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
Monash University Research Highlights Safer, Smarter Human-Robot Teamwork in Manufacturing
Monash University researchers published a review in the International Journal of Production Research showing that better prediction of human behaviour by robots can make manufacturing safer, more adaptive and efficient as Industry 5.0 evolves. The study compares mechanism‑based, data‑driven and hybrid prediction models, concluding that integrated approaches deliver the strongest performance. It highlights challenges such as human variability, scarce multimodal datasets, and the need to account for trust and cognitive load. The authors propose a unified framework that combines multimodal data, physical modelling and adaptive control to improve human‑robot teamwork.
Glitch Shuts Australia's Biggest Maker Of Vital Fertilizer Input For 2 Months At Worst Possible Time
Australia’s largest ammonia producer, Yara’s Pilbara plant, will be offline for roughly two months after a power outage damaged equipment. The facility accounts for about 5% of the world’s traded ammonia, a key feedstock for urea fertilizer and ammonium nitrate...
Century‑Old Jones Act Still Stifles U.S. Shipping
The best parts of this very good @60Minutes segment have gotta be when @cpgrabow tells @LesleyRStahl a few basic Jones Act absurdities, and she repeatedly gasps "NO!" in disbelief - truly shocked that a century-old US law could be...
Shopee and TikTok Shop Are Reshaping Vietnam Logistics
Vietnam's e‑commerce logistics is entering a consolidation phase as two major players, Ninja Van and Flex Speed, have withdrawn from B2C delivery. Shopee and TikTok Shop are projected to capture about 97% of the market, driving 429.7 trillion VND in...
Weekly NTI Set to Surpass $2.90 per Mile
The national truckload index, daily report, is signaling that weekly NTI is poised to break $2.90/mile tomorrow. Rates firmed sharply late last week. For those following at home or on Blue to Blue, ticker is SONAR: NTID.USA https://t.co/jxA5L55Osk
Strait of Hormuz Shutdown Sparks Logistics Shock for India's Auto and Fertiliser Sectors
The effective shutdown of the Strait of Hormuz has triggered a logistics bottleneck for India's automobile and fertiliser sectors. DAM Capital warns of a technical‑grade urea shortage that could immobilise diesel fleets, while Kotak Mahindra's Anindya Banerjee cites a 10‑12%...
ISS Monitors Dangerous Vehicles on Brazil's BR-101
Arteris Litoral Sul has equipped Brazil’s BR‑101 corridor with Intelligent Security Systems’ SecurOS Auto Hazardous Cargo module, which uses license‑plate recognition and placard decoding to flag dangerous‑goods vehicles in real time. The solution also incorporates automatic incident detection that spots...
AIM Global to Develop Item Identifier Lookup Service
AIM Global, the ISO International Registration Authority for ISO/IEC 15459, is creating an online IAC‑CIN Lookup Service to replace the current paper‑based Issuing Agency Register. The service will provide a searchable, open, federated database of globally unique identifiers for physical...
Ship Recycling Pauses for Eid
Eid al‑Fitr has temporarily halted ship‑breaking activity across major yards in Bangladesh, Pakistan and India. The pause comes as the Middle‑East conflict pushes Brent crude above $100 per barrel, boosting freight earnings and discouraging owners from scrapping vessels. Simultaneously, regional...
Port of Oakland: Exports Continue to Outperform Imports
The Port of Oakland handled 163,254 TEUs in February 2026, a 14.5% year‑over‑year decline and 16.7% drop from January as vessel activity slowed for Lunar New Year. Vessel calls fell to 72, reflecting planned blank sailings, yet export volumes remained...
Goldman Lifts 2026 Oil Forecasts Amid Hormuz Slowdown
GOLDMAN: “We upgrade our price forecast for two reasons. First, we now assume that Hormuz flows remain at only 5% of normal levels for a longer 6-week period before a gradual 1-month recovery. Second, a recognition of the risks from...
Thailand Post Trumpets EV Fleet as Fuel Costs Mount
Thailand Post, the state‑run logistics provider, is accelerating its shift to electric vehicles for last‑mile delivery as fuel prices surge amid the Middle East oil crisis. Oil now accounts for roughly 30% of the carrier’s operating costs, prompting a plan...
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Slovenia Limits Fuel Purchases as some Pumps Run Dry
Slovenia has imposed daily fuel purchase caps—50 litres for private cars and 200 litres for companies—to curb shortages after a sudden demand spike. Prime Minister Robert Golob assured that national reserves are sufficient, but many stations remain closed, prompting the government to order...
Cirrus360 Introduces New Automation System to Help Small Meat Processors
Cirrus360 unveiled Edgware, a 5G‑enabled automation platform for small and medium‑sized meat processors, at the 2026 International Livestock Congress in Houston. Developed with Rail19 and Texas A&M’s meat‑science faculty, the system fuses edge sensors, cloud analytics, and real‑time incident reporting...
Manufacturing Boost as Vorwerk Relocates Australasian HQ to Victoria
Global home‑technology firm Vorwerk announced the relocation of its Australasian headquarters from Perth to Melbourne, consolidating operations and positioning leadership closer to its largest customer base. The move is expected to generate 55 new jobs and leverages Victoria’s robust manufacturing,...
China Creates First National Standards for Humanoid Robots to Support Industry Scale-Up
China unveiled its first national standard system for humanoid robots, the Humanoid Robot and Embodied Intelligence Standard System (2026 Edition), at a Beijing technical committee meeting. The framework, built by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology with input from...
LONG READ: Coal Is Back.
Coal is re‑emerging as a key fallback fuel after the Iran‑triggered Operation Epic Fury disrupted global gas supplies. The International Energy Agency now projects 2026 coal demand at a record 8.85 bn tonnes, a 0.5% rise, while thermal‑coal prices have jumped...
Dexterity Says Its Physical AI World Model ‘Unlocks Full Potential on Nvidia Hardware’
Dexterity.ai announced that its production‑proven world model, Foresight, now runs on Nvidia L4 GPUs with a 17× speedup, cutting perception cycles from 1,508 ms to 90 ms. The redesign also increased sensor data utilization from 3 percent to 100 percent, delivering 32× more information...
Short‑lived Traffic Managers Fuel Impending Carrier Revenge
The issue at many major shippers is that the tenure of the traffic manager is less than two years. They've never seen a carrier's market. They don't know what its like when truckers have the power. Carrier's Revenge is...
National Trucking Capacity Is About to Tighten Significantly
National dry‑van spot rates surged to $2.89 per mile, the highest level since 2022, after a $0.12 weekly jump. The rise reflects a 20‑25% year‑over‑year recovery on key lanes and volumes at multi‑year highs. Carrier attrition, driver regulations and tender...
West Coast Surge Pulls Long‑Haul Truckers Eastward
The West Coast hasn't been participating in the trucking market surge, as the ports were slow this March due to CNY. That is about to change. We are seeing significant tightening in the Los Angeles freight market as containers start...
Europe Faces Jet Fuel Shortage Amid Kuwait Strikes
Forget TSA lines, the real problem with air travel in the coming weeks is fuel. Some cargoes are already diverting toward the U.S. on a Jones Act waiver, so domestic travel might hold. Europe? Different story. About 1.77M barrels/day of jet fuel...
Hellmann Expands Freight Forwarding Network in the Americas
Hellmann Worldwide Logistics is expanding its freight‑forwarding network across the Americas through a partnership with ProTrans, integrating TOC's forwarding activities into its global platform. The move bolsters Hellmann’s presence in the United States and Mexico, key markets in a high‑volume...
AI Boom Threatened by Helium Shortage and Chip Cooling Limits
“Silicon Valley spent the last two years convincing everyone that AI is a pure software revolution, completely forgetting that the entire trillion-dollar capex cycle is dependent on a noble gas extracted in a Middle Eastern warzone. 🤡 You can raise all...
Strategic Divestments: Turning Factory Closures Into Supplier Innovation Opportunities
Procurement leaders are increasingly tasked with managing strategic divestments, a role that flips their traditional buying focus to selling assets. Alessandro Comerci’s experience at Procter & Gamble shows that announcing a factory sale can instantly erode internal trust, requiring transparent...
Amazon Sees India as High-Growth Market, Expands Seller Incentives and Logistics Network: Report
Amazon is treating India as a long‑term growth market, expanding its zero‑referral‑fee program to cover roughly 125 million products. The company announced an additional $35 billion investment in India by 2030, on top of the $40 billion already spent. A new air...
Vertical AI Beats Generic Tools for Industry Precision
𝗘𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝗼𝗻𝗲'𝘀 𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗔𝗜. 𝗕𝘂𝘁 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗼𝗿𝗴𝗮𝗻𝗶𝘀𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗱. 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝘄𝗼 𝘁𝘆𝗽𝗲𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗻𝗼𝘄. Horizontal AI — ChatGPT, Copilot, Gemini — is built for everyone. Broad, general-purpose, impressive. But it doesn't know your industry,...
Cavotec Secures €3M Shore Power Order for Southern Italy Ports
Cavotec has won a €3 million contract to install its PowerFeed, PowerReach and PowerMove shore‑power systems across several Southern Italy ports. The equipment will let cruise, container and RoRo vessels draw electricity from the grid while docked, eliminating the need for...
Iran's Hormuz Threat Emerges as Top Market Risk
⚠️ Iran threatening to shut down the Strait of Hormuz is NOT just geopolitical noise. It’s the single biggest macro risk in the market right now. ~20% of global oil flows through that choke point. If it closes: • Oil spikes • Inflation rebounds • Risk...
Saudi Arabia Activates Hidden Pipeline to Secure Oil Flow
Saudi Arabia rolls out key contingency plan to keep the oil flowing: a decades-old pipeline the world didn’t know it needed until today. Fantastic piece from our colleagues, check it out below. 🔉on (And ya, how cool is the power...
Middle East LNG Shipments to Cease in 10 Days
Finacial Times. LNG from the Middle East expected to stop within 10 days. More supply and maritime problems ahead.
US‑backed Iranian Oil Flow Dampens Price Spike
After all the hype over the weekend about escalation, you'd have thought oil prices would spike on tonight's open. But no sign of that. What matters are actions, not words. And those are that Iranian oil is flowing through SoH...
TSMC to Depend Heavily on OSATs for Capacity
I do genuinely enjoy some of the company names on Asian exchanges that literally make clear what they do. Global Wafers is another one. That said, TSMC is going to lean heavily on OSATs for capacity support. Interesting times....
Flatbed Market Lacks Capacity, Housing Season Looms
While it is end of the quarter, I’m afraid this is just a small preview of what’s coming. Zero capacity relief in the flatbed market and we haven’t hit housing shipping season yet. https://t.co/VZsgYs7mmA
US Gains Massive Advantage From Hormuz Strait Closure
The US benefits from the closing of the Hormuz Strait are 'tremendous,' expert says https://t.co/KX4da2Twrp
Quebec-Queens Hydropower Line Could Light One Million NYC Homes
"Hydropower Line From Quebec to Queens Could Power a Million N.Y.C. Homes" https://t.co/CEfzSRT1cG "Its construction included the underwater installation of more than two million feet of cable imported from Sweden" https://t.co/xqTcpfviM5
Freight Market Flipping: Unprecedented Capacity Churn Sparks Demand
The SONAR team has been telling shipper and broker clients for months that every capacity signal was warning that the freight market was flipping and it wasn't just holiday peaks or weather. Unprecedented capacity churn with early green shoots in...
Escalation Risks Iran Mining Hormuz, Deepening Humanitarian Crisis
At what point does this escalation by Trump-Netanyahu actually prompt Iran to mine the Straight of Hormuz... with these ships on it?! Then this humanitarian crisis goes from lock-down to existential pretty quickly.
Long‑term Supply Contracts Now Standard Through 2028
Yep, and through 2028 now at least. Everyone in the supply chain we talk to is noting how LTA's extend with every customer conversation. Now multi-year is the standard--which is something if you know historical memory supplier agreements.
Hormuz Closure Cuts 30% Fertilizer Supply, Spurs Food Prices
OUT NOW - @JLinvilleFert on how Strait of Hormuz's closure has blocked >30% of world's fertilizer exports & degraded farming economics. Upward fert & food price risk. It's bad. Apple 🔊https://t.co/cMO23J6a4g Spotify📽️ https://t.co/CX48AK9HEc YouTube📽️ https://t.co/qx5Od1DJd1 https://t.co/uA1oP879mc
Sachs Predicts US Loses Geopolitical Edge to China
Distinguished Columbia Univ. Prof. Jeff Sachs on current geopolitics: "In many ways, the US can not compete with China [in both manufacturing and diplomacy]... And I think we all feel it's not a temporary phenomenon but really the end of the...
Iran's Strike on Qatar Threatens Gulf Energy Supply
Iran struck Qatar's gas infrastructure. Qatar is the world's largest LNG exporter. This isn't just oil at risk. It's the entire Gulf energy supply chain. $XLE is at all-time highs for a reason. https://t.co/7TjuVfAelG
Routing Guides Collapse, Trucks Vanish, Budgets Suffer
Routing guides getting wrecked. It’s just starting. The “it’s just the weather” crowd is going to have a hard time to explaining to their bosses why trucks aren’t showing up this spring and budgets are getting obliterated.
Capturing Kharg Island Won’t Halt Iran’s Oil Flow
KHARG ISLAND — a thread: Trump has talked about taking Iran's Kharg Island for 40 years. The problem? Capturing it won't shut down Iran’s entire oil export system. And thus it won't lead to Hormuz re-opening fast enough. 🧵1/10 @Opinion FREE-TO-READ: https://t.co/ZOYtq3KESE https://t.co/xtLBqPShB6
Canada’s
Is the Royal Canadian “navy” going to send three staff officers to help with paperwork like they did to reopen the Red Sea? Or can they not even manage that anymore?
Iranian Oil Claim Covers only One Week, Now Week Four
Even if this were true (which, naw), the 140 million barrels of Iranian oil on water Bessent cites here would offset roughly one week of Hormuz stoppage. We’re now in week 4.
Unprepared Shippers Face Exploding Transportation Budgets
Shippers that didn’t prepare for higher transportation costs this year are about to have their budgets blown out.
China Faces Gas Shortfall as Gulf LNG Runs Out
"World faces gas supply cliff edge as Gulf’s final LNG shipments approach ports" https://t.co/OjcnxXcs8a "China gets 30 per cent of its LNG from the Gulf but has some domestic gas production and can switch to coal-fired power generation if needed." https://t.co/ikbgxbUPhV
200,000 U.S. Truckers Face CDL Loss Under New Rules
"Up to 200,000 drivers, approximately 5% of the entire U.S. truck driver workforce, could lose CDL eligibility as licenses expire under the new framework. The press covered it as an immigration story. That is the least interesting part of it"...
White House Must Reopen Strait of Hormuz Quickly
"To expect it to cave in today... ignores past lessons. And unlike the Islamic Republic, the White House doesn’t have the benefit of time. It needs to reopen the Strait of Hormuz in days or, at worst, weeks." - @JavierBlas...