Know What's Happening in Supply Chain
Know What's Happening in Supply Chain
Iranian drone strikes hit Kuwait’s oil infrastructure ahead of OPEC+ talks
Iranian drones struck Kuwait’s oil infrastructure, causing severe material damage to petrochemical plants, a government office complex and desalination facilities, just hours before an OPEC+ meeting where members agreed in principle to raise output by 206,000 barrels per day in May.
Also developing:
Kerlink and Europorte have launched Track Value, an AI‑driven freight‑monitoring platform that combines edge‑processed sensor data with Kinéis nanosatellite connectivity. The Mobile Hub learns each wagon’s normal behavior and flags anomalies such as brake failures or odometry drift without needing extra hardware. By processing 90% of data locally, the solution cuts energy consumption and leverages a low‑carbon satellite network, aligning with rail’s sustainability goals. Early field tests suggest predictive maintenance can save €40 per wagon annually, while full‑fleet visibility adds roughly €500 per wagon in efficiency gains.
SPEE3D’s deployable Expeditionary Manufacturing Unit (EMU) used cold‑spray additive manufacturing to design, print, heat‑treat and machine a replacement battle‑lock handle for a US Army combat support vehicle in under 10 hours, restoring the vehicle within a 24‑hour field exercise. The...
Slovakia has finished a €318 million modernization of the Zilina railway junction, upgrading 14 km of east‑west and 2.3 km of north‑south tracks. The project replaced tracks, added barrier‑free underground passages, and equipped six platforms with escalators and elevators. It also introduced ETCS...
Russia and Iran will sign off the 164‑km Rasht‑Astara railway line on April 1, 2026, a cornerstone of the International North‑South Transport Corridor (INSTC). The €1.6 billion project, jointly funded by Moscow and Tehran, aims to streamline cargo flow from India...
The Queensland Manufacturing Advisory Council (QMAC) convened its first meeting of the year, bringing together industry leaders and government officials to shape the state’s manufacturing future. Discussions centered on the $79.1 million Transforming Queensland Manufacturing Grants Program, innovation, advanced technology, and...
Airbus Chief Security Officer Pascal Andrei warns that the aerospace and defense supply chain’s deepest vulnerabilities now reside in sub‑tier suppliers and the digital threads linking them. He highlights Airbus’s shift toward a collaborative, intelligence‑led model, tighter integration of security...
Mitutoyo has launched the CRYSTA‑KM 565, a manual coordinate measuring machine that delivers high‑precision inspection without the need for CNC programming. Targeted at small manufacturers, workshops, educational labs and quality departments, the machine combines a granite base, FEM‑optimized rigidity and air‑bearing...
CSIRO and the Indian Institute of Science successfully trialed rice husk pellets as a partial coal substitute in steelmaking gasifiers at Jindal Steel’s Odisha plant. The world‑first test blended 5‑10% biomass‑derived syngas, delivering steady performance. Researchers estimate scaling the approach...
Mideast Gulf naphtha supplies are tightening after Kuwait's KPC and Bahrain's Bapco Energies announced force majeure, removing roughly 560,000 t/month and 167,000 t/month respectively. Additional shipment delays from ADNOC and cargo cancellations by QatarEnergy, alongside drone attacks on Ras Laffan and Duqm,...
Apple boosted iPhone assembly in India by roughly 53% in 2025, reaching about 55 million units and accounting for a quarter of its global output. The shift helps the company sidestep escalating US tariffs on Chinese‑made devices and diversifies its supply...
Orora has completed the first year of operation for its G3 oxy‑fuel glass furnace at the Gawler plant in South Australia. The $130 million upgrade, funded in part by a $12.5 million government grant, has cut natural‑gas use by 32% and eliminated...
On 9 March 2026 the Pakistan Navy launched Operation Muhafiz‑ul‑Bahr to escort its merchant fleet as the Strait of Hormuz shut down after US‑Israeli strikes on Iran. The closure threatens roughly 90 % of Pakistan’s sea‑borne trade and its vital oil and LNG imports....
The USPS is a total disaster. A package from Nashville to Cleveland has taken the following route over the past two weeks : Nashville > Horse Cave, KY Horse Cave > West Harrison Indiana West Harrison > a dozen other facilities A dozen...
Aluminum prices on the London Metal Exchange slipped up to 3.5% after President Donald Trump hinted that the Iran war could conclude “very soon.” The conflict had been a key driver of supply constraints, pushing the metal to a four‑year...
Amazon has launched its Multi‑Channel Fulfillment (MCF) service in Germany, extending the program to brands that sell on Amazon and through direct‑to‑consumer channels. The service lets sellers store stock in Amazon’s fulfillment centers and use the same inventory for orders...
A 3D‑printed lattice padding system for explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) helmets is being developed by rapid product manufacturing GmbH (rpm) in partnership with amsight. The additively manufactured padding replaces conventional foam, allowing stiffness and damping to be tuned for different...
If you’ve ever been in a lawsuit, it’s not what you did or didn’t do that matters, it’s what a lawyer can convince a jury that you should have done. The problem for brokers - it will be incredibly easy to...
“China could have held these vessels at port, imposed an administrative delay, invented a customs hold – any number of bureaucratic tools, but didn’t,” he said, calling the decision notable at a time when the United States and Iran are engaged...
Geopolitical tensions in the Middle East are pushing energy prices higher, threatening the profit margins of Thailand's consumer‑goods conglomerate Osotspa Plc. Energy accounts for roughly 20% of the company's costs, and a rise in LNG to $140‑150 per unit could...
“Scale x Duration” the formula you need to understand any energy supply disruption. In the case of Hormuz Scale: the scale is large, 16-20 million barrels per day of crude oil. Duration: ~10 days and counting?
Tender rejection levels are now at the highest levels since March 20, 2022. The freight market is incredibly strong. https://t.co/udktseSaGk
Dubai’s food supply chain remains largely intact despite the war in the Middle East disrupting the Strait of Hormuz, a key artery for imports that satisfy roughly 90% of the UAE’s consumption. Retailers such as Lulu have swiftly chartered cargo...
The freight brokers have money, which will make trucking litigation more lucrative. This will create more lawyers and everyone will be worse off
It's almost as if some states designed their economies to be more resilient to supply disruptions.
Chinese steel exporters are confronting steep anti‑dumping duties in Brazil, ranging from $285 to $710 per tonne, which could render Chinese imports unviable for up to five years. The duties target pre‑painted, cold‑rolled, and coated steel, prompting Chinese firms to...
If you aren’t familiar with how insane nuclear lawsuits are - listen to Matt break it down for you. This is why the SCOTUS broker liability case is a much watch for anyone in trucking.
"On the other hand, repealing the Jones Act, which would allow non-U.S. tankers to transport oil between U.S. ports, would immediately have salutary effects" 🔥 https://t.co/mIuRPyAKFY https://t.co/Rcxft259fv
APM Terminals Liberia and Global Logistics Services (GLS) announced a strategic partnership to build Liberia’s first dedicated Export Processing Centre, unveiled at the EU‑Liberia Business Forum in Brussels. The facility merges GLS’s local logistics know‑how with APM’s port‑operating capabilities to...
If the Supreme Court rules that brokers can be held liable for accidents, it will be a doomsday event for most brokers. We could see 90% of freight brokers wiped out due to nuclear lawsuits, which they are significantly underinsured to...
Stryker, the world’s fifth‑largest medical‑device maker, has been awarded the first Healthcare Industry Resiliency Collaborative (HIRC) Enterprise Gold Resiliency Badge for its overall supply‑chain performance. The badge, based on a third‑party assessment of demand planning, inventory management, visibility, supplier and...
Wire Expo 2026 will convene May 5‑7 at Milwaukee’s Baird Center, uniting wire and cable manufacturers, suppliers, and industry leaders under the theme “Accelerating Progress Together ~ Where wire, innovation & industry connect.” The event features two high‑profile keynotes—John W. Mellowes on partnership‑driven steel strategy...
Rabobank’s Q1 Global Dairy Quarterly reports a modest rebound in dairy manufacturing prices, driven primarily by Australian and New Zealand products. Despite the rally, global milk supply remains abundant, with production growth projected to slow to just 0.2% in 2026 after...
Australian firm 4AI Systems, spun out of a 2016 university robotics project, now offers AI‑driven perception suites that sit onboard trains to detect obstacles in real time. Israeli startup RailVision complements this approach with digital‑twin analytics, piloting video‑AI sensors on...
Hai Robotics has upgraded its HaiPick Climb system to support double‑deep storage and sub‑120‑second delivery cycles, enabling up to 4,000 tote deliveries per hour. The compact design can hold 45,000 totes within 10,764 sq ft, boosting inventory density without expanding warehouse footprints....
Railroad operators Norfolk Southern and Watco are actively courting manufacturers by offering tailored industrial‑development services and financing support. Watco has poured more than $600 million into projects such as Bartlett’s 49 million‑bushel soybean plant and Charlotte Pipe’s $80 million PVC facility, while NS...
The South Carolina Ports Authority, now the No. 8 U.S. container port by volume, leverages the East Coast’s deepest harbor and a $3 billion expansion plan to reach 10 million TEUs. Recent investments include the Navy Base Intermodal Facility, capable of handling 14,000‑foot...
U.S. federal contractors are facing a severe DRAM and NAND flash shortage driven by AI and data‑center demand, pushing commercial memory prices up more than 500 %. The scarcity is expected to persist through late 2027, with projected triple‑digit price hikes...
Airbus delivered just 35 aircraft in February, a sharp drop from its annual target of 870 deliveries. The A320neo family made up 25 of those planes, while A220‑300 deliveries rose to eight and the A350 program added two jets, leaving...
Weaponise EU market against China or face manufacturing collapse: official think tank EUISS study urges bloc to “preserve and create technological chokepoints”, diversify markets away from China – in both instances mirroring long-term moves made by Beijing – to give it...
Due to the way that the military industrial complex works, manufacturing is a trucker's dream. Unlike other major manufacturing supply chains, like automotive, military production is highly distributed across the country. Suppliers are literally in all 50 states - so...
AXT Inc reported an 11% drop in full‑year 2025 revenue to $88.3 m, driven by an 8.4% Q4 decline caused by delayed Chinese export permits for indium phosphide. Gross margin fell to 13.1% while the company posted a $18 m net loss...
If you are looking for the best trucking play for the oil price surge, there are two primary beneficiaries: - Intermodal operators $JBHT and Hub Group $HUBG. Intermodal fuel surcharge is far below trucking fuel surcharges, so the intermodal carriers...
"Oil Prices: Crude's Wild Day Has Trump Rethinking the Jones Act" https://t.co/YKhaomLkrd For the record, it's technically not "trutherism" if it's - you know - the actual Truth. https://t.co/7CZuzc3gja
Because of lawyers and threat of nuclear lawsuits, the brokers don’t want knowledge of a trucker’s qualifications. It’s wrong, but it’s the ambulance chasing lawyers’ fault.
President Trump’s push for “America’s Maritime Dominance” aims to break China’s grip on global shipbuilding. But shipyards are only one piece of maritime power. Th real contest runs through chokepoints, naval force, commercial fleets, and the insurance and financial systems...
Final mile = customer experience. Lisa Anderson is quoted in Kase’s white glove delivery article on why “premium” is about service depth (appointments, careful handling, install/placement) - and how poor delivery can damage brand loyalty. https://t.co/Nr9pu8LHqM #FinalMile
"The Slow Climb: How Tariffs Gradually Raised Retail Prices in 2025" via @federalreserve https://t.co/HJiDIY3j8v "consumers are in fact paying higher retail prices because of tariffs" 😮 https://t.co/SbgM6kbcPA
The Pentagon’s supply-chain risk label — previously used only for foreign firms that present national security threats, like Chinese tech firm Huawei Technologies — is a “scarlet letter designation for Anthropic,” Wedbush Dan Ives wrote in a note https://t.co/gHeLolQfwf @nypost
A tug boat was assisting a container ship that Iran attacked in the Strait of Hormuz. Iran then attacked the tug boat. https://t.co/Fb17MPTaD7
Just a quick reminder that I don’t discuss the Jones Act online. Thank you for your attention to this matter.
