of Unboxing the Trends, Tim Ranagan and Lori Boyer dive into the latest shifts in the shipping landscape—no tariff talk this time. From the rise of regional carriers to DHL’s B2C restrictions and changes at the USPS, it’s a carrier-heavy episode packed with actionable insights. Lori also previews her upcoming appearance at the National Postal Forum and speculates on the future of USPS leadership.

Alternative carriers have stepped up in a major way, delivering 44% more packages in 2024 than the previous year. Much of that volume shifted away from FedEx and UPS, with major retailers like Amazon and Walmart expanding their own delivery networks.

Lori emphasizes the importance of carrier diversification, saying, “We’re no longer in that era of just sticking with the big dogs.”

If you’ve been relying on a favorite carrier, it may be time to rethink your strategy—and even renegotiate your contracts.

DHL has temporarily paused cross-border B2C shipments over $800, citing customs-related complications. This change doesn’t impact B2B shipments, but small businesses shipping high-value items to customers directly could be caught off guard.

Lori urges businesses to stay proactive by diversifying cross-border options and staying connected with customs advisors and logistics consultants to avoid surprises.

With Postmaster General Louis DeJoy stepping down, the logistics world is waiting to see who will lead USPS next. Lori floats the idea of a possible announcement at the upcoming National Postal Forum.

Meanwhile, USPS has adjusted service standards: Rural Ground Advantage and First-Class Mail may now see an extra day in transit. If you serve rural customers, it’s worth reviewing your delivery timelines to ensure you’re still hitting SLAs.

• Connect with Lori on LinkedIn
• Connect with Tim on LinkedIn
• Visit EasyPost’s website

In this episode of Unboxing Logistics, Lori Boyer sits down with Brandan Gale, CEO of Retail Shipping Associates (RSA) and Package Hub Business Centers. With decades of experience and 38 stores under his belt, Brandon shares how RSA helps small businesses succeed through training, resources, and a powerful sense of community. His big takeaway? Small retailers don’t have to go it alone!

Brandon’s success story started with a single store and grew into a network of nearly 40 locations—all because he listened closely to his customers and responded to their evolving needs. He shares how this same mindset is essential for retail store owners today.

“The most successful people love their customers and want to know everything they can know about them to fill their needs,” he says. Knowing their needs helps because, as he says, “[O]ne new idea, one new product, one new service, a different way to approach marketing, can change the entire trajectory of how you're making money.”

Being attuned to their community helps businesses stay both relevant and profitable.

RSA provides members with tools most independent operators wouldn’t be able to access on their own: certification training, in-person bootcamps, regulatory updates, business insurance programs, website templates, webinars, and exclusive discounts through vetted supplier partnerships.

“I’m a giant fan of overwhelming my customers with value,” Gale says. And the resources RSA provides are designed to take pressure off of owners wearing too many hats and help them shift from working in their business to working on it.

While RSA offers plenty of formal training, Gale emphasizes that peer-to-peer learning is just as powerful. Events like the RS Expo and regional bootcamps give store owners the chance to connect, share strategies, and learn from one another.

He loves talking to conference attendees about their experience at the conference. “They walk away with a renewed enthusiasm for this business because they talk to people that have figured it out,” Gale reports. Many longtime operators leave their first RSA event wondering how much more successful they could have been if they’d joined sooner.

• Connect with Brandon Gale on LinkedIn.
• Visit the Retail Shipping Associates website.
• Visit the Package Hub Business Centers website.

You probably know Maersk as a container shipping company, but the end-to-end logistics provider now has a new offering for parcel shipping: Maersk Parcel.

According to John Kruzan, this regional service is made up of a “pickup and delivery network that can move packages … at a very competitive rate, at a very competitive time in transit.”

Listen to learn what makes Maersk Parcel great for small businesses and how to get started.

John starts by describing the current state of the parcel shipping industry, particularly when it comes to large carriers. Simply put, “ We've got fees going up, but we've also got services going down.”

Recognizing that rising costs and declining service quality aren’t a good combination, Maersk had an idea: “ We could take a look at the market and … change it and elevate it a little bit with a new product that does new things.”

Maersk Parcel is “specifically built for the small and mid-size business market,” John explains, adding that the service addresses the pain points of mom-and-pop shops, brick-and-mortar retail locations, and smaller ecommerce brands.

He mentions a few things these small businesses should keep in mind:

• Maersk Parcel focuses on shipping to zones 1-5
• It covers the top 30 metropolitan statistical areas (urban areas) in the U.S.

The main reason to add Maersk Parcel to your carrier mix? Maersk is focused on providing a top-notch delivery experience. John notes that “relationships are the lifeblood of a small merchant,” and shipping plays a big role in developing good relationships.

John also points out some specific benefits of Maersk Parcel: competitive rates (including a sub-pound rate), fast delivery times (three days in transit), and a super simple claims process backed by Maersk customer service.

Interested in shipping with Maersk Parcel? Their partnership with EasyPost makes it easy! As John puts it, “It's basically turning on a switch. There is no integration, there is no waiting for contracts to be signed.”

If you’re not already an EasyPost customer, sign up at https://app.easypost.com/signup—it’s free for small shippers. Once you’ve created an account, you’ll be able to access a library of over 100 carriers, including Maersk Parcel.

• Connect with John on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnkruzan/
• Visit Maersk’s website: https://www.maersk.com/

Along with recent changes to U.S. tariffs, there’s been talk about changes to the de minimis exemption that allows tax-free imports of goods worth up to $800.

How does de minimis work, and what will it mean for businesses if the rule is changed? Kate Muth, executive director of the International Mailers Advisory Group (IMAG), weighs in.

Kate explains, “De minimis is the value under which goods can come into the U.S. free of duties and without having to [go] through the formal entry process.”

The de minimis threshold for U.S. imports is higher than many other countries: $800.

While people often talk about the “de minimis loophole,” Kate clarifies that de minimis isn’t a loophole. “It's actually a core U.S. trade policy. … It's based on sound economic underpinnings that goods can be shipped quickly and affordably. You know, they can have a streamlined process for entry. And that benefits U.S. businesses.”

When the Trump administration announced tariffs against Mexico, China, and Canada, they also announced that the de minimis exemption was going away. But as Kate explains, the abrupt change caused a lot of issues.

“[It happened] way too suddenly. It overwhelmed CBP. … The Postal Service briefly said [they weren’t] going to take anything from China or Hong Kong, because [they don’t] have a mechanism to collect duties and taxes.”

The result?

“The president came out with an updated executive order and said, we will reinstate de minimis exemption until an effective mechanism for collecting the duties and taxes can be in place. … So we're still in that period [where] de minimis is allowed.”

While larger organizations will be able to adjust to de minimis changes and new tariffs, small businesses are likely to struggle.

As Kate notes, “If you're a big retailer like Walmart, you have the leverage to lean on your suppliers to demand that they eat some of that cost of the tariff. But that just means that the supplier is going to seek [to recover] that cost … somewhere else. And that's usually the small and mid-sized business.”

• Connect with Kate on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kate-muth-76b5a7165/
• Visit IMAG’s website: https://www.internationalmailers.net/
• Comment on the proposed rule “Trade and National Security Actions and Low-Value Shipments” (deadline March 24): https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/01/21/2025-01074/trade-and-national-security-actions-and-low-value-shipments
• View the proposed rule “Entry of Low-Value Shipments”: https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/01/14/2025-00551/entry-of-low-value-shipments

Last month, Lori and Tim kicked off the Unboxing the Trends series, which features short monthly episodes covering the latest shipping and logistics happenings. In this episode, they discuss two major developments in February: new tariffs against key U.S. trading partners and the resignation of USPS’s postmaster general.

After a month-long pause, new tariffs against Canada, Mexico, and China went into effect this week. But the question remains: Will the tariffs stick?

Based on her research, Lori doesn’t think so. She believes there’s a 60% to 70% chance that the tariffs will eventually be paused again or adjusted.

“Most experts believe that these are mostly bargaining techniques. … I think that across the board, most of them are eventually going to ease up. That being said … maybe they won't. So flexibility, agility, that's the name of the game.”

This is big news if you ship with USPS—Postmaster General DeJoy recently announced that he’s stepping down. Unfortunately, we don’t yet know who will replace him or how the change will affect the Postal Service.

Lori shares a few things she’s wondering about: “[The] Ten-Year [Plan]—is that still going to be going? What's going to happen with consolidation? … [DeJoy] came from a logistics background; will we have another commerce, logistics background person? Will we go more of a traditional route? … Are we going to get more adjustments to the service levels and plans that are out there?”

Hopefully, all of our questions about tariffs and the new postmaster general are answered soon; for now, as Tim puts it, the only thing we can do is wait and see.

“I think the theme of this episode is let's wait and see. That's true of the tariffs. That's true of the postmaster general news. Let's just wait and see how the dust settles, so to speak.”

• Connect with Lori on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/loribboyer/
• Connect with Tim on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tim-ranagan-mba-2717bb125/
• Visit EasyPost’s website: https://www.easypost.com/

Just a few weeks ago, EasyPost launched a new product: Luma, an AI tool that helps businesses understand their current shipping performance and make smarter (and more cost-effective) decisions.

Joe Dieter, head of product marketing at EasyPost, explains how Luma works and what sets it apart from other AI shipping technologies.

What exactly is Luma? Joe starts with a simple description: “It's the ultimate AI advisor at your fingertips that has been trained on billions of historical shipments.”

He goes on to explain, “Your AI is as good as the data that fed it. When you have the data of billions of past historical shipments, that means you have a good AI. A lot of the [other] AI shipping tools out there haven't processed billions of shipments.”

Luma offers three main benefits for shippers:

1. Insights into today. “Luma will give you actionable insights on how you're shipping,” says Joe. It answers questions like “What is the cost per package?” “What is the average time in transit?” and “Why are shipments delayed?”
2. Recommendations for tomorrow. “The second thing Luma does is give you a better version of shipping tomorrow by making really specific recommendations.”
3. Automatic shipping optimization. Finally, “The third thing Luma does is it takes those recommendations … and automatically purchases shipping labels.”

Anybody using the EasyPost API suite can use Luma, but Joe notes that other EasyPost solutions might be compatible with Luma in the future.

“EasyPost offers more than … our APIs. We offer enterprise-grade products … we have SMB products. … And Luma will be accessible through some of those other products over time.”

• Connect with Joe on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joe-dieter/
• Learn more about Luma: https://www.easypost.com/luma

With the world of shipping and logistics constantly changing, it can be hard to keep track of every trend. In this episode, Nate Skiver, founder of LPF Spend Management, catches listeners up on the world of parcel shipping in 2025—what’s changing, what will likely stay the same, and what you can do to optimize your parcel management strategy.

Right off the bat, Nate points out a major trend that businesses should be aware of: changes to carrier pricing structures. He explains, “FedEx and UPS continue to make pricing more complex. … That continues to be something that shippers have to really stay on top of.”

It’s a similar story with USPS. According to Nate, the Postal Service’s network changes have “created some uncertainty with pricing, particularly [for] lightweight packages.”

When choosing carriers, Nate recommends determining your requirements for cost, transit time, and delivery reliability. After analyzing how well your current carriers are meeting those targets, “See where the gaps are. … Look for opportunities to find the right partner or partners to help close those gaps.”

He also notes, “To get the best pricing that your volume commands, [negotiations] need to happen early in the year.”

Nate’s final advice is simple: “Prioritize parcel.”

“Parcel gets the short end of the stick within supply chain. Even though it ends up being … a very, very large expense budget line item, it just doesn't get the priority, perhaps—and it should. … Invest in people and partners.”

• Connect with Nate on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/levelplayingfield/
• Visit the LPF Spend Management website: https://www.lpfspendmanagement.com/

Exciting news! In our new Unboxing Logistics segment, Unboxing the Trends, the EasyPost team will be doing a monthly recap of the most impactful shipping and logistics trends in 2025.

During this episode, Lori Boyer and Tim Ranagan discuss January’s port strike resolution, the devastating California wildfires, and President Trump’s brand-new tariffs.

What do these events mean for your business? Listen to find out!

While port strikes were resolved in January, they brought up an important question for businesses and employees alike: how far should we take automation?

As Lori points out, this was a primary concern for port workers. “One of the aspects that the laborers were looking for was reassurance that their jobs were not going to be replaced by automation.”

While this concern is valid, it’s clear that technological progress isn’t going to halt anytime soon, and Tim recommends that business owners find a balance. “Adopt the technology with your people in mind. … That keeps things moving forward from a relationship standpoint.”

Despite a few logistics hiccups, the California wildfires didn’t affect shipping as much as some people feared. Still, as Lori and Tim point out, there’s an important lesson to be learned about responding to natural disasters.

Lori puts it simply: “Natural disasters are here and accelerating.” Tim adds, “This is a good opportunity for business owners out there to look at their preparedness. Do they have any contingency plans for their supply chain in the event of a natural disaster?”

When it comes to the new tariffs, we’re still in wait-and-see mode. But while you’re waiting, you can prepare for different possible outcomes. Lori recommends that business owners ask themselves “If these tariffs stick around for a while, what will that mean for me?”

One potential impact to be ready for? Higher costs. And if costs do rise, you’ll need a plan of action. “As we have to pass price increases on to our consumers, we're going to have to figure out how to balance that. How much of the burden do you take on? How much of the burden do you pass on?”

• Connect with Lori on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/loribboyer/
• Connect with Tim on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tim-ranagan-mba-2717bb125/
• Visit EasyPost’s website: https://www.easypost.com/