Experience the Future of Baggage Handling at PTE World 2026
Cognex is showcasing its next‑generation 360° automated tag reading (ATR) system at PTE World 2026 in London. The AI‑powered solution claims up to 99% read accuracy, full IATA compliance, and seamless integration with RFID, dimensioning and OCR technologies. Its 360‑degree scanning and optional redundancy aim to cut manual encoding, reduce mishandled‑baggage costs, and streamline installations for OEMs and integrators. Attendees can see the technology live at booth C.114 March 17‑19, 2026.
Hong Kong Forwarders Hit Out at ‘Soaring’ Cargo Fuel Surcharges
Hong Kong freight forwarders, led by HAFFA, condemned airlines' steep cargo fuel surcharge hikes. Some carriers increased long‑haul surcharges more than fourfold and short‑haul nearly quadrupled, far outpacing the 30‑40% rise in crude oil prices. HAFFA blames the liberalisation set...
The United States Is Losing Its Grip on Canada's Steel Market
U.S. steel exports to Canada fell 22% in 2025, dropping the United States' share of Canadian steel imports to 36% from 39%. Overall Canadian steel imports contracted 16% to 2.4 million tonnes as protectionist measures and retaliatory tariffs reshaped trade flows....
Kistler and ATS Develop High-Speed Medical Device Assembly Line with Real-Time Quality Monitoring
Kistler Group and ATS Life Sciences Systems have launched the Symphoni platform, a high‑speed medical device assembly line capable of processing up to 320 parts per minute while cutting tooling requirements by 90 percent. The system combines Kistler’s force and displacement...
Swissport Strengthens Sofia Cargo Offering
Swissport has launched a 2,200 m² air‑cargo warehouse at Sofia’s Vasil Levski Airport, adding 2,000 m² of storage capacity and a 2,000 m² fenced yard. The facility supports a broad cargo mix—including pharmaceuticals, perishables, e‑commerce parcels, live animals and high‑value items—and features temperature‑controlled...
UK’s First On Track Machine Fitted with ETCS
Loram has delivered the UK’s first on‑track machine equipped with ETCS Level 2, the RGC01 rail‑grinding unit supplied to Network Rail. The integration, led by Hitachi Rail with support from Aegis and TUV, completed testing on Network Rail’s Tuxford and Melton...
Ox Launches Its ‘Digital Warehouse’ Standard for Visualizing and Orchestrating Modern Warehouses
Ox unveiled its Digital Warehouse platform, a plug‑and‑play solution that creates a live 3‑D map of any warehouse and overlays real‑time operational data. The product promises a universal visual standard, rapid deployment in under 30 days, and a price point...
Sanctions Push Russia to Broaden the Use of Intermodal Rail
Russian Railways (RZD) has begun intermodal tests in the Saint‑Petersburg region, loading semi‑trailers and swap bodies onto trains. The initiative builds on earlier trials dating back to 2019 and follows a fully‑loaded semi‑trailer train run in 2022. Piggyback traffic surged...
Indexes’ Uncertain Response in a Volatile Container Market
The Iran‑related conflict in the Arabian Gulf is creating sharp uncertainty in container markets, with analysts reporting divergent rate trends. Drewry’s spot‑rate data shows double‑digit increases on Asia‑North America and Asia‑Europe lanes, while Xeneta’s regional data points to stagnant or...
Tracking Devices Expose Sellpy Supply Chain
A German TV investigation tracked twelve Sellpy‑listed garments for 18 months, revealing that items marketed as recycled or donated often vanished into opaque global waste streams. The findings directly contradict Sellpy’s corporate messaging about supporting a circular economy. Sellpy, majority‑owned...
How Manufacturing Data Intelligence Enables Upstream Teams to Ride the Industry 4.0 Wave
Manufacturers are finally turning attention to upstream functions—knowledge management, procurement and data reuse—by applying AI‑driven data intelligence. While 80% of executives earmark 20% of improvement budgets for smart manufacturing, most legacy ERP/PLM systems remain siloed, forcing engineers to spend a...
Asian Executives Flag Rising Supply Chain Risks From Iran War
Asian petrochemical and shipping executives warn that the U.S.-Iran conflict has effectively blocked the Strait of Hormuz, cutting off vital naphtha shipments from the Gulf. Formosa Petrochemical and other regional producers have issued force‑majeure notices and plan to run facilities...
Röhlig Logistics Sets Course for Further Growth in Chile and Latin America
Röhlig Logistics announced a strategic expansion plan for Chile and the wider Latin American market, including the launch of a new hub in Santiago in 2026. The company aims to boost its regional revenue by 15% by 2028, backed by...
How Intelligent Logistics Systems Are Improving Trade Efficiency
Intelligent logistics systems are reshaping global trade by integrating AI, IoT, big data, and automation. These technologies deliver real‑time visibility, predictive routing, and automated warehousing, cutting transit times and operational expenses. The shift improves supply‑chain resilience, reduces carbon footprints, and...
Posco to Invest in Global Artificial Graphite Anode Plant in Vietnam
South Korea's Posco Future M announced a KRW 357 billion ($239 million) investment to build an artificial graphite anode plant in Thai Nguyen, Vietnam. The facility will initially target 55,000 metric tons of annual capacity, scaling up in phases as orders materialize, with...
Procopiou Pushes Tanker Expansion with More VLCC Orders
Greek shipowner George Procopiou is expanding his crude carrier fleet with an order for four 306,000‑dwt VLCCs from Hengli Heavy Industry, placed through Dynacom Tankers. The contracts are valued between $400 million and $600 million. This deal marks the second VLCC order...
Kenya Airways Boosts Cargo Ops via B747 Capacity Partnership
Kenya Airways has added a Boeing 747‑400 freighter through a capacity agreement with Terra Avia, raising its cargo lift from roughly 70 tonnes to about 180 tonnes. The airline plans to push capacity beyond 250 tonnes as part of a broader push to position...
JP Morgan Shipping Arm Books Suezmax Trio at Samsung Heavy
JP Morgan’s Bermuda‑based shipowner Global Meridian Holdings has placed an order for three new suezmax crude carriers with Samsung Heavy Industries. The contract, valued at roughly KRW 400 billion ($268 million), translates to about $89.3 million per 157,000‑dwt vessel. Deliveries are scheduled between the...
US Launches Sweeping Forced-Labour Trade Probe
The U.S. Trade Representative has opened Section 301 investigations into 60 of America’s largest trading partners for failing to block imports made with forced labour. The probe zeroes in on cotton, garment and apparel supply chains, with China’s Xinjiang region a...
MG Mulls Positioning Shift as European Production to Lift Prices
MG, owned by China’s SAIC, is moving toward building its first European factory, likely in Spain or Hungary, to produce electric vehicles for its strongest market. The shift will erase the 45% tariff that currently penalises Chinese‑built EVs, but it...
CPO Crunch: Stoking Procurement’s Creative Fire
The upcoming Procurement Leaders CPO‑only retreat, Ovation, will spotlight "Creative fuel, visionary futures," giving chief procurement officers dedicated time to explore right‑brain thinking alongside geopolitics, AI and resilience. Speakers include the LSE president and a creative‑agency CEO, underscoring a push...
Pan Ocean Bulks up with Qingdao Beihai Newcastlemaxes
South Korea’s Pan Ocean exercised options for two additional Newcastlemax bulk carriers at Qingdao Beihai, bringing its order at the Chinese yard to four vessels worth roughly $308 million. The ships, each costing about $77 million, are slated for delivery by October 2030...
Middle East War Disrupts Pharma Air Routes, Risks Cancer Drugs Supply
The war sparked by U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran has shut key Gulf air hubs, disrupting temperature‑sensitive pharmaceutical shipments. Major cargo airports in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Doha are closed, forcing drugmakers to reroute flights and rely on overland...
How Clean Core ERP Has Evolved Into a Mandate
Manufacturers are embracing a "clean core" ERP strategy that keeps the system as close to SAP’s standard as possible, routing all extensions through released APIs or side‑by‑side apps. SAP’s clean‑core level framework categorises extensions by upgrade risk, giving global supply‑chain...
GiantEye Project Aims to Transform Large-Scale Industrial CT Inspection
The Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits IIS is developing the GiantEye high‑energy CT platform to scan large, dense industrial objects that traditional scanners cannot accommodate. By adopting a medical‑CT‑style rotating gantry, the system can image items in their natural horizontal...
ZEISS and Verus Metrology Partner to Advance Metrology Automation
ZEISS Industrial Quality Solutions and Verus Metrology announced a strategic partnership to develop automated metrology solutions for industrial inspection. The collaboration merges ZEISS’s optical and coordinate‑measuring hardware with Verus’s custom automation platforms and fixture designs. Together they will create integrated...
PiXARGUS Optimizes Inline Plastic Profile Inspection with ProfilControl 7 PlastX
PiXARGUS has launched ProfilControl 7 PlastX, an inline inspection system tailored for plastic profiles, especially in window construction. The solution trims hardware to a lightweight sensor head while leveraging advanced software to detect surface flaws and geometric deviations. By using only four...
ActionPlas Invests in Advanced CMM to Meet Demanding F1 Tolerances
ActionPlas Group has allocated a £1 million investment to acquire an Altera M 20.12.10 coordinate measuring machine from LK Metrology, targeting the stringent tolerances demanded by a Formula 1 client. The new CMM, equipped with a Renishaw SP25M scanning probe and LK CAMIO 2025...
World Rail Freight News Round-Up
The world rail freight market is seeing a wave of modernization and sustainability initiatives. Zambia Railways and Norfolk Southern have secured contracts to upgrade diesel fleets, with the latter introducing AC traction to boost capacity. European operators are expanding services,...
BMW I3 Cuts Supply Chain CO2e Emissions by a Third
BMW announced that its upcoming i3 sedan will slash supply‑chain carbon‑dioxide‑equivalent emissions by roughly one‑third compared with industry averages. The vehicle incorporates about 30% secondary materials, including high‑recycled‑content aluminium and PET plastics, and its Gen 6 battery cells emit 33% less...
Why Use MetalMiner for Metal Price Forecasting?
MetalMiner provides metal price forecasting services tailored to U.S. manufacturers, combining proprietary price indices, market‑signal forecasts, and support/resistance analysis. Its indices aggregate 10‑15 years of data and are normalized to reflect the actual mix of metals bought by U.S. firms....
Jinjiang Shipping Presses Ahead with Newbuild Plan
Shanghai‑listed Jinjiang Shipping has placed an order for four 1,900 TEU boxships from Jiangsu New Yangzijiang Shipbuilding, with options for another four of the same design. Each vessel is priced at roughly RMB 205 million ($29.7 million), forming part of a broader RMB 1.94 billion investment to...
XCMG From Going Global to Taking Root at CONEXPO 2026
XCMG Group marked its 11th appearance at CONEXPO‑CON/AGG 2026, shifting from pure export to deep North American market roots. The Chinese maker displayed 35 machines built for local conditions and unveiled the PRO Series, featuring AI‑driven interfaces and self‑diagnostics. XCMG...
Molicel Achieves RBA Silver Status, Setting a New Benchmark for Ethical Battery Manufacturing
Molicel announced that its manufacturing plant has earned Responsible Business Alliance (RBA) Silver Status after a rigorous third‑party audit. The certification confirms compliance with the RBA Code of Conduct across labor, health and safety, environmental stewardship, ethics, and management systems....
Impact of Gulf War: Input Costs Make Electronics, Cars & More Goods Expensive
The Gulf war has triggered a sharp rise in input costs for plastics, resins and polymers, pushing up international freight rates and weakening the rupee. Indian manufacturers across automotive, consumer electronics, appliances, paints and footwear are planning price hikes of...
Singapore Bunker Sales Eased in February
Marine fuel sales at Singapore, the world’s largest bunkering hub, slipped 10.6% month‑on‑month in February to 4.67 million tonnes, though they were 12.8% higher than a year earlier. Low‑sulphur VLSFO volumes fell 9.8% and high‑sulphur fuel oil dropped 15.2%, while alternative...
Tackling Complexity with Smart Automation
Swiss 3PL Alloga modernized its Bern distribution center by integrating Interroll’s Modular Conveyor Platform with Flück Fördertechnik. The modular, zero‑pressure accumulation system increased transport capacity, boosted throughput by 45% and expanded storage within the existing footprint without interrupting operations. Custom...
How the Pentagon Is Working to Wriggle Out of China’s Rare-Earths Grip
The Pentagon warned that the United States remains 95% dependent on China for rare‑earth minerals, a vulnerability that threatens national‑security supply chains. In response, the Defense Department has pledged over a billion dollars in direct investments and secured billions in...
How Captain Fresh Is Wiring AI Into a $600-Billion Seafood Supply Chain
Captain Fresh, an Indian unicorn founded in 2020, is using artificial intelligence to overhaul the $600 billion global seafood supply chain. The startup embeds AI in both its acquisition engine—automating due‑diligence and decision‑making—and its proprietary digital operating system that links fishermen,...
Chinese Firms Investing in Development of Logistics Hubs in Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan
China Railway Construction Engineering Group signed an agreement with a joint venture of Uzbekistan Railways and Kazakhstan’s PTC Holding to build Silkway Central Asia, an $84 million, 159‑hectare logistics hub near Tashkent. The first phase should be operational by 2027, with...
Additional LNG Exports From Plaquemines LNG Approved
U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright approved a 13% increase in exports from Venture Global’s Plaquemines LNG terminal, adding up to 0.45 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) for non‑FTA destinations. The move raises the facility’s authorized capacity to 3.85 Bcf/d, combining both...
Trump Threatens Xi Summit Delay If China Doesn’t Help in Hormuz
Donald Trump warned that he would postpone his upcoming summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping unless Beijing assists in securing the Strait of Hormuz. The demand came amid a US‑Israel war that has tightened global oil supplies and highlighted the...
EU to Discuss Bolstering Middle East Naval Mission
European Union foreign ministers will discuss strengthening the Aspides naval mission, which currently patrols the Red Sea to protect merchant vessels from Houthi attacks. The mission operates two ships directly, with additional support from French and Italian vessels, and officials...
EU Doesn’t See Risks to Oil and Gas Supply Yet
In ad‑hoc meetings on March 12, the EU’s Gas and Oil Coordination Groups reported no immediate security‑of‑supply risks despite ongoing Middle East tensions. Oil inventories across member states remain at elevated levels, while gas storage fill rates are stable and not...
The 50 Geoeconomic Minds Every CEO Should Be Reading in 2026
Geoeconomic thinking has moved from an academic niche to the core of foreign‑policy and corporate decision‑making. A relatively small cohort of about twenty scholars, including Luttwak, Farrell and Newman, shape how governments design sanctions, control technology and assess supply‑chain risk....
Dalilah’s Law Is Moving Through Congress – Here Is Everything That Is Actually In It, Everything That Was Promised But...
Dalilah’s Law, introduced in the Senate and House, would tie federal transportation funding to strict CDL eligibility, revoking licenses from non‑citizens, non‑permanent residents, and holders of only three specific work visas. The bill mandates English‑only testing and forces a universal...
STB Won’t Open New Probe of CPKC Rail Service on West Coast-Southeast Intermodal Shortcut
Federal regulators at the Surface Transportation Board (STB) denied Norfolk Southern’s and Union Pacific’s petitions to open a probe into Canadian Pacific Kansas City’s (CPKC) handling of interline intermodal trains on the Meridian Speedway, a 320‑mile West Coast‑Southeast shortcut. The...
Amid Soaring Aluminium Imports, India Brings in New QCO
India has introduced a new Quality Control Order (QCO) that obliges both domestic and foreign manufacturers of aluminium and alloy products to adhere to Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) specifications. The move comes as imports from China surged from $1.47 billion...
The Person Running DHS Has Changed – Here Is What That Means for the Immigration Enforcement That Has Been Reshaping...
Over the past year, the Department of Transportation and the Department of Homeland Security have jointly tightened the commercial driver pool through non‑domiciled CDL restrictions and immigration raids, eliminating thousands of drivers and CDL schools. President Trump announced the removal...
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Wayland Additive announced its return to the RAPID+TCT 2026 exhibition in Boston, where it will showcase its NeuBeam® electron‑beam powder‑bed fusion technology. NeuBeam® actively neutralizes charge during builds, eliminating the “smoke” instability that limits conventional e‑beam systems and enabling a...
