Rerouting activity across international shipments climbed more than 2,400% from early 2025 through December, as brands adjusted to rising costs, shifting carrier capacity, and changing customs requirements in real time, according to ePost Global’s annual Shipping Intelligence Report.
Rerouted parcels averaged 327 per month from January through July. In August, that number rose sharply to 3,767 shipments, as these combined pressures – including tariff shifts, stricter customs enforcement, the Canada Union Postal Workers (CUPW) and Canada Post labor situation, and changes tied to de minimis thresholds – forced companies to quickly rethink how goods moved across borders.
Instead of returning to earlier levels, rerouting continued to climb each month, reaching 8,366 in December. The increase was not a one-time spike. Rerouting activity continued to accelerate through peak season, with no return to earlier baseline levels.
“What’s different from other years is there was usually a reset, but conditions didn’t stabilize after the initial disruption,” says Kelly Martinez, co-founder and co-president of ePost Global. “Policy kept shifting, capacity stayed tight, and the bar for delivery didn’t come down. Once that happened, there wasn’t really room to step back.”
Key takeaways:
· The findings observed a 96-point gap between top-performing and underperforming carriers, creating risk for companies heavily reliant on a single provider. In many cases, companies with diversified carrier networks were able to shift as much as 30% of shipment volume within 48 hours in response to disruptions, while others had fewer options when service levels dropped.
· In higher-risk markets, shipments using Delivered Duty Paid (DDP) models – where duties and documentation are handled before shipping – were more than 30 times as likely to successfully clear and deliver compared to unpaid models. In many cases, this had a greater impact on delivery outcomes than carrier selection alone.
· Product categories added another dimension of risk. Electronics ($51.5 million in shipped value), luxury goods ($70.1 million), and food and beverage ($16.1 million) collectively represent nearly one-third of cross-border value analyzed, while consuming a disproportionate share of customs resources and compliance costs. As enforcement tightened, these categories required more precise classification and documentation – specifically HS codes, declared values, and country of origin – to avoid delays and unexpected costs.
· The UK, Canada, and Australia consistently showed stronger delivery outcomes due to more reliable infrastructure, a reminder that market size alone should not drive international expansion decisions.
· Taken together, the data points to a shift in how companies are approaching cross-border shipping.
