imports of low value products

The analyst pointed to the impact of Trump's elimination of the de minimis exemption, a trade loophole that allowed less valuable packages to be imported into the US duty-free. The move has led to a plunge in postal traffic to the US.

Hoexter noted that UPS and FedEx, as airfreight carriers, accounted for "a sizable portion" of the 4 million daily packages imported to the US under the de minimis exemption.

"The removal of the de minimis exemption is expected to result in a muted air peak season in '25 as the tight peak markets in '23/'24 were driven by air demand from Chinese e-commerce players using the de minimis loop-hole," he wrote.

Just another example of problems with Trump tariffs