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:
The Morocco‑West Africa air cargo corridor relies heavily on passenger belly space, with dedicated freighter lift remaining inconsistent and often shrinking. Royal Air Maroc’s new Casablanca‑Dakar freighter marks a strategic move, yet overall capacity stays fragmented, especially on secondary routes that handle sub‑million ATK. Demand persists for high‑value, time‑critical goods such as electronics and pharmaceuticals, while bulk volumes continue to flow by sea. The lift shortage limits Casablanca’s hub ambitions despite its sizable handling infrastructure.
Virtual programmable logic controllers (PLCs) run control logic in containerized software on standard servers, offering automatic failover and reduced downtime. By moving PLC functions to a software‑defined environment, manufacturers can develop, test, and validate code virtually before commissioning, cutting time...
Polyester fibre prices in India jumped by Rs.12 (US $0.13) per kilogram after the Strait of Hormuz closure forced vessels to reroute around Africa. The diversion adds roughly 20‑25 days to transit times, inflating freight costs and straining supply chains. SIMA...
At LogiMAT 2026 in Stuttgart, NORD DRIVESYSTEMS unveiled its latest decentralised drive portfolio, highlighted by the NORDAC LINK frequency inverter with built‑in Ethernet connectivity and advanced safety functions. The new inverter supports encoder‑less control of high‑efficiency IE5+ synchronous motors and mirrors...
ARC Advisory Group’s new white paper and webinar detail how artificial intelligence is evolving into the foundational operating layer of modern supply chains. The research outlines four structural shifts—AI‑augmented ERP/WMS/TMS, agent‑to‑agent coordination, context‑aware decision frameworks, and graph‑based network intelligence—that enable...
Air cargo networks across the Gulf are crippled by flight cancellations and airspace closures, prompting forwarders to reroute freight by truck, especially through Saudi Arabia. Freight rates have surged, with southern‑Asia to North America lanes up 36% and Asia‑Europe lanes...
Vestas has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry to establish a wind turbine nacelle manufacturing base. The agreement sets a target for final‑stage nacelle assembly in Japan by fiscal year 2029, with a...
CoStream has built a low‑cost, cloud‑enabled SCADA platform for small municipal water utilities, using AutomationDirect’s BRX PLC as the on‑premises controller. The BRX supports a wide range of industrial protocols, enabling seamless integration with legacy and new equipment while keeping...
A 33 km waterway which is 3000 km away from you can decide how much you must pay for petrol, cylinder etc. A 33 km waterway between Iran–Oman called the Strait of Hormuz. 20% of global crude oil passes through this route,...
Manufacturers face a bigger hurdle than AI technology itself: adapting physical facilities and workflows for automation. Asad Afzal of A‑Safe warns that many plants were not built for the increased automation AI enables, leading to congestion and equipment strain. Companies...
The UK government is renegotiating its £2 billion HS2 rolling‑stock contract with Hitachi and Alstom after the northern leg beyond Birmingham was cancelled. The original deal for 54 trainsets, signed in 2021, now misaligns with a shortened network and may require...
West Asian geopolitical tensions are creating a dual challenge for India’s paper sector by driving up energy costs and threatening key export markets. In FY24‑25, the industry shipped $980 million of paper and paperboard, with roughly $290 million (30%) destined for West...
Mango has unveiled a massive, highly automated logistics centre that spans roughly the size of 40 football pitches and can hold up to 7 million hanging garments. The hub centralises distribution for the brand, using conveyors, robotics and AI‑driven inventory systems...
A Jamaican immigrant, Romoy Forbes, is charged with a multi‑state cargo‑theft ring that used hacked email accounts of three truck‑load carriers to book and divert shipments. The scheme stole frozen snow crabs, blueberries and high‑value cologne, totaling over $1.1 million in...
Senator Mark Kelly is championing the bipartisan SHIPS for America Act, a 300‑page proposal aimed at overhauling the United States’ maritime strategy, rebuilding shipbuilding capacity, and creating a skilled workforce. The legislation highlights that more than 80% of U.S. imports...
This diagram might be the most honest picture of the modern tech stack. Look closely. ↳ Unpaid open-source developers holding everything together ↳ AWS + Cloudflare doing most of the heavy lifting ↳ AI layered on top ↳ Microsoft… vibing aggressively somewhere in the middle It’s...
"Tariffs may have affected manufacturing employment, which declined by 119,000 in 2025. Likewise, the trade sensitive transportation and warehousing sector declined by 123,800." https://t.co/ed9bs6nNSn
LG Energy Solution (LGES) will stop using cathode material from sister firm LG Chem for Tesla battery packs, shifting to external supplier L&F. The change is driven by Tesla’s demand for ultra‑high‑nickel (95% Ni) NMC cathodes that promise roughly 20%...
Here is your example of escorts in operations. But this is @EUNAVFORASPIDES in the Red Sea. Note the limited number of ships and the fact that they are owned or operated by an Italian form with an Italian frigate. There are 5 US...
This is significant to shipping as Fujairiah is not just a loading port but a MAJOR bunkering port for ships. Without it, this will force refueling around the world where stocks are limited and more expensive.
The UK government is urging food and farming firms to ready themselves for a new Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) agreement with the EU, slated to cut paperwork and inspections that have hampered trade since Brexit. Ministers say the deal could...
Sadly no Freight Reverse today. NRF's focus is shifting away from RL/sustainability. As a result, the RL folks, including me, were let go last week. But, I'll continue to share RL articles here for now. 🙂
I don't think you have to Nostradamus to figure that bombing Iran might raise oil prices. And it seems pretty obvious that buying oil in advance of causing an oil price spike might just save Americans a lot of...
Iran’s shutdown of the Strait of Hormuz has halted shipments of Japan’s used‑car exports that normally pass through the UAE’s Dubai Auto Zone hub. The UAE accounts for about 15% of Japan’s 2025 used‑vehicle exports, roughly 260,000 units, and the...
Mass Versus Exquisite Weaponry is a Partially False Dichotomy, I write for @RUSI_org on how we have agency in determing the relative unit price of weaponry by investing in our industrial base: https://t.co/zSsbav6DjE None of it is cheap without the...
The AI boom has tech giants buying memory chips like never before, creating a shortfall that will make phones, computers and cars more expensive https://t.co/dgw5wQhGxY
Etah district in Uttar Pradesh has positioned chicory as its One District One Product (ODOP). Farmers receive seeds and a guaranteed buyer, grow chicory as a cash crop, and deliver roots to local processing units. Processors clean, cut, dry and...
Dematerialization: "MacBook Neo’s Manufacturing Involves A New Process That Saves As Much Aluminum As Possible, Now Apple Is Moving To The Next Step; 3D Printing The Same Metal" https://t.co/7YvmvjZD5Q https://t.co/Ft8yo52n3x
From this morning's WSJ Logistics email - 4.4 million man-hours required under the current system to refund each of 53 million entries by more than 330,000 importers for IEEPA tariff payments, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection
The 2026 procurement outlook emphasizes a shift to "permanent beta"—an operating mode that accepts continuous volatility as the norm. Traditional multi‑year roadmaps are giving way to iterative strategies that are constantly tested and refined. Procurement is repositioned as an early‑warning...
TEN expects profit windfall amid war-fuelled tanker boom ▶️Tankers on time charters with profit-sharing arrangements include seven suezmaxes and two VLCCs ▶️War risk insurance rates have jumped by as much as 500% in a week, according to leading owner ▶️New York-listed owner triples...
"Iran Claims to Strike Tanker for Running Strait of Hormuz Blockade" Unfortunately, @Mar_Ex is following this trend of believing the IRGC. The tanker Prima is off the coast of Mozambique and no where near the Persian Gulf or Strait of...
McDonald’s UK & Ireland and logistics partner Martin Brower have opened a 138,000‑square‑foot distribution centre in Darlington, creating more than 200 local jobs. The facility will service over 200 McDonald’s restaurants across the North East, cutting delivery drive times by...
Californians: what prices are you seeing at the pump? Could be the right moment for @realDonaldTrump to issue $SOC EO. Getting oil through Hormuz past the Iranians easier than getting it to California past @CAgovernor et al.
The Iran‑Israel‑US conflict has forced the cancellation of several South American soymeal and soybean cargoes destined for Iran, prompting exporters to consider washouts or rerouting. Soymeal premiums are under pressure as freight rates spike, especially on Atlantic routes, while Brazil’s...
European NATO members reduced the United States' share of major arms imports to 58% in the 2021‑2025 period, down from 64% in the previous five years. The decline coincides with a three‑fold increase in overall European defense spending after Russia’s...
Nissan has warned the UK government that it could shut the Sunderland plant if Britain is excluded from the European Commission’s “Made in EU” rules under the Industrial Accelerator Act. The act would require a high share of EU‑origin value...
In February 2026 the European Union purchased every cargo from Russia’s Yamal LNG project, amounting to 1.54 million tonnes across 21 shipments, the first full‑yearly capture since 2018. The purchases came just nine months before the EU’s scheduled ban on Russian...
Warehouse robots from Locus Robotics operating in DHL Supply Chain have completed their one‑billionth pick, marking a milestone for large‑scale automation. The achievement was recorded at a DHL facility using an autonomous mobile robot and reflects a decade of partnership...
Sizewell C nuclear power station in Suffolk is adding a temporary “Green Rail Route” and upgrading the existing Sizewell Branch Line to move up to 60% of construction materials by rail and sea. The upgrades include track renewal, new signalling...
The 2026 Gartner Market Guide highlights AI’s rise in freight audit and payment, shifting the focus from simple invoice checks to comprehensive data audits. Legacy systems struggle with fragmented, unstructured logistics data, creating margin leakage across the $11 trillion spend ecosystem....
Healthcare providers, suppliers, and distributors are tackling fragmented IT systems that impede supply‑chain data sharing. Leaders at Nebraska Medicine, Heartland Dental, and Sinceri Senior Living have implemented procurement interoperability solutions—primarily through Amazon Business integrations—to automate purchase orders, gain real‑time spend...
Healthcare logistics is moving from disposable to circular cold chain packaging, turning boxes into reusable infrastructure. Studies show reusable containers can lower per‑shipment costs by 30‑50% and cut global warming potential by 75%. By engineering packs to reduce dimensional weight,...
A three‑day rail strike began in Belgium on March 9, lasting until March 11. While about 70% of intercity (IC) trains remain in service, roughly half of local L and suburban S routes operate and peak‑hour P trains are severely limited. SNCB...
Bambu Lab is experiencing a severe shortage of its PETG High Flow and ABS filaments, as in‑house production transitions and a late‑2025 printer sales surge outpaced supply. Restocks sell out within minutes, leaving hobbyists and professional print farms scrambling for...
Container Trade Statistics shows Africa dominates the four fastest‑growing container lanes worldwide, driven by strong import and export growth across all regions. MSC’s strategic redeployment of its largest vessels from Asia‑Europe to the burgeoning Asia‑West Africa route lifted average ship...
In this episode, Kevin Lawton talks with Jim Bureau, President and CEO of Loftware, about the critical role of product identification and connected packaging in modern supply chains. They explore how Loftware’s cloud‑based labeling solutions enable authentic, compliant, and traceable...
Growing instability in the Strait of Hormuz is prompting concerns that the recovery of container shipping in the Red Sea could stall. A recent Readers Speak poll shows most industry respondents believe regional risk will expand beyond a single chokepoint,...
Swedish Transport Administration (Trafikverket) reports that the East Link (Ostlänken) rail project’s cost for the Norrköping segment has risen by more than EUR 187 million (SEK 2 billion) due to the originally planned elevated bridge solution. To rein in expenses, officials propose shifting the...
Geneva Dry 2026 is set to host a record‑breaking crowd, with more than 220 companies already registered and space expanded to accommodate 900 delegates. Organisers added 185 rooms across nearby hotels after the President Wilson’s rates sold out, ensuring a comfortable...
