A joint survey from the Association for Supply Chain Management and CNBC has identified a rising rate of supply chain job layoffs that respondents tie directly to President Trump's tariff regime, CNBC reported.

The findings surface workforce sentiment across logistics, procurement, warehousing and transportation functions. Respondents cited tariff-driven cost pressure, demand uncertainty and procurement disruption as leading contributors to recent headcount reductions, according to the report.

ASCM is the professional association formerly known as APICS. Its workforce, salary and career reports are cited benchmarks across manufacturing, services and logistics.

The survey arrives during a period of acute uncertainty for US shippers, carriers and third-party logistics providers. Tariff announcements, suspensions and renegotiations on goods from China, Mexico, Canada and the European Union have reset freight procurement plans since early 2025.

What does the survey say about layoffs?

The headline points to an elevated layoff rate inside supply chain functions compared with the prior period, with tariff exposure cited as a leading factor. The survey covers hiring freezes, attrition and terminations across the logistics workforce.

For freight markets, supply chain employment trends act as a leading indicator of underlying demand. Logistics payrolls track closely with warehouse volumes, intermodal liftings and truckload tender activity. Rising layoff rates typically signal that shippers are trimming distribution footprints, which feeds back into spot rate softness and contracted capacity pullbacks.

Which functions absorb the brunt?

Workforce reductions in supply chains cluster in four areas:

• Warehousing and fulfillment, where automation and demand volatility drive headcount swings
• Brokerage and forwarding, where margin compression follows rate normalization
• Procurement and sourcing teams carrying tariff-related workload
• Trucking, where spot market weakness typically precedes contract reset pressure

What are the commercial consequences?

For shippers, partner workforce retrenchment can mean reduced capacity reliability, slower supplier onboarding and tighter SLA enforcement. Carriers and 3PLs facing layoffs also lose institutional knowledge, complicating long-term planning.

Forwarders and brokers absorb tariff volatility through rate adjustments and contract renegotiations. Procurement headcount reductions push sourcing work toward external logistics providers, lifting demand for advisory, customs and freight management services.

The ASCM/CNBC finding aligns with broader industry signals that tariff unpredictability has weighed on freight demand and logistics hiring across the past year. Procurement teams have shifted toward shorter contract cycles and tariff contingency clauses, while carriers report softer booking windows.

What's next?

Supply chain employment trends through the rest of 2025 will hinge on tariff durability and the cadence of trade negotiations. Stabilized tariff regimes would likely pause workforce reductions and reopen limited hiring. Fresh tariff announcements would feed the next ASCM survey wave with further contraction.

For now, the ASCM/CNBC message confirms what freight operators already feel on the ground: tariff policy has moved from a procurement concern to a workforce concern.