Today's Supply Chain Pulse
Logistics volatility declared permanent in 2026 State of Logistics Report
The report finds supply‑chain volatility now a permanent condition, with U.S. logistics costs falling to $2.4 trillion, or 7.8% of GDP, down from $2.6 trillion in 2025. Five structural forces—uneven global growth, tighter financial conditions, geoeconomic realignment, labor constraints, and energy price swings—drive the new normal, while AI and automation reshape operations.
Also developing:
By the numbers: US IDFC partners with Chubb on $20B maritime reinsurance plan
Chinese PV Industry Brief: Polysilicon Prices Remain Flat Amid Supply-Demand Rebalancing Signals
Polysilicon prices in China held steady at CNY 35,000‑36,000 per ton ($4,840‑$4,980) as May output of roughly 83,000 metric tons matched wafer operating rates, easing inventory pressure. The China Nonferrous Metals Industry Association noted the market is shifting from excess stock toward a balanced supply‑demand state. Simultaneously, China Huaneng Group and Longi signed a strategic cooperation to co‑develop utility‑scale solar, storage and BC‑cell technologies, with plans to expand overseas under the Belt and Road Initiative. Autowell Technology reported the termination of a CNY 400 million ($55 million) equipment contract after the buyer failed to meet investment and payment milestones.
Inside the Mixed Signals of a U.S. Manufacturing Revival
U.S. manufacturing appears to be in a paradox, with a surge in announced advanced‑plant projects that are 57% costlier than the 10‑year average, yet overall industrial output remains flat. Savills reports only one‑third of the past five years' announcements have...
What Is Dedicated Transportation?
Dedicated transportation, often called DDC, is framed through four lenses: cost stability, risk transfer, operational control, and model clarity. Unlike traditional spot‑market shipping, it prioritizes cost predictability by allowing carriers to flex fleet size as demand fluctuates, avoiding expensive expedited...
Iran Claims More than 90 Vessels Have Transited Strait of Hormuz in the Past Three Days
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps announced that more than 90 vessels have passed through the Strait of Hormuz over the past three days, including 35 ships in the last 24 hours. The total count since Tuesday reaches 92 vessels, a...
Fifteen Years of Cargolux Results Reveal Air Cargo’s Uneven New Era
Cargolux posted a net profit of $465 million in 2025, slightly above its $448 million 2024 result, underscoring a robust post‑pandemic baseline for air cargo. The airline’s delayed B777‑8F deliveries, now pushed to 2029, highlight a broader freighter shortage that keeps older...
Divergent Paths in the Race for Autonomous Cargo Aviation
The autonomous cargo aviation race is crystallizing around three distinct models. Pakistan’s Zelta AeroSystems proposes an amphibious VTOL with hybrid or fuel‑cell power and a licensing‑focused strategy for sovereign markets. U.S.‑based Elroy Air is building a certifiable hybrid‑electric VTOL, the...
EIR Says Qatari LNG Outage Will Shift Gas Market to Deficit
Enverus Intelligence Research (EIR) warns that missile‑induced outages at Qatar's Ras Laffan LNG complex will push the global gas market into a structural deficit, forecasting an 8 billion cubic feet per day shortfall by 2026. The outage removes roughly two billion cubic feet...
Surgical CH Robinson: ‘Ready to Do M&A, We’re Going to Do M&A’
C.H. Robinson’s share price surged from $111 in late 2024 to a record $203 earlier this year, settling around $178 and giving the company a $21 billion market value. The AI‑driven freight broker has trimmed its workforce to 11,705 employees, equating...
How Can Semi-Trailers that Cannot Be Lifted Directly by a Crane Be Loaded Onto Trains? Demonstration at Railport Arad
Railport Arad demonstrated a new “clamshell” loading system that enables semi‑trailers lacking crane‑lifting points to be placed onto specialized railcars. The solution, shown at the Club Feroviar conference in Curtici, expands the terminal’s ability to handle a broader range of...
Gulf Tanker Traffic Falls to 5% of Pre‑war Levels as Hormuz Conflict Drives Insurance Costs Sky‑high
Shipping through the Strait of Hormuz has collapsed to roughly 5% of pre‑war volumes, cutting Gulf tanker traffic by about 13% and prompting insurers to raise premiums sharply. Industry leaders warn the disruption could linger as Iran and the U.S....
Starbucks Pulls AI Inventory Tool After Nine Months, Citing Miscounts
Starbucks announced it is discontinuing the AI‑powered "Automated Counting" inventory system it launched with NomadGo in September 2025. The tool, meant to speed up shelf scans, was plagued by mislabeling and counting errors, prompting a return to manual processes.
How European Automotive OEMs Use Independent Market Benchmarks to Defend Margins Under CBAM and EU ETS Pressure
European automotive OEMs are turning to independent market benchmarks to manage the rising carbon costs embedded in steel, aluminium, batteries and other inputs. The EU's Fit for 55 package, CBAM and the EU ETS are shifting emissions pricing from compliance...
Lufthansa Cargo Achieves Dual IATA CEIV Pharma Certification
Lufthansa Cargo announced on 22 May that it has earned two IATA CEIV Pharma certificates – a corporate certificate and an airline certificate – confirming compliance with global standards for shipping time‑ and temperature‑sensitive healthcare products. The corporate certificate expands the...
Boeing Lands 200‑plane China Order, Shares Tumble Nearly 5% as Investors Balk
Boeing confirmed a 200‑aircraft purchase from China, its first major sale to the market in almost a decade. The announcement sent the stock down 4.7% on the day of the reveal and a further 1.4% overnight, as investors had expected...
Hong Kong Firm Targets More Green Methanol From China
Venture Energy, a Hong Kong‑based clean‑fuel trader, has signed a memorandum of understanding with CSSC Science & Technology and China Shipbuilding Trading Co. to establish a long‑term off‑take framework for green methanol. The partnership will expand cooperation across production, procurement,...
India's Steel Ministry Flags Met Coke Shortage, Seeks Withdrawal of Anti-Dumping Duty
India's Ministry of Steel has asked the Finance Ministry to withdraw the provisional anti‑dumping duty on low‑ash metallurgical coke (met‑coke) imposed in December. The ministry says domestic met‑coke supplies are insufficient and prices have surged, raising input costs for steelmakers....
Nordex Starts Türkiye Blade Production
Nordex Group has opened a 130,000‑square‑metre blade factory in Menemen, İzmir, Turkey, capable of producing up to 1,200 rotor blades a year. The plant will initially supply blades for the country’s YEKA‑4 and YEKA‑5 wind projects and is sized to...
Emirates Shipping Line Launches CSX2 Service
Emirates Shipping Line (ESL) announced the launch of CSX2, a weekly container service linking major Chinese ports with the Indian Subcontinent, effective June 11, 2026. The route provides direct connectivity and includes transshipment of Red Sea cargo through Mundra, positioning the Indian...
Dexory Upgrades the Tallest Robot in Warehousing
In this episode, Kevin Lawton interviews Chris Coot of Dexory at Modex 2026 about the company’s newest offering, Dexory View Adapt, which adds AI‑driven root‑cause analysis and proactive alerts to their warehouse‑intelligence platform. The discussion highlights how the platform’s tall...
Russia and China Agree to Build New Cross-Border Railway
During President Putin's visit to Beijing, Russia and China signed an intergovernmental agreement to add a second 1,435‑mm gauge track on the Zabaikalsk‑Manzhouli cross‑border railway. The upgrade is slated to boost corridor capacity by 11 million tonnes and enable roughly 50...
Advent, FedEx, A&R & PPF Launch €7.8bn All-Cash Offer for InPost
Advent International, together with FedEx, A&R Capital and PPF Group, has launched an all‑cash bid of €7.8 billion (about $8.5 billion) to acquire InPost, the Polish‑based parcel‑locker and last‑mile delivery specialist. The offer values InPost at a premium to its current market...
Mitsubishi Electric Develops CNC Error Compensation Digital Twin
Mitsubishi Electric, in partnership with RWTH Aachen University, has created an edge‑based digital‑twin that predicts and compensates CNC machining errors in real time. The compact physical model runs directly on the machine controller, using high‑frequency sensor data to adjust tool...
Geek+ Launches Next-Generation Intelligent Operation Platform (IOP)
Geek+, the Hong Kong‑listed warehouse robotics leader, unveiled its next‑generation Intelligent Operation Platform (IOP), a cloud‑native suite that centralizes AI‑driven analytics, device monitoring, and customizable dashboards. The platform offers flexible deployment—public, private, or on‑premises—with a one‑click launch capability, scaling from...
China Will Have Rare Earths Leverage Over the US for a Long Time
China’s dominance of the rare‑earth market, controlling roughly 80% of global production, will persist for years, giving Beijing strategic leverage over the United States. The U.S. still imports about 70% of its rare‑earths from China, despite recent policy pushes to...
Hormuz Is a Warning for the Indo-Pacific
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps threatened to seal the Strait of Hormuz in February, warning it would fire on any vessel attempting passage. Tehran deployed drones, anti‑ship missiles and mines, effectively choking Middle Eastern oil exports and spiking global energy...
Singapore Shipping Magnate Accused by US in Price Fixing Scheme
Singapore shipping magnate Teo Siong Seng has been indicted by the U.S. Justice Department for allegedly colluding with executives from four major container manufacturers to fix dry‑container prices. The indictment, filed in January and unsealed this week, alleges a global...
Chalco Agrees to Build Guinea Alumina Plant for $1 Billion
Aluminum Corp. of China Ltd. (Chalco) announced a $1 billion investment to build a 1.2‑million‑ton‑per‑year alumina plant in Guinea. The project will be developed through a new entity, with the Guinean government receiving a 5% equity stake at no cost and...
800 Gulf Vessels Stranded as Barnacles, Jellyfish and Soaring Freight Rates Choke Trade
About 800 merchant ships are anchored in the Gulf after February fighting, now battling heavy barnacle, algae and jellyfish growth. Freight costs have jumped four to six times as carriers reroute, prompting emergency measures from Dubai Customs.
EU to Force Dual-Source Chip Rules on Carmakers, Mulls Sanctions Waiver for Nexperia
The European Commission is preparing a draft law that will obligate automakers such as Volkswagen, Stellantis and Renault to buy semiconductors from at least two suppliers, while simultaneously weighing a temporary suspension of sanctions on Chinese‑owned chipmaker Nexperia. The twin...
Humanoid Teams with Bosch and Schaeffler to Mass‑Produce HMND Robots in Europe
London‑based Humanoid announced a partnership with Robert Bosch GmbH and Schaeffler Technologies AG to scale production of its HMND humanoid robot across Europe. The deal moves the platform from a successful proof‑of‑concept to volume manufacturing, with plans to deploy thousands...
Sharebot Secures Hundreds of Millions of Yuan to Expand Robot‑as‑a‑Service Into Manufacturing
Shanghai‑based Sharebot closed a Series A and Series A+ round raising hundreds of millions of yuan, lifting its valuation to 7 billion yuan ($1.03 bn). The funding will shift the company from exhibition‑focused rentals to a Robot‑as‑a‑Service model for manufacturing, warehousing and industrial parks.
Australia Turns to China for Emergency Jet Fuel
Australia has secured three emergency jet‑fuel shipments from China after a fire forced one of its two refineries offline. The imports arrive amid a worldwide jet‑fuel shortage that is tightening supplies and driving up prices. Officials say additional deliveries are...
High Prices Ease Jet Fuel Supply Outlook for Europe’s Airlines
European airlines say jet‑fuel shortages are unlikely despite the Strait of Hormuz closure. Ryanair and easyJet report stable supplies sourced from West Africa, the Americas and Norway. Wizz Air and TUI note that soaring fuel prices have spurred additional imports from...
Canada Breaks Ground on $2 B Matawinie Graphite Mine, Targeting EV Battery Supply
Prime Minister Mark Carney officially broke ground on the Matawinie graphite mine in Quebec, a $2 billion project that will produce over 106,000 tonnes of natural graphite a year. Backed by a $335 million Canadian‑to‑U.S. financing package and a seven‑year, 30,000‑tonne offtake...
Zipline Dominates Drone Deliveries, Saving 17,000 Lives Annually
This is how your next Chipotle burrito, online package, and medical prescription will be delivered. And it might be my favorite company in all of robotics right now. Zipline has done over 2 million autonomous drone deliveries to date. That's more than every...
DPRTE Scotland Delivers an Astounding First Edition
The inaugural DPRTE Scottish Defence Procurement & Supply Chain Summit in Glasgow gathered defence buyers, prime contractors, SMEs and policymakers, marking the first Scotland‑specific edition of the long‑running UK defence procurement forum. Attendees heard from senior officials, including the MoD’s...
UK-Australia Manufacturing Pilot Targets Faster AUKUS Submarine Sustainment
Babcock International and Truflo Marine have launched a UK‑Australia pilot to produce low‑complexity submarine valve components at Truflo’s Century Engineering facility in Adelaide, with engineering oversight, quality assurance and validation provided from the UK over an 18‑month period. The initiative...
Walmart Delivery Can Now Reach 60 Percent of Americans in Under 30 Minutes
Walmart announced that its delivery network can now reach 60 percent of U.S. households in 30 minutes or less, leveraging its extensive store footprint. Store‑based delivery sales have more than doubled over the past two years, making sub‑hour fulfillment its fastest‑growing...
Niger Cancels 58‑Year French Uranium Concession at Arlit, Threatening Global Fuel Supply
Niger's military government formally revoked the French‑run Arlit uranium concession on May 18, 2026, ending a partnership that began in 1968. The decision removes a source that has supplied up to 7% of worldwide uranium, raising concerns over supply security...
Broker Liability Ruling: Carriers, Brokers, Analysts Weigh In
The U.S. Supreme Court broadened liability for freight brokers that fail to vet drivers, a ruling that tilts the market toward large, asset‑based carriers with deep financial resources. Schneider National has already slashed its broker network by 76%, while RXO...
Hormuz Closure Threatens Recession-Scale Economic Downturn
A closure of the Strait of Hormuz through August raises the risk of an economic downturn that comes close to the scale of the Great Recession in 2008, according to Rapidan Energy Group https://t.co/BO69wnSivn via @MiaGindis https://t.co/Sdbohmrflw
ILWU Chief Slams ‘Foreign Shipping Companies’ Ahead of Contract Expiration
The International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) warned West Coast employers, dominated by foreign shipping firms, that the union’s coast‑wide contract expires in 2028. ILWU President Bobby Olvera accused these carriers of prioritizing overseas profit over local port communities. The...
People News: OmniTRAX, Conrail
OmniTRAX announced the appointment of Phillip Hoskins as Vice President of Transload, a move tied to a $100 million investment from its real‑estate affiliate to build a national network of industrial outdoor storage (IOS) and multimodal logistics hubs. The new hubs...
Taiwan Is Cracking Down on AI Chip Smuggling
Taiwanese prosecutors are seeking detention of three individuals accused of forging paperwork to ship about 50 Super Micro servers, equipped with Nvidia GPUs, to China. The hardware falls under U.S. export restrictions introduced in 2022 to curb China’s access to...
Freight Fraud Has Gone Corporate
Freight fraud is accelerating, moving from opportunistic theft to organized, technology‑enabled identity deception. Cargo theft incidents are rising double‑digit year over year, with average losses now exceeding $200,000 per incident. Artificial intelligence is a force multiplier, allowing fraudsters to produce...
April Trailer Orders Defy Seasonal Expectations Again
U.S. trailer orders surged in April, with ACT Research reporting a 126% year‑over‑year increase to 19,400 units and FTR Transportation Intelligence noting a 100% rise to 19,953 units. Both sources showed sequential gains, defying the usual spring slowdown that typically...
NTN Starts China Push for EV Bearing Production
NTN announced the start of prototype production for its resin‑mold insulated bearings in China, targeting e‑axle applications for electric and hybrid vehicles. The company previously began mass production in Japan in 2025 and now plans a staged rollout in China...
Seeing High Turnover for Supply Chain Jobs? Start by Fixing Your Hiring Process
Supply chain turnover is soaring—26‑28% in manufacturing and nearly 49% in warehousing—well above the national average. The article argues that most early exits stem from hiring missteps rather than post‑hire programs. Wrong skills, cultural misfit, and unrealistic job expectations create...
Kyrgyzstan Begins $430mn Coal Project Backed by China
Kyrgyzstan has launched a $430 million coal logistics complex in the Osh region, backed by Chinese partner Xinjiang Dacheng Yuanlong Technology and state‑owned Kyrgyzkomur. The infrastructure, beginning with a 7.7‑km conveyor, aims to boost coal transport capacity to 10 million tonnes annually...
ADG 5/21: Price Check
The U.S. Justice Department has charged four major shipping‑container manufacturers—including Hong Kong‑based Singamas and China’s CIMC—accusing them of a multi‑year price‑fixing conspiracy that doubled container prices from 2019 to 2021. In parallel, Walmart reported first‑quarter results that missed consensus, with...