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
What Is Rolling Inventory? How to Manage It With Shopify (2026)
Rolling inventory treats trailers, containers and roll cages as mobile storage, letting inbound freight wait in the yard until needed. Developed at UMass Amherst, the strategy cuts labor by avoiding repeated unload‑reload cycles and eases congestion in increasingly expensive warehouse space. U.S. industrial vacancy sits at 7.1% and asking rents average $10.10 per square foot, making space‑saving tactics critical. Shopify now supports rolling inventory by allowing each trailer to function as a tracked location within its fulfillment network.
Two Humanitarian Aid Boats Safely Reach Havana After Being Located By Mexican Navy
Two Mexican humanitarian‑aid sailboats, part of the Nuestra America convoy, safely docked in Havana after a brief disappearance and weather‑related delay. Mexican Navy surveillance aircraft located the vessels roughly 80 nautical miles off Cuba, confirming crews were healthy. The boats...
Shandong Marine Extends MIX Service to Bangladesh
Shandong Marine Corporation announced the extension of its Malaysia‑Indonesia Express (MIX) service to Chittagong, Bangladesh. The expansion adds a 370‑TEU vessel to the existing 700‑TEU ship, raising total capacity on the route. The revised rotation will call at Port Kelang,...
Iran Clears 20 Pakistan-Flagged Vessels Through Hormuz
Iran announced it will clear twenty Pakistani‑flagged vessels through the Strait of Hormuz, allowing two ships per day after months of near‑total closure due to regional tensions. The move follows earlier passages of two tankers carrying roughly 500,000 and 600,000...
UN Launches Task Force as COSCO Ships Turn Back, Oil Hits Three‑year High Amid Hormuz Crisis
The United Nations announced a new task force to safeguard Strait of Hormuz trade as two COSCO container ships were forced to retreat, and oil prices rose to their highest levels since 2022. The moves highlight mounting pressure on global...
Gulf War May Push Beverage Prices Up
PepsiCo and Coca‑Cola warned that the Gulf conflict is driving up key input costs, especially PET resin, which has jumped about 65% to roughly $1,580‑$1,744 per metric ton since late February. Container freight from East Asia to the U.S. West...
Oman Suspends Operations at Key Arabian Sea Port After Drone Strike
On March 29, Iranian drones struck Oman's Port of Salalah, damaging a large container crane and injuring a foreign worker. The attack forced the port, which handled over 3.3 million TEU in 2024, to suspend operations for an estimated 48 hours....
Qatar LNG Disruption Pushes US Gas to Asia, yet Bottlenecked
The disruption of Qatari LNG will see an increased of US LNG to Asia. The limitations will be: 1️⃣US ability to ramp up exports 2️⃣Availability of ships to haul the longer ton-miles from the US to Asia vice Qatar 3️⃣The limitations of the Panama...
South Korea, EU Commit to Deepen Critical‑Miner Supply Chain Ties
South Korea’s Second Vice Foreign Minister Kim Jina met with EU External Action Service secretary general Belen Martinez Carbonell in Seoul, agreeing to broaden cooperation on critical‑material supply chains and economic security. The dialogue, set against a backdrop of geopolitical tension,...
Oil Prices Surge as Middle East Tensions Threaten Energy Security
U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to halt oil shipments to Cuba and a high‑level call involving Elon Musk, Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on keeping the Strait of Hormuz open have pushed global oil prices to multi‑year highs....
Hotel Margins Squeezed as TSA Shutdown Extends Airport Delays and Jet Fuel Costs Surge
A partial DHS shutdown has left 61,000 TSA workers unpaid for six weeks, extending airport security lines and prompting President Trump to sign an emergency pay order. Combined with soaring jet fuel prices, the travel disruption is pressuring hotel operators,...
European Shares Slip as Iran‑Israel Conflict Fuels Energy Uncertainty
European benchmarks opened lower after mixed signals from the Iran‑Israel war pushed oil prices higher and heightened geopolitical risk. The slide reflects investor anxiety over a potential supply bottleneck at the Strait of Hormuz and its knock‑on effects on European...
Rice Security Gets Boost with High-Tech Warehouses
The Philippines' National Food Authority (NFA) is modernizing a major rice warehouse in Camarines Sur with an automated ventilation system that uses LoRa‑enabled sensors to monitor temperature and humidity every five minutes. The upgrade adds a 16‑kilowatt solar power array...
Jubilant FoodWorks Says Stores Impacted by LPG Supply Shortage Amid West Asia War: What We Know
Jubilant FoodWorks disclosed that the ongoing Israel‑U.S‑Iran conflict has disrupted LPG cylinder deliveries, affecting several Domino's Pizza and Dunkin’ Donuts outlets across India. The shortage stems from reduced LPG imports due to blockades in the Strait of Hormuz and broader...
War‑Driven Supply Shock Meets Fading Peak‑Demand, Fueling Post‑Conflict Boom
Gulf War III is far from over. Long-term impacts are très TBD. But it's noteworthy that, just prior to the outbreak, the consensus peak-demand narrative for oil and gas began to crumble. Folks started to realize we're short...
Global Freight Thieves Mirror Domestic Tactics, Says Report
Turns out foreign overseas freight theft gangs use the same methods abroad as they do here “The company said the stolen truck had left a factory in central Italy and was making its way to Poland when it was stolen,...
Zelenskiy Seeks Fuel Supply Deals During Middle East Tour
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy used a Middle East tour to lock in long‑term military and energy partnerships. Kyiv signed 10‑year defense agreements with Saudi Arabia and Qatar and is negotiating a similar pact with the United Arab Emirates. The agreements,...
Middle East’s Top Aluminum Maker Says Main Smelter Damaged
Emirates Global Aluminium, the Middle East’s largest aluminum producer, reported significant damage to its main smelter after an Iranian missile and drone attack on Saturday. The plant, a cornerstone of the UAE’s metal export capacity, is now offline pending assessments....
Marsa Ocean Launches New India–Red Sea and Regional Services
Shipping line Marsa Ocean announced two new container services linking India with the Red Sea. The India‑Red Sea (IFR) service will run fortnightly using two 1,200‑TEU vessels, calling at Mundra, Nhava Sheva, Fujairah, Djibouti and Aden. The Red Sea Express...
Houthis Threaten Bab Al-Mandeb, Risking Saudi Pipeline Bypass
The Houthis of Yemen have entered the war, claiming the launch of a ballistic missile against Israel. The more important aspect of their involvement is whether they try to disrupt traffic in the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, effectively jeopardising Saudi efforts...
Week 4 Strait of Hormuz Recap
Week 4 Recap of the Strait of Hormuz 1⃣Is the Aya-TOLL-ah Booth Open to Everyone? 2⃣Week 4 @gCaptain headlines 3⃣ @UK_MTO JMIC Update 4⃣ Mar 26 & 27 Replay @MarineTraffic 5⃣ Role of Tripoli Amphibious Ready Group? Video: https://t.co/vwiilPKiZe https://t.co/UPIM7Z8QwU
Sika Invests in Robotic Rebar Specialist MESH
Swiss chemicals group Sika has taken a strategic stake in MESH AG, an ETH Zurich spin‑off that develops robot‑assisted reinforcement manufacturing, as part of a CHF 2.9 million funding round that also includes ABB Robotics and Shimizu Corporation. The investment will fund...
Future View:
guy in the future: “So, how serious is this, on a scale of just noise to that time the Strait of Hormuz got closed?”
Pentagon's Decades-Long Underfunding Leaves Troops Scrambling for Shelters
Passive defenses — bunkers, hardened shelters, dispersal — aren't glamorous. The Pentagon has underfunded them for decades. Now, with U.S. troops under fire in the Middle East, DoD is scrambling to find vendors who can ship prefabricated shelters within 30...
U.S. Government Bans Foreign‑Made Wi‑Fi Routers Over Security Concerns
The United States announced a ban on the sale and distribution of foreign‑manufactured Wi‑Fi routers, citing national‑security concerns. The move targets equipment from several Asian vendors and could force a rapid shift toward domestically produced networking gear.
Risk, Not Geography, Keeps Hormuz Closed
Who is WE @tangobastogne ? The opportunity to secure Hormuz passed in late February Now it’s risk that keeps it closed, not geography How can WE eliminate the risk of drones, mines & fast boats? WE cannot
Digital Machining Pioneer Dr. Erdem Ozturk Returns
🎙️In this throwback episode, my guest is 𝐃𝐫. 𝐄𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐦 𝐎𝐳𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐤, an internationally recognised leader in the digital machining field. Stream now: 🔗 https://t.co/qcr2entAlM 📽️ https://t.co/80kIXr9r5B 🔗 https://t.co/DmYp21NDA3 https://t.co/zmuptGxUmz
Judge Blocks Pentagon’s Attempt to Label Anthropic a Supply‑Chain Risk
U.S. District Judge Rita Lin issued a preliminary injunction stopping the Defense Department from designating AI startup Anthropic as a national‑security supply‑chain risk. The ruling calls the move an unlawful First Amendment retaliation and leaves the Pentagon’s use of Claude...
Hormuz Controls Global Economy; Oil Flow Secures War Viability
Let me be clear @LukeGromen: Hormuz is the global economy. If you couldn’t secure oil flows, you had no business starting a war that could put the world here. No aspirations. Just hard reality.
Pipeline Transports Crude; Unclear How Much Is Refined
Everything that I've seen about the pipeline is that it can only carry crude. There is refining capacity on that side of Saudi, but - open question - what portion of the pipeline crude coming to Yanbu is being refined...
Amazon's Project Kobe Aims to Launch Walmart‑Style Supercenters Powered by Robots and AI
Amazon announced that its internal "Project Kobe" will pilot massive supercenters that fuse grocery, general merchandise and a robot‑filled fulfillment hub. The first sites – Orland Park, IL and three additional locations – total roughly 225,000 square feet each, with...
Five Tankers Load, Dozens Still Queuing in Red
While 5 oil tankers are loading at Once in the two Saudi ports on the Red Sea, count the tankers that are waiting to load (In red)
Stand Firm on Pricing; Avoid Extra Discount Demands
Founders: When procurement asks for another discount on top of your agreed price, stand firm. You already factored this into your initial pricing. Remind them you're offering market rates and need sustainable margins to deliver value. Don't enter a reverse auction.
U.S.–Indonesia Trade Deal Sparks Outcry Over Mining Expansion and Fossil‑Fuel Extraction
Environmental activists have condemned the U.S.–Indonesia trade agreement signed on Feb. 19, saying it paves the way for expanded mining and fossil‑fuel extraction in Indonesia. The deal, valued at $33 billion, includes provisions that could loosen export bans on raw minerals and...
BIS Lists Block Shipping, Not Purchasing, for Chinese Buyers
Being on the BIS UVL or Entity List doesn’t restrict buying “from” it restricts shipping “to”. There could be political pressure but I doubt it, especially if used for Chinese consumers.
Middle East Conflict Escalates, Economic Damage Yet Unfolding
A month ago it was just airstrikes on Iran. Now the Houthis are launching missiles at Israel, Iranian drones are hitting US bases in Saudi Arabia, and two shipping lanes are shut. Lots of economic damage coming. Stay patient. The bottom is...
Micron Starts Mass Production of HBM4 for Nvidia's Vera Rubin AI Chip
Micron Technology has begun mass production of its fourth‑generation high‑bandwidth memory (HBM4) to power Nvidia's Vera Rubin AI accelerator. The move comes as Micron ramps up a $100 billion semiconductor fab in upstate New York and reports a 196% year‑over‑year revenue...
Company Hides Furnace Restart Cost, Estimated at $30 Million
"The company also did not disclose how much it spent to restart the second furnace in Granite City. McKey estimated it could be around $30 million." https://t.co/4fNwGyi7aw https://t.co/SrSjAIYZ4c
Quarter of Global LNG Supply Offline After Attacks, Cyclone
And just like that, a quarter of global LNG supply is offline 🚢 ⚠️ Hormuz/Iran attacks have disrupted deliveries from Qatar and UAE Cyclone temporarily knocks out plants in Western Australia (Nice graphic from IEA’s Greg Molnar) https://t.co/ymJmTrTZGx
Indonesia’s ‘Perfect Storm’: Downgrade Risks, US Trade Tensions and Iran War Threaten Growth
Indonesia’s growth outlook is being squeezed by three simultaneous shocks – looming sovereign‑rating downgrades, renewed US trade friction and a fuel crisis sparked by the Iran war. Analysts warn the combined impact could stall the country’s 8% growth target and...
Israel-Iran Strike Threatens Global Supply Chain Stability
Israel’s attack on Iran while there were attempts at “peace” negotiations may have compounded the supply chain and maritime problems that are bordering on supply and economic catastrophe. IMHO
Embrace Chaos: Rethink Tiered End‑to‑End Supply Chains
Six years of supply chain and logistics disruption. The need is to understand the E2E supply chain, especially the tiered, nonlinear upstream supply chain. Forget buzzwords like ‘resilience’. Fresh thinking. Adapt to what will continue—SCM chaos.
No Source Data Available on Asian Refiners' Shift to Brent Pricing
The provided source material does not contain any information about Asian refiners changing US crude pricing benchmarks from Dubai to Brent, nor about related Middle East supply volatility. Consequently, specific facts, figures, or participant quotes are unavailable.
Dallas Surge Redirects Trucks, Balances National Capacity
When a big market like Dallas surges, large carriers prioritize loads inbound to take advantage. This takes trucks from other parts of the country, but smoothes out the capacity map across the US.
Saudi East-West Pipeline Hits Full 7 Million‑Barrel Capacity
Very early on the war I wrote about SaudiArabia’s crucial East-West oil pipeline (see 👇). Now, the conduit has reached its nameplate capacity of 7 million b/d, wit exports from the Saudi Red Sea coast to global markets >5 million...
AI Agents Power China’s One‑Person Company Surge, Alibaba Says
Alibaba.com president Kuo Zhang reports that 30%‑40% of the platform’s customers are now "one‑person companies," a growth fueled by AI agents that automate core e‑commerce functions. The trend is reshaping how startups are formed in China, with 10 million active users...
Reliance and Samsung C&T Seal $3 Bn Green Ammonia Pact
Reliance Industries, Samsung C&T sign $3 billion green ammonia supply deal #energysky -- via pv magazine global: https://t.co/QhgLo7pNfi
Helium Shortage Triggers $930 M Warning for IonQ, Rigetti and D‑Wave Stocks
A market alert warning of a $930 million hit to the quantum‑computing sector has pushed IonQ, Rigetti and D‑Wave shares down. The warning stems from a helium supply crunch caused by the Iran‑U.S. conflict, which threatens the low‑temperature environments needed for...
Imabari Shipbuilding Delivers 40,000-DWT Bulk Carrier KITA
Imabari Shipbuilding delivered the 40,000‑DWT bulk carrier KITA on March 24, completing construction at its head‑office yard. The vessel combines a double‑hull, box‑shaped hold with four deck cranes and wide hatch openings, enabling rapid handling of grain, coal, ore and steel...
Dallas Shifts From Backhaul Nightmare to Extreme Tightening
I'm old enough to remember when Dallas was a backhaul market and one of the worst places to send trucks to. That is has not been the case for many years and certainly not now. The Dallas market is experiencing...