Trendwatch: U.S. and India reach deal to cut tariffs; Global factory activity improves on growing demand; Carriers say military to secure Red Sea voyages

U.S. and India reach deal to cut tariffs

The United States and India have reportedly reached a trade deal that would slash tariffs on a number of goods traded between the two countries. 

According to The New York Times, both U.S. President Donald Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi acknowledged the deal on social media, with the U.S. agreeing to cut its existing tariffs against India from 25% to 18%, in exchange for India fully eliminating its own tariffs against the U.S., and ending its purchasing of Russian oil.

Global factory activity improves on growing demand

Global factory activity improved last month, with a better performance by key Asian exporters and a return to manufacturing expansion in the euro zone, private surveys showed on Monday, suggesting the hit from higher U.S. tariffs may have run its course for now.

The HCOB Eurozone Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI), compiled by S&P Global, rose to 49.5 in January from December's nine-month low of 48.8, with a return to output growth after a contraction the month before.

Carriers say military to secure Red Sea voyages

Military forces will assist one of the largest container shipping alliances in its return to a violence-plagued Middle East trade route.

A.P. Moller-Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd said Tuesday that they are routing one of their shared services through the Red Sea and the Suez Canal. All transits will be secured by naval assistance, the companies said in an announcement. They did not offer further details, and FreightWaves has reached out for comment.

Strait of Hormuz crisis averted for now

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards’ plan to hold live-fire exercises in the Strait of Hormuz were called off at the weekend. They had been widely reported by international media outlets after the country’s state-run Press TV announced plans to carry out the exercises on the first two days of February on Thursday. However, an Iranian official subsequently told Reuters that there were no such plans and that media reports to the contrary were wrong.

Geopolitics redraws global air cargo routes, says IATA chief

Geopolitical change reshaped global air cargo flows more clearly than the passenger part of the airline business in 2025, said Willie Walsh, Director General of the International Air Transport Association, making freight a direct reflection of how global trade is being reorganised.

Speaking at the Changi Aviation Summit, Walsh said the impact of geopolitical change was “much more obvious on the air cargo side of the business”. He pointed out that while global air cargo volumes grew overall by around 3.4 per cent in 2025, the real story lay in how cargo moved differently across regions as trade patterns shifted.

Port of Baltimore Celebrates Recovery of its Container Business

The Port of Baltimore is witnessing a remarkable recovery after the devastating effects of the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse in March 2024, with container throughput returning to 2023 levels.

Having witnessed its containerized business take a 41 percent nosedive in 2024 to roughly 740,000 TEU due to the Francis Scott Key Bridge disaster, Baltimore is seeing a recovery. Its piers handled 1.1 million TEU in 2025. The throughput exceeded the 2023 record by more than 5,000 TEU and came in a year that was characterized by uncertainty and volatility due to tariffs.

ANA revenues decline while tariffs put pressure on NCA volumes

All Nippon Airways (ANA) saw international cargo revenues decline despite a volume increase over the first nine months of the year, while Nippon Cargo Airlines saw volumes affected by US tariffs.

ANA saw international cargo revenues decline 3.4% year on year to Y138.4bn during the first nine months of the financial year (running 1 April to 31 December) but international cargo tonnage increased 3.5% to 551,000 tonnes. 

Dual-fuel container ship and vehicle carrier fleet reaches 400 ships on the water

The World Shipping Council (WSC) has just published its latest update to the WSC Dual-Fuel Fleet Dashboard, tracking the global liner shipping industry’s investment in new ships capable of running on renewable and lower-emission fuels, and showing how the fleet is preparing for the energy transition.

As of December 2025, the number of dual-fuel container ships and vehicle carriers on the water has reached 400, up from 218 in 2024.

The number of dual-fuel ships on order has also continued to grow, reaching 726 vessels, despite a flurry of deliveries shifting from the orderbook onto the water. Across the container ship and vehicle carrier orderbook, 74% of vessels on order are dual-fuel.