Report: Cargo Thieves Grow More Sophisticated
The 2025 Global Cargo Theft Report by TT Club and BSI Consulting shows thieves using coordinated, intelligence‑driven tactics across road, rail, sea and digital channels. Trucks still account for about 70 % of incidents, while insiders are involved in 22 % of thefts worldwide. In the United States, rail cargo theft rose sharply from 4 % to 10 % of incidents, and criminals are exploiting cybersecurity gaps for fake pickups and brokering schemes. The report urges dynamic risk assessments, advanced tracking, and cross‑agency intelligence sharing to curb the threat.
DOT Names 37 Port Infrastructure Projects to Receive $774 Million in Funding
The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration announced $774 million in FY25 Port Infrastructure Development Program grants for 37 projects across coastal, Great Lakes and inland river ports. Funding targets expanded rail tunnels, upgraded screening technology, two‑tier docks and a new...
Manufacturing Ripples Beneath the Surface
U.S. manufacturing weekly hours worked rose to 41.4, the highest level since 2022, and have stayed above the 36‑month moving average for 14 consecutive months. The ISM Manufacturing PMI rebounded above the 50‑point expansion threshold in early 2026, while payroll...
Fertilizer Prices Have Doubled Since the Strait Closed
The closure of the Strait of Hormuz on Feb. 28 halted half of the world’s fertilizer feedstock shipments, causing fertilizer prices to more than double. Experts say even a cease‑fire won’t quickly restore natural‑gas supplies, so relief could take months or...
FMC Judge Orders OOCL to Pay $45.6 Million in Landmark Bed Bath & Beyond Shipping Case
A Federal Maritime Commission administrative law judge ordered Orient Overseas Container Line (OOCL) to pay $45.6 million after finding it violated the Shipping Act by reallocating contracted vessel space to higher‑paying customers during the pandemic. The ruling follows Bed Bath & Beyond’s bankruptcy estate...
NY-NJ’s Port Newark Terminal Takes First Steps in Next Big Expansion
The Port of New York and New Jersey’s third‑busiest terminal, Port Newark Container Terminal, unveiled $100 million in new container‑handling equipment, marking the first phase of a $1 billion expansion. The rollout includes a purpose‑built maintenance shop and the delivery of the first 15...
Early Works and Long-Lead Procurement Are Underway for Kathleen Valley Expansion
Liontown Limited has launched early works and long‑lead procurement for the Kathleen Valley lithium expansion, moving toward a Final Investment Decision expected by the end of Q1 FY2027. The programme includes a A$12 million (~$8 million) 5.5 MW ball mill purchase, pre‑development drilling,...
CPKC 1Q26: ‘Resilient Performance’
Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) posted first‑quarter 2026 results showing modest revenue decline and slight earnings contraction amid macroeconomic headwinds. Revenue slipped 2% to C$3.7 billion (≈$2.74 billion) and diluted EPS fell 3% to C$0.94. The reported operating ratio rose 70 basis...
GM Makes a Huge Investment to Produce V-8 Engines in Canada
General Motors is pouring roughly $505 million into its St. Catharines Propulsion plant in Ontario to produce a sixth‑generation V‑8 engine. The new small‑block powerplant will also be assembled at GM’s Tonawanda, New York, and Flint, Michigan facilities. The engine is slated for...
Oil Jumps to Highest Level Since June 2022 as War Continues
Oil prices surged to their highest level since June 2022 as the U.S.-Iran conflict and the blockage of the Strait of Hormuz tightened global supply. Brent crude rose above $119.50 a barrel before settling near $118, while WTI hovered just...
NORD Decentralized Drives with ASi Interface Offer Seamless System Integration
NORD has launched its NORDAC LINK and NORDAC FLEX decentralized drive products equipped with AS‑Interface (ASi) technology, promising plug‑and‑play integration for new and retrofitted systems. The ASi fieldbus consolidates power and data into a two‑core cable, cutting wiring complexity, commissioning...
Rockwell Automation and Cytiva Launch Platform to Accelerate Digital Transformation for Biopharma Companies
Rockwell Automation and Cytiva have launched Figurate, a supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) platform aimed at streamlining digital integration in biopharmaceutical manufacturing. The system combines Cytiva’s bioprocessing hardware with Rockwell’s FactoryTalk software, offering an open‑architecture layer that connects third‑party...
More Job Cuts in the Works for Q2 as DSV-Schenker Integration Continues: Lund
DSV announced that 7,000 employees have already been laid off as it integrates DB Schenker, with an additional 1,000 jobs expected to be cut in Q2. The integration, now complete in over 50 countries, is slated for full completion by year‑end....
ODFL Reports Improving Q1 Demand Despite Top-Line Decline
Old Dominion Freight Line reported Q1 net income of $238.3 million, or $1.14 per diluted share, down from a year earlier. Revenue slipped 2.9% to $1.34 billion, yet the results beat Wall Street forecasts. The carrier saw improving demand late in the...
Hanwha Pledges Canadian Auto Partnerships in Submarine Bid
South Korea’s Hanwha Group announced it will partner with Canadian auto‑parts firms to produce armored vehicles if it secures Canada’s multi‑billion‑dollar submarine contract. The bid competes with Germany’s Thyssenkrupp Marine Systems for up to 12 submarines valued at roughly $20 billion...
How to Solve the SKU Changeover Bottleneck with a Self-Learning Vision System
High‑mix manufacturers struggle with vision systems that take hours or weeks to commission, causing many short‑run SKUs to go uninspected. Self‑learning vision platforms solve this bottleneck by building a normal‑operation baseline directly on the production line within minutes, eliminating manual...
Zipline Grows Texas Footprint as Drone Delivery Scales
Zipline is expanding its drone‑delivery network in Texas, adding new restaurant and retail partners in Rowlett east of Dallas. The service now reaches more than 25 locations across the Dallas‑Fort Worth metroplex, including parks, a university campus and the Rowlett...
Understanding Pulp Price Types and What They Measure
The article breaks down the five core pulp price types—list, effective list (gross), spot, net and resale—explaining what each measures and where it fits in the pricing hierarchy. It highlights how list prices are initial asks, while effective list prices...
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As the Strait of Hormuz Blockade Continues, a Food Crisis Looms
The Strait of Hormuz remains effectively blockaded, cutting roughly 20 million barrels of oil a day and straining global supply chains. Vitol’s CEO warned that even a rapid reopening would still drain about one billion barrels from the market. The disruption has...
First Solar Panels to Power 118 MW of Small-Scale Utility Projects by Renewable Properties
Renewable Properties has purchased 118 MW of First Solar’s Series 7 thin‑film modules from the company’s U.S. plants. The panels will be deployed across 17 states, with 51 MW earmarked for nine California projects, 20 MW for four New York sites, and additional capacity in...
Old Dominion Eyeing Y/Y Margin Improvement in Q2
Old Dominion Freight Line reported first‑quarter revenue of $1.33 billion, a 3% year‑over‑year decline but above analysts’ forecasts, and earnings per share of $1.14, beating consensus by $0.09. Tonnage fell 8% YoY while yield rose 6% and revenue per shipment increased...
Supply Chain News of the Week: Five Signals Worth Acting On
Logistics Viewpoints highlighted five emerging supply‑chain signals demanding faster, higher‑quality decisions. A DHL CEO warning links Gulf energy volatility to broader economic risk, while inventory accuracy problems are traced to pre‑warehouse processes. Digital twins are only effective when they mirror...
TotalEnergies Pauses Middle East Production Until Hormuz Transit Stabilizes
TotalEnergies said it will keep its Middle East upstream operations on hold until tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz stabilises, a delay that could last two to three months. About 15% of the French oil major’s production is offline...
The Global Economic Impact From the Iran Conflict
The IMF has lowered its 2026 global growth outlook to 3.1% from 3.4% as the Strait of Hormuz remains closed, pushing oil prices toward $100‑$110 a barrel. In its adverse scenario, world growth could slip to 2‑2.5% with inflation edging...
Walmart Opens Third Milk Processing Plant in Texas
On April 29, 2026, Walmart opened its third milk‑processing plant in Robinson, Texas, a 300,000‑square‑foot facility representing a $350 million investment. The plant will create more than 400 jobs and process a full line of dairy products for Great Value and...
India Plans to Add 92 Vessels with ₹51,383 Crore Investment in FY27
India announced a FY27 plan to add 92 vessels, backed by a ₹51,383 crore (~$6.3 billion) investment, targeting an additional 2.85 million gross tonnage. The initiative emphasizes expanding container ships, LPG and crude carriers, and green tugs, while coordinating across ministries through a...
Ukraine Strikes Russian Oil Pumping Station
Ukraine says drones struck a Transneft oil‑pumping station near Perm, roughly 1,500 km inside Russia, marking a new stage in its long‑range strike campaign. President Zelenskiy pledged to keep extending the reach of Ukrainian weapons. The attack follows a series of...
Shipping Traffic in the Strait of Hormuz Remains at a Trickle
Shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz fell to roughly six vessels in the past 24 hours, a stark contrast to the pre‑conflict average of 125‑140 daily passages. The limited transits, primarily dry‑bulk carriers and the sanctioned chemical tanker Vast Plus,...
Singapore’s PIL Bets on Volume Growth From Vessel Deliveries, New Services
Singapore’s Pacific International Lines (PIL) announced that it expects container volume growth this year, driven by the delivery of new vessels and the launch of additional services. The carrier will take delivery of at least two 13,064‑TEU ships in 2026,...
Appeals Court Rules Against Evergreen in Savannah Detention Fee Case
The U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C., ruled that Evergreen Marine improperly levied three days of detention fees on a Savannah drayage provider when the port was closed for a holiday weekend. The decision resolves a six‑year dispute that...
Kuehne+Nagel Signs up for Services in Frankfurt
Worldwide Flight Services (WFS), a SATS subsidiary, won a contract to provide freight‑forwarder handling for Kuehne+Nagel at Frankfurt Airport, Europe’s largest air‑cargo hub. The deal leverages WFS’s new 24,000 sq m Cargo City South facility, which can process up to 100,000 tonnes of...
How Accurate Shipping Data Is Transforming LTL Outcomes
The NMFTA’s 2025 density‑based classification overhaul forces LTL shippers to report exact weight and cubic dimensions, making measurement accuracy a cost driver. Up to 25% of shipments now face re‑ratings, inflating invoices and straining carrier relationships. Companies that adopted dimensioners,...
AI Pushes Supply Chains Toward Real-Time Decisioning
Supply chain planning is moving from fixed weekly or monthly cycles to an always‑on, event‑driven model powered by artificial intelligence. OM Partners describes this shift as "decision‑centric planning," where AI agents continuously monitor internal and external data, trigger instant scenario...
DROVION Explores Strategic Development and Production Locations
DROVION, a hybrid‑powered advanced air‑mobility program developed by ZARA9 Ltd, is assessing Saudi Arabia, Kazakhstan, Bulgaria and India as potential sites for its development centre and production plant. The company is preparing a staged $211 million funding programme to move the...
Aviation Sector Hit by War-Driven Fuel Shock and Network Disruption
The 2026 Iran conflict has sent jet fuel prices soaring to nearly twice pre‑war levels and forced the closure of airspace across Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain and the UAE, prompting more than 52,000 flight cancellations. Global airline equities have shed...
Govt Working on Resuming Shipping Corp of India's Maritime Services to West Asia
India is planning to restart Shipping Corp of India's (SCI) maritime services to West Asia, aiming to support exporters and secure energy imports. The effort is hampered by ongoing disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz, where a war has limited...
Supply Chain Market Maps: A Clearer View of Crowded Technology Markets
Logistics Viewpoints has launched a series of Supply Chain Market Maps to bring order to an increasingly tangled technology landscape that now includes WMS, WES, robotics, AI, and multi‑enterprise platforms. The maps define each market’s scope, position providers on a...
Industry Coalition Urges DOJ to Act as Cargo Theft and Organized Retail Crime Surge Nationwide
A coalition of 24 freight, retail and manufacturing groups has written to Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche urging the Department of Justice to deploy FY 2026 appropriations for dedicated special prosecutors targeting cargo theft and organized retail crime (ORC). The letter...
Oil Traders Lawyer Up as Hormuz Disruptions Trigger Billions of Dollars in Disputes
Oil traders are entangled in multi‑billion‑dollar disputes after the Iran‑Israel war shut the Strait of Hormuz, leaving contracted Murban crude shipments undelivered. Shell is suing PetroChina's unit for roughly $35 million over a 500,000‑barrel cargo that arrived at only 62,000 barrels,...
Strait of Hormuz Nears Third Month of Closure
A Japan‑linked VLCC, Idemitsu Maru, successfully transited the Strait of Hormuz carrying roughly 2 million barrels of Saudi crude, marking the first non‑Iranian tanker to leave the region in ten days. The waterway’s effective closure, now in its third month, has halted...
TotalEnergies CEO Says Middle East Energy Flows Will Take up to Three Months to Reset Post-Conflict
TotalEnergies chairman and CEO Patrick Pouyanne said oil and LNG flows from the Middle East will need two to three months to return to normal after the regional conflict ends. The delay stems from the time required to discharge vessels and...
Appeals Court Backs FMC in Landmark Detention Charges Ruling Against Evergreen
A D.C. Circuit appeals court upheld the Federal Maritime Commission’s decision that Evergreen Marine’s $510 truck‑er detention charge during a three‑day Savannah port closure was unreasonable. The court affirmed the FMC’s “freight fluidity” standard, ruling that detention fees must serve...
Trump Weighs Long Iran Blockade as Oil Market Fears Grow
President Donald Trump met with U.S. oil executives to discuss how to blunt the impact of a potential months‑long blockade of Iran’s ports, a move aimed at forcing Tehran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. The discussion covered production levels,...
China Tech Giants Race to Secure Huawei AI Chips
Chinese tech powerhouses ByteDance, Tencent and Alibaba are scrambling to secure Huawei's Ascend 950 AI chips after the debut of DeepSeek's V4 model, which is tuned specifically for Huawei silicon. Cloud providers and GPU‑rental services have also placed fresh orders,...
U.S. Air Force Eyes Major Expansion of KC-46A Pegasus Fleet
The U.S. Air Force currently operates about 100 Boeing KC-46A Pegasus tankers and is planning to grow the fleet to roughly 319 aircraft over the coming years. The expansion could eventually allow the service to retire the legacy KC-135 fleet,...
Supply Chain Digital Twins: An Evolution, Not a Breakthrough
Researchers at NIST and EMD Millipore argue that digital twins can model the intricate biopharmaceutical supply chain, from demand shocks to distribution bottlenecks. By creating in‑silico replicas of cells, raw materials, and logistics flows, twins could identify alternative distribution centers and...
Adaptive, Agent-Oriented Control for Biomanufacturing Systems
The Adaptive Agent‑Oriented System Control (AAOSC) framework, created by the Technical University of Denmark and SiC Systems, adds a decentralized layer of autonomous agent "hives" to biomanufacturing plants. By linking digital twins, IoT sensors and enterprise systems, AAOSC can reduce...
Cleveland-Cliffs Partners with Palantir on AI-Driven Steelmaking
Cleveland‑Cliffs announced a three‑year partnership with Palantir Technologies to embed its AI platform into the company’s flat‑rolled steel production, planning, and order‑entry workflows. The AI integration aims to provide real‑time data coordination across the firm’s 32 North American sites, boosting...
JinkoSolar PV Module Shipments Dip, Registers Lowest Volume Since Q1 2023
JinkoSolar reported Q1 2026 module shipments of 13.7 GW, a 21.9% year‑over‑year decline and the lowest volume since Q1 2023. Overseas markets accounted for 80% of sales, while high‑output TigerNeo 3.0 modules averaged 655‑660 W, representing a quarter of shipments. Gross profit margin...
Global Crude Steel Production Forecast Revision: Supply-Side Shocks Drive Jan-Apr 2026 Downgrade
Fastmarkets trimmed its 2026 global crude‑steel production outlook by 42.8 million tonnes, a 2% reduction from the January baseline. The downgrade stems from three supply‑side shocks: tighter capacity enforcement in China, war‑related plant damage in the Middle East, and margin‑driven cuts...