You’ve Got Yourself a Deal

In this week’s Roar: More new trade agreements, Suez Canal traffic recovering, oil prices down, reshoring gaining momentum, and autonomous supply chains are the future.

The arduous work of trade negotiations continues for the Trump administration. The United States has reached new framework trade agreements with Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Argentina, Ecuador, El Salvador, and Guatemala. They will lower tariffs on Swiss imports from 39% to 15% and remove reciprocal tariffs for some goods from Argentina and the four Central and South American countries. The hope is to boost trade, ease regulatory barriers, and improve access to pharmaceuticals, machinery, vehicles, and agricultural products. The agreements are similar to other recently struck deals by including investment commitments and enhanced cooperation on other import/ export rules and standards.

It’s hard to overstate the importance of the Houthis’ ceasefire holding, so it’s good news that Suez Canal shipping traffic is showing early signs of recovery, with weekly transits rising from 229 earlier in 2025 to 269 in November. But it’s still far below pre-crisis levels of nearly 500 weekly crossings. The Suez Canal Authority is urging global carriers to resume transits and plans meetings with major operators. Global supply chains will welcome reliable passage through the area, which should lead to lower operating costs and speed up transit times for carriers.

Oil prices recently dipped as traders reacted to another rise in U.S. stockpiles and fresh worries about oversupply. WTI slipped to $64.71 per barrel, and according to a new report from the American Petroleum Institute, U.S. crude stocks rose by 4.4 million barrels as global supply continues to outpace demand. That has analysts predicting a surplus and further price pressure into 2026. Globally, on average, bunker prices are down about 17% YoY.

Trade disruptions and geopolitics have companies looking for ways to build greater supply chain resilience. As a result, the push to reshore U.S. manufacturing seems to be gaining momentum. However, analysts say companies are grappling with “tariff fog,” making it tough to plan. Many are underestimating the challenge, maybe not realizing that many domestic manufacturing skills and networks have disappeared after years of offshoring. For now, most reshoring is limited to small-scale operations, with full-scale results likely years away.

Gartner is predicting that fully autonomous supply chains are approaching fast, with CEOs believing most activities can become automated. One analyst outlines three phases in the timeline: building self-governing operations, automating digital product service and delivery, and rethinking operating models. Autonomous systems will handle decision-making and execution at scale, reducing repetitive tasks for humans and enabling 24/7 optimization.

For the rest of the week’s top shipping news, check out the article highlights below.