The Ledger
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Flexport hired roughly 900 U.S. software engineers over 12 months
“I think we added 900 software engineers in 12, in like 12 months. Oh wow. And turned out, they're all in the U.S. Or almost all in the U.S., Seattle mostly. It was like very expensive people.”
Flexport is the only top-100 freight forwarder founded after the web browser
“We're the only one founded, only one in the top hundred in the world founded after the web browser was invented.”
China shipping volumes plunged 60% before surging upon U.S. tariff relief
“Volumes from China collapsed, 60% down when, on April ninth, the day the duties hit, stayed down for five weeks, and then as soon as he relaxed, as soon as they, the Trump administration relaxed the duties on China to 30% instead of one 45, it surged to 80% ab…”
Flexport reached profitability in 2022 as revenue peaked at $3.8 billion
“Like, we were, we turned profitable in twenty-twenty-two. Our revenue peaked at 3.8 billion because the price of freight was so high.”
Flexport flew 500 million PPE items on 88 passenger planes during COVID
“So we got all of this, we got 80, we did 88, I think it was 8788 passenger planes full of Masks in the overhead compartments in every seat, obviously the belly, and we just, we flew five hundred million masks and other object, other PPE items in for US Hospita…”
Petersen predicts U.S. crackdown on foreign shell companies importing goods directly
“I think they're going to crack down on that. I think they're going to shut down that.”
U.S. Department of Justice ranks customs fraud as its second white-collar priority
“Guarantee you, like, you are reliable for that. Like, as a warning, look at the camera. UF. CBP DOJ has announced as their number two priority in white collar crime division of the Department of Justice is customs fraud. Healthcare fraud is number one, and the…”
Over $7 billion in eligible U.S. customs duty drawbacks goes unclaimed annually
“And so every year in the United States, seven billion goes unclaimed. And that was pre these new tariffs. So it's presumably much higher.”
Petersen: Ocean shipping manifests are public records in nearly 20 countries
“Shipping manifests for ocean freighter public record, and it has a lot of really interesting data on it. The public record in the US, we've since learned in like over almost 20 countries that you can get the shipping manifest data.”
China-to-US ocean container shipping costs dropped to $600 in 2016
“You could ship a container from China to the U.S. For, our cost was like 600 dollars. Normal long run average about 2000. Today, I didn't check the price this morning, but it's probably four or 5000 right now. And the peak COVID was, you know, famously got to …”
Half of global air freight flies in the bellies of passenger planes
“About 50% of the world's air freight travel, we do air freight too, not ocean freight and about 50% of the world's air freight flies in the belly of passenger planes.”