Today's Supply Chain Pulse
Strait of Hormuz closure stalls oil price surge despite 100‑day shutdown
The strategic waterway has been shut for 100 days, yet oil prices have not spiked. Prices fell after a U.S.–Iran deal was announced, and analysts warn that any relief to the oil market could take months to materialize.
Also developing:
By the numbers: GIA acquires 30% stake in De Beers' Tracr blockchain platform
AI Strategy Pillars, New SMB Procurement Program Revealed in Canada’s Spring Economic Update
Canada’s Spring Economic Update unveiled six pillars for a forthcoming national AI strategy, emphasizing privacy safeguards, AI training, SME adoption, sovereign compute infrastructure, growth capital for Canadian champions, and international standards cooperation. The update also announced a Small and Medium Business Procurement Program aimed at simplifying federal contract access for Canadian firms, alongside a $25 billion sovereign wealth fund and a permanent Employee Ownership Trust tax incentive. While industry leaders praised the AI focus, critics argue the package lacks concrete measures to accelerate digital innovation. The announcement comes as the Liberal government consolidates a majority in Parliament, giving it greater legislative leeway.
Contextual Data at the OEM
OEMs need contextual IoT data, not just raw sensor streams, to unlock value in smart manufacturing. A Deloitte survey shows 80% of manufacturing executives will allocate at least 20% of improvement budgets to smart initiatives such as automation, analytics, sensors...
Single-Source Supply Chains in a Fragmenting World with Abe Eshkenazi
In a recent discussion, ASCM CEO Abe Eshkenazi and host Joe Lynch highlighted a fundamental shift from low‑cost, single‑source supply chains toward resilient, regionalized networks. They argue that visibility into every tier of the supply chain and a skilled talent...
Flatbed Freight's Remarkable Rise -- Total Rates up, Fuel Dips Again
Truckstop.com and FTR report that total all‑in spot rates rose 3.4 cents per mile for the week ending April 24, marking the smallest increase in nine weeks but keeping rates about 30% higher than a year ago. Flatbed freight led the market,...
How the 2027 Budget Will Change the Air Force Tanker Fleet
The Air Force’s FY2027 budget plans to retire 20 KC‑135 Stratotankers while receiving 20 new KC‑46 Pegasus aircraft, a shift that will let the service grow its tanker fleet rather than replace one for one. Congress has mandated a minimum...
Big Carriers Ignored Non‑Dom CDL Drivers, Policy Exposes Flaws
It's becoming more apparent to me that the mid-sized and large carriers (500+ trucks) were clueless about non-domiciled CDLs and weren't hiring from this group. Most had never heard of the term "non-dom" until Sean Duffy made it a policy...
This Is Where Trader Joe's Sources Its Ice Cream From
Trader Joe’s ice cream is largely produced by third‑party dairies rather than in‑house. Reddit sleuths matched plant code PLT 06‑1187 on several tubs to Crystal Creamery (Humboldt Creamery) in Fortuna, California, confirming it supplies flavors like French Vanilla and Fudgy Cookie Dough....
Four AI Use Cases SAP Unveiled at Hannover Messe for Embedded Intelligence in Operations
At Hannover Messe 2026, SAP demonstrated four live AI use cases that embed intelligence directly into SAP S/4HANA‑driven workflows. The demos showed a supply‑chain orchestration hub that auto‑adjusts plans with external signals, a smart production line with AI‑powered dashboards, an...
DigiKey Expands In-Stock Line Card with Nearly 31,000 New Parts and 97 Suppliers in Q1 2026
DigiKey announced the addition of nearly 31,000 new in‑stock parts in Q1 2026, bringing total product introductions for the quarter to over 387,000. The expansion includes 97 new suppliers such as Grinn and REV Robotics, enriching its Marketplace and Fulfilled‑by‑DigiKey programs....
Details of Inductive Automation Update to Ignition 8.3
Inductive Automation released Ignition 8.3.5, adding a suite of security and performance upgrades. The update enables a Global Discovery Server to push OPC UA certificates, centralizing credential management across dispersed devices. A new file‑based Secret Provider lets administrators store encrypted...
MES Inc. Positions Global Sourcing Network to Support Manufacturers Affected by Pace Industries Die Casting Closures
MES Inc., a global supply‑chain partner, announced expanded die‑casting program capacity to absorb demand displaced by Pace Industries' permanent shutdown of three U.S. plants in Arkansas, Michigan and Tennessee. The closures strip a sizable share of North American aluminum die‑casting...
Asia's Energy Buyers: Between a Rock and a Hard Place
Asia's energy importers are trapped between soaring commodity prices they cannot afford and a supply chain that may take weeks to restart. Ongoing negotiations, conducted remotely from Islamabad, involve high‑stakes posturing and game‑theoretic brinkmanship among regional buyers and sellers. The...
Skyways – Senior Flight Test Engineer
Skyways builds fully autonomous long‑range cargo aircraft, currently operating V2 and V3 models that transport 30 lb up to 500 mi and 100 lb over 1,000 mi respectively. The company flies missions on three continents under FAA oversight and supports U.S. military operations. Backed...
Japanese Lease Dooms SupplyCore’s Protest of Logistics Contract
The U.S. General Services Administration awarded a $77.8 million logistics support contract for more than 100 U.S. installations in Japan to Amentum, beating incumbent SupplyCore’s $81.4 million bid. Both firms earned identical technical and live‑test scores, but Amentum outperformed SupplyCore on operational...
China Deploys AI‑Driven Smart Hubs Across Shandong Ports to Accelerate Cargo Handling
Chinese port authorities have begun rolling out AI‑driven smart hubs at major Shandong ports, replacing manual crane controls with mouse‑based interfaces. The technology promises faster cargo processing and lower labor intensity, marking a notable step toward fully automated port operations.
Qinhuangdao Port Posts 3.9% Q1 Revenue Rise, Boosting Logistics Sales
Qinhuangdao Port Co., Ltd. announced a 3.9% increase in first‑quarter revenue to RMB1.674 billion (about $234 million) and a modest earnings lift to RMB427.7 million ($60 million). The results underscore growing demand for port services amid a rebound in global trade.
Iranian Trader Boats Are Still Crossing the Strait of Hormuz
Iranian trader speedboats continue to cross the Strait of Hormuz, bartering pistachios, carpets, live sheep and other goods with Omani merchants in Musandam. The nocturnal runs evade Iran’s customs patrols but are legal under Omani law, creating a long‑standing gray...
Analysts Warn Jet Fuel Crisis as Middle East Conflict Squeezes Supply
Analysts say a tightening of crude flows through the Strait of Hormuz has pushed jet‑fuel prices past the $15‑per‑gallon mark and cut European reserves to just five weeks. The squeeze is already forcing carriers such as Lufthansa, KLM and Air...
Fuel Retailers Praise Bipartisan Bill to Extend $1 Biodiesel Blender Tax Credit Through 2029
The National Association of Travel Service Operators, SIGMA and the National Association of Convenience Stores have endorsed Rep. Mike Carey’s bipartisan Biodiesel Tax Credit Extension Act of 2026, which would prolong the $1‑per‑gallon blender credit through 2029. The groups argue...
Autonomous Resource Corp. Teams with Oak Ridge Lab to Enable On‑Demand Defence Part Production
Autonomous Resource Corp. (ARC) and Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) announced a strategic partnership that will merge ARC's ARCNet distributed manufacturing platform with ORNL's high‑performance computing and additive‑manufacturing expertise. The collaboration targets on‑demand production of mission‑critical defence parts, promising faster...
Diversifying Routes Neutralizes Iran's Strait of Hormuz Leverage
Game changer and what I wrote about in @washingtonpost about making the Strait of Hormuz irrelevant (or at least much less relevant). Iran's massive strategic blunder was playing that card - what @SecRubio called the economic nuclear weapon. Motivating all...
Tesa Picks Kinaxis Maestro as Digital Backbone for Global IBP Overhaul
Global adhesive‑tape producer tesa SE announced it will deploy Kinaxis' Maestro platform as the core of a multi‑year integrated business planning transformation. The move aims to replace fragmented regional planning with a centrally governed, AI‑enabled supply‑chain backbone, enhancing speed, visibility...
Flex and Teradyne Robotics Expand Partnership to Accelerate Global Intelligent Automation
Flex (NASDAQ:FLEX) and Teradyne Robotics announced an expanded partnership that will see Flex manufacture key components for Universal Robots and Mobile Industrial Robots while deploying those cobots and AMRs in its own plants. The move builds on a two‑decade collaboration...
Cuban Farmers Blame U.S. Energy Blockade for Crop Crises as Solar Power Rises
Cuban farmers, led by Eduardo Obiols Sobredo, say a U.S. energy blockade has crippled irrigation, fuel and electricity, deepening hunger on the island. At the same time, Chinese‑financed solar parks are expanding, pushing renewable generation from 6% to over 20%...
Michigan Gas Prices Surge Past $4/Gallon, Nation’s Biggest Weekly Jump
Michigan gasoline prices jumped to over $4 per gallon, the largest weekly increase in the United States, as renewed U.S.-Iran tensions and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz lifted crude oil to roughly $100 a barrel. Analysts warn the...
Elsight’s Halo, Its BLOS (Beyond Line-of-Sight) Connectivity Platform, Is Now Certified on the U.S. DCMA Blue UAS List, Enabling Faster...
Elsight's Halo beyond‑line‑of‑sight (BLOS) connectivity platform has been certified on the U.S. Defense Contract Management Agency (DCMA) Blue UAS List, confirming it meets the department’s rigorous supply‑chain and cybersecurity standards. The certification lets U.S. military units procure Halo directly through...
British Army Charters Ferry for First Time in 20 Years
More than 1,400 British soldiers from the 7th Light Mechanised Brigade boarded the DFDS ferry King Seaways in Newcastle for Exercise Rhino Storm in Germany, marking the first large‑scale civilian sea lift by the British Army in two decades. The...
GM Looks to Boost Inventory of Full-Size Pickups
General Motors announced plans to raise full‑size pickup inventories after ending Q1 with only 47 days of supply, down 6% YoY to 516,000 vehicles. The automaker targets 50‑60 days of stock and expects next‑generation truck production to ramp in Q3...
Apptronik Hires Waymo, Boston Dynamics and Amazon Veterans to Fast‑track Humanoid Robot Rollout
Apptronik announced a slate of senior hires from Waymo, Boston Dynamics and Amazon, bolstering its leadership as it prepares to launch the Apollo humanoid robot. The moves follow a $935 million Series A round and signal the company’s push toward mass‑market deployment...
Importing Rapamycin to Save Money (2)
A community member placed a test order for sirolimus tablets from RL Pharma Jagdish in India via IndiaMart.com, paying a $25 wire transfer. The package left on Oct 16 2025 and arrived after 26 days on Nov 10 2025, experiencing delays in Zurich, JFK customs,...
Wright Says Hormuz Can Open Without Clearing All Mines
U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright told Bloomberg that ships can resume transiting the Strait of Hormuz without fully clearing the Iranian mines that have blocked the waterway since late February. He said a narrow safe corridor could be established quickly,...
Critical Minerals: China’s Grip, America’s Volatility, Europe’s Choice – by Michael Barnard (Clean Technica – April 28, 2026)
The article warns that the global energy transition is vulnerable to supply‑chain bottlenecks in critical minerals such as lithium, copper, nickel, cobalt, graphite, manganese, phosphate, and rare earths. China currently dominates the mining, refining, and component‑manufacturing stages of these value...
GM Forecasts $500M Tariff Refund, Plans Further Mitigation Efforts
General Motors announced it anticipates receiving about $500 million in refunds for tariffs imposed under the former Trump administration, as disclosed during its Q1 earnings call. The refund will be recorded as a receivable, but the company did not adjust its...
On Today's Episode of "Fuck Around and Find Out"
Iran has signaled it will reopen the Strait of Hormuz if the United States lifts its naval blockade, offering a direct off‑ramp to de‑escalate the ongoing maritime standoff. The proposal arrives as U.S. gasoline prices in central Texas hit $3.57...
The Hidden Ingredient Layer Behind Automated Food Processing
Food processors are discovering that the real driver of automation performance is not the robot arm or vision system, but the product’s formulation—moisture, texture, binders and coatings. Variations in these hidden ingredients cause clogs, broken pieces and quality rejects, even...
How Supply Chain Becomes a Growth Partner in Pharma
At Logipharma Europe 2026, Boehringer Ingelheim’s CVP Clemens Twardy argued that pharma supply chains must become growth partners, not peripheral functions. He outlined three moves—organizing around commercial counterparts, enhancing transparency of supply risks and opportunities, and upskilling teams to speak the...
2022 Ukraine Lend-Lease Act: Lifesaving Initiative That Never Worked
On April 28, 2022 the U.S. House approved the Ukraine Democracy Defense Lend-Lease Act with a 417‑10 vote, after unanimous Senate consent. President Biden signed the law on May 9, 2022—coinciding with Russia’s Victory Day—reviving the World War II‑era Lend‑Lease framework to...
Copa Doubles Down on Boeing With 60 MAX Order
Copa Airlines announced a purchase of up to 60 Boeing 737 MAX jets, valued at roughly $13.5 billion, adding to the 40 already on order. The deal, which also involves GE Aerospace’s LEAP‑1B engines, will bring Copa’s fleet to more than 200 aircraft...
Hormuz Insurance Remains Critical Amid Global Energy Turmoil
⭕️UAE Exits OPEC: Implications for Global Oil Markets ⭕️Oil & LNG Tankers Transit Hormuz: What About Insurance? ⭕️The Media Hype Around Iran’s Oil Storage Situation ⭕️Aramco OSPs: Will They Lower the Premium? ⭕️Malacca Strait: The Next Flashpoint? ⭕️EU Jet Fuel Crisis: One Among Many ⭕️Vietnam to...
US Bans Chip Tool Shipments to Huahong's Facilities
The U.S. ordered numerous chip equipment companies to halt tool shipments to two facilities of Huahong, China’s second-largest chipmaker, according to sources. https://t.co/9lzUXgpLQr
BP ‘Still Growing’ LNG Portfolio as Hormuz Risks Loom
BP said its first‑quarter natural‑gas marketing and trading performance was "average," reflecting a volatile market still sensitive to Middle‑East geopolitics. The company highlighted that its diversified global LNG portfolio is acting as a buffer against potential supply shocks. BP also...
Blockade Leaves Hundreds of Ships Stalled, Hurting Trade
US Central Command. With blockade, the number of ships stuck at Chah Bahar port. The impact on trade and the economy.
CBP's New Refund System Moves Fast, Yet Rejects Over Half
CBP just issued the first tariff refund update since its CAPE system went live on 4/20. Good news: They're moving pretty quickly (for the government) Bad news: There are already LOTS of rejections. The first screen rejected 37%, & the second screen...
Asia-Pacific Chip Ecosystem Will Surpass $553 Billion by 2030
The Business Research Company projects the Asia‑Pacific semiconductor ecosystem to reach $553 billion by 2030, making it the world’s largest regional market. Global chip‑related activity is expected to hit $1.16 trillion, growing at a 10.9% compound annual growth rate. While the United...
China Maintains Oil Imports Amid US‑Israeli Conflict
Since the start of the US-Israeli war on Iran, China has not drawn been forced to draw down its inventories of oil. China has obviously been able to import oil at a normal pace. CHINA IS WINNING. https://t.co/Wg0kqvLybI
Medevac Helicopters Use Roadside LZs for Familiarization Flights
There are a lot of reasons a helo, esp a medevac, would land next to a road. One common reason is that medical helicopters will conduct familiarization flights and land at pre-approved LZs (some of which are private) in their...
There Are 25 Days-Worth Of Oil Supply Left In The USA, But Don't Panic
The United States currently holds enough crude to cover roughly 25 days of gasoline consumption as the Strait of Hormuz remains partially blocked. Daily demand of 8‑9 million barrels is balanced by domestic output of about 13.9 million barrels and a strategic...
Oil Cartel Shows Serious Cracks, Says Geoffrey
Geoffrey has written abundantly on this topic for clients: that the Oil cartel had cracks - serious cracks. #UAE #OPEC https://t.co/WNKTZOV734
Daily Energy Report
The United Arab Emirates announced it will leave OPEC effective May 1, cutting the cartel’s membership to 12. The move is linked to the ongoing Iran‑Israel conflict, which is reshaping regional oil dynamics. UAE crude output, which rose in 2025, has...
Paid Tariffs on a Shipment? UPS and FedEx Announce Refund Plans
UPS and FedEx will refund billions in tariff charges after the U.S. Treasury begins reimbursing them for Trump‑era levies deemed unlawful. The Supreme Court’s ruling opened a $166 billion pool of potential refunds, with UPS having collected roughly $5 billion from its...