Know What's Happening in Supply Chain
Know What's Happening in Supply Chain
Somaliland faces import crisis as Berbera port boom fails to ease shortages
Despite a surge in cargo traffic at the UAE‑backed Berbera port, Somaliland is experiencing severe import shortages. Port revenues have risen to roughly $200 million annually, yet disruptions in the Red Sea have pushed consumer prices up, with inflation in Hargeisa exceeding 15%.
Also developing:
Michael Spence warns that the global economy is riddled with single‑point chokepoints, from the Strait of Hormuz and Malacca to the Suez and Panama canals. Concentrated supply chains—such as Japan’s micro‑controller firms, the ASML‑TSMC‑Samsung semiconductor trio, and China’s rare‑earth dominance—have repeatedly amplified shocks like the 2011 Japan earthquake and the 2021 Ever Given blockage. While firms have added buffers and data visibility, diversification often sacrifices efficiency, especially in advanced chips needed for AI and autonomous systems. Governments are now incentivising geographic spread, but the cost of building resilience is rising sharply.
🇺🇸🇮🇷GAINING FULL CONTROL OVER THE STRAIT OF HORMUZ WILL BE HARD FOR THE US It is only 21 miles wide at its narrowest point, with shipping lanes just 2 miles wide in each direction Iran has heavily fortified the northern coastline...
Strait of Hormuz Update 30 March | Is Australia Running Out of Petrol? | Where are Trump's Tankers? Video: https://t.co/4WjNWhP2Hq https://t.co/uqAn5bK21P
Rare‑earth permanent magnets, essential for defense, automotive and consumer tech, are overwhelmingly produced in China—90% of processing and 93% of magnet manufacturing. A 2025 export restriction caused Ford to halt Explorer production, highlighting the fragility of the supply chain. REalloys...
WA’s most labour-intensive iron ore mines could be just 10 days away from diesel supply catastrophe https://t.co/5djcT6LMSY
Air freight rates from India to the United States have jumped 200‑350% since the third Gulf war began on February 28, driven primarily by severe capacity shortages. Gulf hubs such as Dubai and Abu Dhabi have lost roughly 79% of cargo capacity,...
China’s slowdown generates both supply‑side and demand‑side shocks that ripple through global production networks. Recent IMF‑affiliated research finds that a negative Chinese supply shock cuts partner‑country GDP by about 0.15 % over two years, while demand shocks produce a similar but...
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The Fuels Industry Association of South Africa says overall fuel supply is stable but diesel is tight ahead of the April 1 2026 price adjustment. A planned shutdown of the Cape Town refinery, set for mid‑April, will rely on imports and is...
Germany’s state‑owned energy trader SEFE (Securing Energy for Europe) announced it will issue a major liquefied natural gas (LNG) purchase tender on Tuesday, targeting deliveries to Northwest Europe. The tender is designed to bolster regional supply security as the Middle...
Damen Shipyards Group has signed a contract with Malta’s Polidano Group for two CF 3850 combi freighters, Denise P and Julia P, to replace a single vessel and double its aggregate transport capacity. The ships, already under construction in China, will be delivered...
While it’s possible that Iran’s enriched uranium could be secured by a diplomatic deal, most recent discussions have involved special forces’ boots on the ground And boots on the ground is going to seriously complicate efforts to reopen to Strait of...
The International Maritime Organization (IMO) has dispatched a needs‑assessment mission to Tanzania’s Port of Dar es Salaam to lay the groundwork for a Maritime Single Window (MSW) system. The MSW, a one‑stop digital platform, will consolidate data exchange among ship...
Energy consumption is emerging as a primary design constraint as robotics scale across manufacturing, logistics, and field operations. Advances in motor efficiency, lightweight materials, and wide‑bandgap power electronics are delivering incremental gains that compound across large fleets. AI‑driven power management...
Podcast hosts Dr. Mohamed Saleh and John Dyer argue that operational failures stem from broken systems rather than frontline workers. They cite a GE production halt caused by delayed maintenance and spare‑part shortages, and an incentive plan that rewarded individual...
Chinese exporters warned that U.S. buyers will face higher prices as oil price volatility, sparked by the Iran war and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, raises costs for petro‑based plastics. Manufacturers such as Huijin Trade have already lifted...
🌳Saudi Exports, Houthis, and the Bab el Mandeb Bottleneck 🌳Russia LNG Exports Set to Hit Record High Egypt’s Challenges: Typical of Every Developing Country 🌳Shipping Rates Are Up Again – Here’s Why King Coal: For How Long? 🌳EU Oil and Gas Pinch: The Never-Ending Crisis 🌳Cuba...
Dateline Resources Ltd. has secured mining claims covering roughly 32 square miles just 100 feet from critical desert tortoise habitat adjacent to Joshua Tree National Park. The move has provoked sharp criticism from conservation groups and U.S. lawmakers, while the company argues...
Divergent Technologies CEO Lukas Czinger announced a 3D‑printed missile family that can be designed, printed and assembled in weeks, dramatically cutting production time and cost. The move could overhaul how the U.S. defense industrial base manufactures munitions and affect global...
The American Hospital Association (AHA) submitted comments to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) on a proposed rulemaking aimed at strengthening the domestic supply chain for personal protective equipment (PPE) and essential medicines. The AHA supports CMS’s plan...
Inaccurate address data remains a major pain point for retailers, with 6.5% of U.S. mail undeliverable and up to 20% of customer records degrading each year. Melissa’s e‑book shows that errors introduced at checkout can cost $1 to validate, $10...
A blockade of the Strait of Hormuz has removed roughly 28 million tonnes of Middle‑Eastern LNG from the market, forcing major Asian economies to react by re‑activating coal‑fired power. The shift threatens industrial output, fuels price spikes and could stall regional...
U.S. President Donald Trump publicly floated the idea of seizing Iran’s Kharg Island oil terminal as Brent crude jumped to $115 a barrel, a move that could reshape Gulf oil flows amid ongoing strikes on regional energy infrastructure and nascent...
Bureau Veritas and Trade Technologies have formed a partnership to embed inspection and conformity documents directly into trade‑finance workflows. The integration targets document‑heavy markets in the Middle East and Africa, aiming to speed up letter‑of‑credit (LC) processing and reduce compliance...
Cold storage vacancies have surged to a 20-year high of 6.9%. Smart cold chain leaders like @americold and Lineage Logistics will look for new sources of innovation, growth, and value creation. These could come in several forms, ranging from traditional...
Chevrolet’s 1971 Vega was marketed as an inexpensive compact, but its reputation suffered due to quality issues. To keep overall costs low, GM partnered with Southern Pacific to create the Vert‑A‑Pac railcar system, which allowed up to 30 cars per...
Clash Over Forced Labour as Chinese EVs Coming Soon to Canada A tense exchange between Marg McCuaig-Johnston and Michael Ma at a House of Commons committee puts forced labour in China’s EV supply chains under the spotlight. #cdnpoli https://youtu.be/ayzXULB_Q4s
The war in Iran sparks a global fertilizer shortage and threatens food prices https://t.co/xpr9UOnHTZ via @mySA
The U.S. has poured roughly $25 billion into its munitions industrial base, yet high‑cost precision weapons like Patriot missiles and Tomahawks remain expensive and slow to produce. Operations in Iran and Ukraine have driven munitions spending to about $1 billion per day,...
1/ my new manifesto CAPITAL MARKETS MAXIMALISM There’s a version of the American reindustrialization story that goes like this: China ate our manufacturing base. Supply chains proved fragile. Now we need to build again. That story is true. But it’s incomplete....
Per @AAR_FreightRail Intermodal rail traffic is the movement of shipping containers/truck trailers via rail, often combining w/truck or ship transport w/o unloading the freight Riddle me THIS: Last year, Intermodal was +1.5% YTD. Today, it's -0.4% YTD. WHY? ht @Adam__Josephson https://t.co/Kz9yqFmN9F
The EPA’s March 27, 2026 guidance eliminates the urea‑quality sensor requirement but leaves the DEF fluid, SCR catalyst and emissions standards untouched. The Department of Justice’s January 21, 2026 memo stops criminal prosecutions for emissions‑tampering while preserving civil penalties up to $45,268 per vehicle....
Golden Pass LNG in Texas Produces First LNG as Hormuz Crisis Disrupts Global Gas Flows https://t.co/OSUeOpMO0T
The world is in an energy crisis as Hormuz is closed. Europe and Asia are running out of oil and gas. Meanwhile Ukraine is striking Russian energy infrastructure using EU and U.S. funded weapons. What a retarded timeline.
Western allies are wrestling with a new plan to secure the Strait of Hormuz after a costly, largely unsuccessful Red Sea operation against Yemen's Houthis. The Red Sea effort expended over $1 billion, sank four vessels, and left the route largely...
Excellent, data-rich thread - and exactly the right way to judge the Liberation Day tariffs (ie, by the President's own standards/promises). THIS is why tariff fans obsess over pre-TACO predictions of Tariff Armageddon & claim "victory" when the worst doesn't...
"I think it's gonna get worse before it gets better. I'm NOT bullish short term. The entire globe knows that the Strait needs to be open and free." https://t.co/6eQLOwwmn9
Houston‑based Vard Marine US secured a U.S. Navy contract to develop concept designs for the Next Generation Logistics Ship (NGLS), also known as the light replenishment oiler (T‑AOL). The award tasks Vard with a market survey and early‑stage design work,...
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the US may need to reassess its relationship with NATO after the #Iranwar is finished, calling the military alliance’s alleged lack of support during the Middle East conflict “very disappointing.” https://t.co/stc5XJGSss
We've lost a LOT of Gulf crude oil production capacity to shut-ins following the closure of the Strait of Hormuz But we've also lost refined products, condensates, and natural gas liquids Here's Qatar, which normally exports ~1.5 MMbpd of which only 1/3...
After three years of a deep freight downturn, spot van rates have risen for seven straight months and load‑to‑truck ratios are at multi‑year highs, signaling a market transition. Carrier exits are accelerating, tightening supply while tender volumes remain 6‑7% below...
Stop the manual entry race. 🏎️ SAP Business One shifts you to agentic oversight, giving you the control to scale. Check the blog: https://t.co/YT5H1uDNYW #SAPBusinessOne #Manufacturing #ERP #SupplyChain #Wholesale $SAP https://t.co/rFoq85DRI4
Würth Group is broadening its integration with SAP Business Network to automate B2B indirect procurement across its extensive sales and distribution footprint. By linking purchase orders, delivery confirmations and invoices, the company aims to replace fragmented, manual processes with a...
The Cass Freight Index reports a 10.4% month‑over‑month rise in for‑hire shipments in February, while Class 8 truck orders surged 159% year‑over‑year to 47,200 units. Diesel prices jumped to $4.86 per gallon, adding roughly 14 cents per mile to operating costs,...
The Guardian editorial warns that Donald Trump’s fifth week of war against Iran lacks a coherent strategy, with U.S. strikes and Iranian missile attacks creating a stalemate. The closure of the Strait of Hormuz has driven oil prices above $80...
Freight brokers offer quick‑pay programs that accelerate payment within 24‑72 hours for a fee of roughly 1.5%‑5% of the load value. In contrast, freight factoring sells unpaid invoices to a third‑party for a fee typically between 1%‑5%, often lower for...
Bureau Veritas and Trade Technologies have signed a strategic agreement to embed inspection and conformity certificates directly into letters of credit workflows. The integration automates document validation, cutting delays that traditionally slow export shipments. By combining Bureau Veritas' inspection expertise...
The FMCSA is the most important regulator in trucking. Its job is to monitor the 800k registered motor carriers that transverse the highways. The problem: it is critically underfunded
BNSF suspended service on its Stampede Subdivision after a 600‑foot, 60‑foot‑deep washout disrupted the Cascades route linking Puget Sound to inland markets. The railroad rerouted trains and issued an intermodal network update, warning customers of non‑standard routing. Engineering crews are...
The U.S. State Department has launched the recompete for Diplomatic Platform Support Services II (DiPSS II), issuing a request for information that must be answered by April 16. The original DiPSS contract, awarded in 2019 and expanded in 2023, has generated roughly $2.5 billion...
Iran has allowed two additional Indian‑flagged LPG tankers, BW TYR and BW ELM, to transit the Strait of Hormuz, carrying roughly 94,000 tonnes of cargo toward Mumbai and New Mangalore. The move follows Tehran’s pledge to let “non‑hostile” vessels pass...
