Today's Supply Chain Pulse
Shipowners stay cautious despite US‑Iran Hormuz reopening deal
President Trump announced a deal with Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, ending the naval blockade that had closed the oil conduit since late February. Shipowners, however, remain wary, pointing to 57 recorded security incidents and lingering mines, and are opting for lower‑risk routes until safety can be assured.
Also developing:
By the numbers: GIA acquires 30% stake in De Beers' Tracr blockchain platform
Entries Open for Supply Chain Excellence Awards APAC 2026
Entries are now open for the 2026 Supply Chain Excellence Awards APAC, with the ceremony scheduled for 1 December 2026 at Singapore’s Grand Copthorne Waterfront Hotel. The awards, entering their 30th year, feature 20 categories ranging from resilience and clean transport to sector‑specific honors for food‑drink and healthcare. An independent panel of senior supply‑chain leaders—including executives from Google, Nissan and Estée Lauder—will evaluate submissions, and entries close on 14 August 2026. The event will precede the IntraLogisteX Singapore trade show, linking award recognition with the region’s premier logistics exhibition.
The Broken System That Keeps Shipping Crews Stranded in the Strait of Hormuz
Conflict in the Gulf has left roughly 1,900 commercial vessels stranded in the Strait of Hormuz, exposing a systemic failure in maritime ownership and regulation. Seafarers like India’s PK Vijay remain on abandoned ships such as the Mahakal without pay,...
Canada’s Trade Deal With Mercosur Alliance Could Revamp Western Hemisphere Trade
Canada is close to sealing a free‑trade agreement with the Mercosur bloc, potentially by September 2026. The deal would connect Canada with five South American economies—Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay—representing 282 million people and about $3 trillion in GDP. In 2024,...
MPV Operators Face Worsening Bunker Fuel Supply Crisis as Stocks Tighten
Multipurpose vessel (MPV) operators are confronting a deepening bunker fuel shortage as the Middle East conflict disrupts supply chains across key hubs, including the Middle East, Asia and South Africa. Prices for low‑sulfur marine gas oil (LSMGO) and very low...
DHL Freight Rolls Out GoGreen Plus Flex, Offering up to 80% Emissions Cuts for European Road Freight
DHL Freight has introduced GoGreen Plus Flex, a tiered emissions‑reduction program that lets customers choose 10%, 30% or 80% CO₂ cuts on road freight. The model uses a book‑and‑claim system and flexible pricing to broaden access for firms of all...
FDA Green List Lets Chinese Firms Dominate GLP‑1 Supply, US Safety at Risk
The FDA’s recent “green list” designation has cleared more than 50% of Chinese manufacturers of GLP‑1 obesity drugs, effectively handing China a dominant role in the U.S. supply chain. Critics warn the move could expose American patients to substandard products...
NORD DRIVESYSTEMS at Seafood Expo 2026 - Corrosion Under Control: Durable Drive Technology for Fish Processing
NORD DRIVESYSTEMS will showcase its NXD tupH® surface‑treatment at Seafood Expo 2026 in Barcelona, demonstrating how the technology gives aluminium drive components stainless‑steel‑level corrosion resistance and food‑safe hygiene. The exhibit includes fanless IE5+ synchronous motors, the plug‑and‑play DuoDrive gear‑unit/motor concept, and...
MIT Professional Education to Offer Enterprise Additive Manufacturing Program with Integrated RAPID + TCT Experience
MIT Professional Education launches a five‑day Enterprise Additive Manufacturing program, running April 13‑17, 2026, that blends MIT classroom instruction with hands‑on project work. Led by Professor John Hart, the course guides engineers, operations, and business leaders through the full adoption cycle—from...
Ford Cancels Summer Shutdown at Four Plants to Add 50,000 F-Series Trucks
Ford Motor Co. announced it will forgo the traditional one‑week summer shutdown at four U.S. plants, aiming to add more than 50,000 F‑Series trucks in 2026. The move follows aluminum supply disruptions and a 34% dip in February dealer inventory.
Sony Halts CFexpress and SD Card Orders Amid Global NAND Shortage
Sony Japan announced a temporary suspension of orders for its CFexpress and SD memory cards, citing a global semiconductor shortage that threatens to outstrip demand. The halt, effective March 27, 2026, impacts a wide range of professional and consumer cards...
Sony Hikes PS5 and PS5 Pro Prices as Memory Chip Costs Surge
Sony announced U.S. price increases for its PlayStation 5 lineup, moving the standard PS5 to $649.99, the Digital Edition to $599.99, and the PS5 Pro to $899.99. The hikes, driven by rising memory chip costs, affect millions of gamers and...
Laos - Vietnam Railway Gets Green Light
The Lao National Assembly approved the first phase of a 562‑km standard‑gauge railway linking Vientiane with Vietnam’s Vung Ang deep‑water port. Phase 1A, a 147‑km stretch from the Thai border to the Laos‑Vietnam frontier, will be built under a 50‑year build‑operate‑transfer...
Cyngn Deploys 4 DriveMod Tuggers at Vann Family Orchards
Cyngn announced the deployment of four autonomous DriveMod Tuggers at Vann Family Orchards, a major California‑based agricultural processor. The tuggers now handle raw‑material transport between storage and processing zones, reducing reliance on manual forklifts while keeping humans for loading and...
Palantir Extends Five‑Year Deal with Stellantis, Adding AI Platform to Automotive SaaS Stack
Palantir Technologies announced a five‑year renewal and expansion of its partnership with Stellantis, adding the Palantir Artificial Intelligence Platform to the automaker’s existing Foundry deployment. The deal deepens Palantir’s foothold in automotive SaaS and comes as the company’s stock slipped...
Is Broker Liability About to Change?
The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear Montgomery v. Caribe Transport II, a case that asks whether the Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act (FAAAA) preempts state negligent‑hiring claims against freight brokers such as C.H. Robinson. Lower courts dismissed the claim, but...
PANOPTIMIZATION TO EXHIBIT PANX ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING SIMULATION AND OPTIMIZATION PLATFORM AT RAPID + TCT 2026
PanOptimization will showcase its PanX simulation and optimization platform for metal additive manufacturing at the RAPID + TCT 2026 trade show in Boston from April 13‑16. The platform targets laser powder bed fusion and directed energy deposition processes, enabling high‑resolution simulation of...
KeyMe Locksmiths Deploys 8,000th AI-Powered Kiosk, Scaling U.S. Manufacturing Through Partnership with Benchmark
KeyMe Locksmiths announced the rollout of its 8,000th AI‑powered self‑service kiosk, marking a nationwide expansion across major retailers such as Walmart, Kroger and 7‑Eleven. The kiosks have already duplicated 47.2 million keys and serve millions of customers annually. The scale‑up is...
CRP USA to Exhibit at RAPID + TCT 2026 with Windform SLS Solutions for Aerospace and Defense
CRP USA will exhibit its Selective Laser Sintering (SLS) solutions using Windform high‑performance composite materials at RAPID + TCT 2026 in Boston from April 14‑16. The showcase, located in Booth 2443‑3 within the America Makes Pavilion, targets aerospace, defense, and...
Ukraine and Bulgaria Plan to Launch a Passenger Train Service
Ukraine and Bulgaria, together with Romania, will launch a summer 2026 passenger train linking Kyiv, Bucharest and Sofia. The 24‑hour service follows a route through Vinnytsia, Mohyliv‑Podilskyi, Ungheni and Iași, reviving the historic Bulgaria Express corridor that ended in 2014....
The Leadership Bias That Quietly Breaks Teams
The piece advises climate‑tech CEOs to treat vendor financing as a short‑term bridge, not a permanent funding source, warning that over‑reliance on supplier credit can jeopardize critical component supply. It highlights the danger of the fundamental attribution error, urging leaders...
Santana Secures Build Slots for Bendigo-Ophir Project
Santana Minerals has secured a NZ$115 million ($65.8 million) build‑slot agreement with Komatsu New Zealand to supply the primary mobile fleet for the Bendigo‑Ophir gold project. The package includes PC3400 and PC2000 excavators, 140‑ton HD1500 haul trucks, plus dozers, loaders and graders, all...
Oil Prices Rocket; Iran Strikes Kuwaiti Tanker; Some Hormuz Transits Resumes | Rapid Read 31 Mar 2026
Iran resumed selective control of the Strait of Hormuz, striking a Kuwaiti tanker in Dubai and permitting only flag‑aligned vessels such as COSCO to transit. The move coincides with a U.S. deployment of thousands of Army paratroopers to the Middle...
Saudi’s Folk Maritime Shifts India-Gulf Service to Red Sea as Hormuz Disruption Bites
Saudi state‑owned Folk Maritime announced it is pulling its India‑Gulf service out of the Hormuz corridor and redirecting the two 1,900‑TEU vessels to the Red Sea, focusing on Jeddah and Aqaba. The move follows the effective closure of the Strait...
ICS and ITF Press Gulf States on Seafarer Welfare
The International Chamber of Shipping and the International Transport Workers’ Federation met Gulf State officials to address the plight of roughly 20,000 seafarers stranded in the Strait of Hormuz due to regional conflict. They discussed an IMO‑backed reporting system for...
A Potential Beef Blockage Is Looming
A possible work stoppage at the JB Swift beef processing plant in Greeley, Colorado could create a significant supply‑chain blockage for U.S. beef. The disruption was discussed on the Working Lunch podcast, where Align Public Strategies’ Joe Kefauver and Franklin...
Sysco Makes a Huge Play for More Local Restaurants
Sysco announced a $29 billion cash‑and‑stock acquisition of Jetro Restaurant Depot, adding a network that serves roughly 725,000 local restaurants. The deal gives Sysco a foothold in the cash‑and‑carry segment, which it currently does not participate in, and is expected to...
DoorDash Invests in EV Startup with Plans to Automate More Deliveries
DoorDash is investing in Also’s $200 million Series C round and launching a multi‑year partnership to develop autonomous electric‑vehicle delivery units. The collaboration builds on DoorDash’s earlier Dot robot rollout and aims to create purpose‑built, small EVs that can navigate bike lanes...
Captive Suppliers? What Low Supplier Prices Really Mean in Global Supply Chains
New research on India’s garment sector shows that low supplier prices stem from two distinct buyer‑power mechanisms: insurance‑based agreements that create surplus and partial vertical integration that can capture surplus. By analysing 35,000 fabric purchases worth about $180 million, the study...
Venergy Lifts MR Options at K Shipbuilding
Greek owner Venergy Maritime has firmed up options for two additional 50,000‑dwt MR product tankers at South Korea’s K Shipbuilding. The options raise its total MR orderbook at the yard to eight vessels, with the new pair slated for delivery...
EU-India FTA Boosts Indian Aluminium, CBAM Still Caps Gains
The EU-India FTA may help Indian aluminium exports, but CBAM still limits the real upside. https://www.metalnomist.com/2026/03/eu-india-fta-could-improve-indian.html
Foreign‑Trade Zones Transform Uncertainty Into Business Opportunity
Read the latest edition of the Art of Supply newsletter on LinkedIn > Turning Uncertainty into Opportunity with Foreign-Trade Zones https://t.co/JZZxiJcyt9 @NAFTZ https://t.co/SqYWEGtxkH
Google Signs Long-Term Deal with Amex GBT, Shell SAF Platform
Google has renewed its long‑term agreement with American Express Global Business Travel and Shell Aviation to source sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) data through the Avelia registry. The partnership, first launched in 2022, uses a book‑and‑claim model that lets business travelers...
Industry Calls Gulf States to Free 20,000 Stranded Seafarers
Industry Groups Urge Gulf States to Act as 20,000 Seafarers Remain Stranded by Hormuz Crisis. While there is so many stories on oil, an overlooked story. Seafarers, aka, people. https://t.co/xhpMLHLipe
U.S. Cuts Hormuz Use, Calls Out Weakening Royal Navy
“We use the Strait of Hormuz dramatically less than most.” Secretary @PeteHegseth then called out Britain’s weakened navy from the Pentagon podium: “Last I checked there’s supposed to be a big bad Royal Navy prepared to do that as well.“ https://t.co/lwRiXcdYj6
Air Cargo Demand up 11.2% in February 2026, IATA Reports
The International Air Transport Association reported that global air‑cargo demand in February 2026 jumped 11.2% year‑on‑year, with international demand up 11.6%. Available cargo capacity rose 8.5% (9.8% for international routes), trailing the demand surge. Africa led regional growth with a...
Hormuz Turns Toll Road as VLCC Burns
Hormuz now a pay to pass corridor. From being forced to pay a “toll” to a VLCC attacked and on fire, a day in the maritime mess at the Strait of Hormuz. https://t.co/ENyO92nyeS
Indiana Mandates English Proficiency, Fines CDL Violations $50K
“Indiana’s law would require non-U.S. citizens to be proficient in English before applying for a CDL. It will fine CDL schools and businesses $50,000 if they’re caught issuing licenses or employing people without the proper legal status.” https://t.co/YC7txv2LK9
Ukraine's Drone Attacks Slash Russian Oil Exports
This is something to keep an eye on. Ukraine has been damaging Russian oil export capacity, via drone. The country's seaborne shipments last week were the lowest since 2022, but unclear if it's the start of a longer trend. ...
Fund FMCSA, Enforce Rules to Stop Truck Fatalities
15 people die from accidents involving heavy duty trucks. The fix is obvious: fund the FMCSA and enforce the rules to get bad actors off our roads
Massive KitKat Heist Highlights Freight Fraud Vulnerabilities
Cargo Thieves Make a Break with 413,793 KitKat Bars — And What It Says About Freight Fraud - https://t.co/K2QyxvQbCv @Nestle #KitKat #freightfraud #cargotheft #trucking #supplychain #logistics #riskmanagement
March Trucking Spot Rates Jump $0.48 to $3.18 per Mile
Trucking spot rates finish +$.48/mile for March on the daily. They started at $2.70/mile on March 1 and finish off at $3.18/mile. https://t.co/C4NHcEJZyJ
30 Gulf Ship Attacks Expose US Protection Gaps
Why is anyone surprised by this with nearly 30 ship attacks in the Persian Gulf since March 1. Add to that, even US flagged ships feel like they are not getting the attention, let alone protection, they deserve.
AI Success Requires Building an Operating System, Not a Factory
With AI, most companies think they bought a factory. They’re still swinging a hammer. That’s Level 1. The companies pulling away in speed, cost and market share are building an AI operating system. That’s Level 2. 👉 https://t.co/31Z0V8EpqB #AIOperatingSystem #DigitalEnablement https://t.co/VUK9fKME6U
China Extends Fuel Export Ban, Offers Minimal Relief
China has extended its fuel export ban for another month to April. There is now talk of letting a small amount of fuel out to countries like Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and the Maldives. But the shipments would be only ~5%-10%...
Leverage Supplier Health Data to Preempt Supply Chain Risks
Don't wait for supply chain disruptions. Use non-traditional data like supplier financial health and employee satisfaction as leading indicators. Anticipate risks before they impact you. #SupplyChain #RiskManagement https://t.co/bChJFcu9Ha
Food Distributors Hike Fees as Diesel Prices Surge
"Fresh Food Distributors Add Surcharges as Fuel Costs Rise: Delivering salmon, fruits and other perishable foods has become more expensive as the war with Iran pushes up diesel prices." https://t.co/6WK0ANZ5FM https://t.co/alEhgd4FKd
Drone Strike Damages Laden Supertanker, Gulf Shipping Tensions Rise
"Drone Strike Hits Laden Supertanker Off Dubai as Gulf Shipping Incidents Flare Again" H/T @MikeSchuler https://t.co/86eTtck1NM
FMC Denies Lines' Request to Shorten Rate-Hike Notice
"FMC rejects carrier request for shorter notice on ocean rate hikes Lines had asked to shorten 30 day notice period, citing Iran war effects" https://t.co/f3pFfoLu25
EU Escorts Boost Red Sea Shipping as MED2 Restarts
Notice out from @cmacgm about restarting MED2 with service around Africa. The European Union has consistently provided direct escorts for their national ships in the Red Sea/Bab el-Mandeb against the Houthis.
Russian Oil Tanker Arrives at Cuba’s Matanzas Port
MATANZAS, Cuba, March 31 (Reuters) - A Russia-flagged tanker carrying some 700,000 barrels of Russian oil arrived in the anchorage area of the Cuban port of Matanzas at daybreak Tuesday, according to a Reuters witness.