Japanese Chemical Firms Pivot From China to India
Japanese chemical giants such as Mitsui Chemicals and Sumitomo Chemical are scaling back their China operations and redirecting capital to India. Investment in China dropped 46% year‑over‑year in 2024, while the number of Japanese sites in India rose to 5,205, adding over 400 locations in three years. The shift is driven by geopolitical risk, slower Chinese growth, and India’s expanding middle class and semiconductor ambitions. Japan aims to double private‑sector investment in India to about $66 billion over the next decade.
Fincantieri Delivers First ‘Intelligent’ Cruise Yacht
Fincantieri has delivered Four Seasons I, the first ultra‑luxury cruise yacht equipped with an intelligent Navis Sapiens digital architecture. Built at the Ancona shipyard for Marc‑Henry Cruise Holdings, the 207‑metre, 34,000‑gross‑ton vessel features 95 all‑suite residences and AI‑driven systems for safer, more...
Penn-Union Split Bolts, Power Bars, Service Connectors, and More
AutomationDirect announced the addition of Penn‑Union split bolt connectors, aluminum power bars, and bronze service post connectors to its catalog. The split bolts accommodate CU‑CU, CU‑AL, and AL‑AL conductor pairs, while the power bars support two to four conductors in...
SEPTA Launches CBTC Rail Signalling Upgrade on Media Sharon Hill Line
Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) has placed a new Communications‑Based Train Control (CBTC) system into revenue service on its Media–Sharon Hill line, the last interurban trolley network in the U.S. The upgrade, delivered by Hitachi Rail, covers 11.9 miles between...
Streem and Ermewa Shape Their Corporate Direction
Streem has appointed Peter Reinshagen to spearhead sector‑related initiatives and broader development in European rail freight, leveraging his experience as Ermewa’s Managing Director. Within Ermewa, Deputy Managing Director Cyrille Guyon steps up as Managing Director, providing continuity after a decade...
Mersen Launches Critical Power Panelboard (CPP)
Mersen has introduced its Critical Power Panel (CPP) series, a fully customizable fused panelboard that combines a lightweight design with a reduced footprint. Targeted at NEC‑required and non‑required applications—including UPS systems, data centers, medium‑voltage eHouses, emergency circuits, and DC utility...
A Look Into the Future of Digital Signalling Technology
Finland’s Digirail project marks Europe’s first split‑procurement signalling system, separating a centralised safety interlocking from distributed object controllers. The open‑architecture approach lets multiple manufacturers contribute components, boosting competition and modularity. Recent live integration tests at the ROK facility demonstrated seamless...
5 Myths About Distributed Acoustic Sensing (DAS)
Distributed Acoustic Sensing (DAS) is gaining traction in railways, but misconceptions persist. The technology cannot eavesdrop on conversations in real‑world deployments, and it works with standard telecom‑grade fibers rather than costly specialty cables. While DAS units carry a high upfront...
Driving International Efficiencies Using Technology
Dual Inventive has completed field trials of its next‑generation rail safety suite, including the RCS 3000 remote‑control signal, the RSS 3000 PC off‑grid points controller, and the RDI 3000 v2 remote detonator isolator. Tests in Germany, France, Belgium and the UK demonstrated clear visibility...
Vega Reederei Picks Inmarsat’s NexusWave for Newbuild Fleet
Inmarsat Maritime has secured a contract to outfit Vega Reederei’s ten new diesel‑electric coaster vessels with its NexusWave bonded connectivity service. The 89‑meter, 3,800‑dwt ships are slated for delivery by July 2026 and will also receive Fleet Secure UTM and endpoint...
Australia Ships LNG 16,000 Miles to Canada as Asia Demand Slumps
Australia’s Gorgon‑linked LNG exporter sent a cargo aboard the Maran Gas Hector to eastern Canada, covering roughly 16,000 miles – the longest route for Australian LNG to date. The move reflects a sharp slowdown in Asian demand, where shipments to...
Bot Auto, Ryan Transportation Partner on Driverless Freight Between Houston and Dallas
Bot Auto announced a strategic partnership with Ryan Transportation to launch driverless freight operations on a 200‑mile overnight corridor between Houston and Dallas, slated to begin this spring. The route, traditionally hard to service due to tight delivery windows and...
Ingram Content Group to Advance AI-Driven Supply Chain Efficiency with RELEX
Ingram Content Group is expanding its partnership with RELEX Solutions to add AI‑driven forecasting, capacity optimization, vendor‑managed inventory and assortment planning across six global distribution centers. The new capabilities will automate planning for more than 1 million SKUs, boost forecast accuracy...
Spike in Cyberattacks Demand Persistent Tracking at Sea
Cyber attacks on the maritime sector are accelerating, with the cost of a single incident rising to an average of $550,000 between 2022 and 2023. Marinelink’s security operations centre recorded 9 billion security events and more than 10,000 malware detections across...
Webinar Recap: Can We Fix the Greening Freight Package?
RailFreight.com’s webinar featuring Silvia De Rocchi and Akos Ersek dissected the EU Greening Freight Package, pinpointing fragmentation across member states and the freight sector as a major obstacle. The discussion centered on three pillars – the Combined Transport Directive, the...
Four Seasons Hotel George V, Paris Claims ‘World’s Leading Sustainable Supply Chain Programme’
Four Seasons Hotel George V, Paris has been named the World’s Leading Sustainable Supply Chain Programme 2025 at the World Sustainable Travel & Hospitality Awards in Dubai. The hotel’s responsible purchasing charter now covers 14 product categories, with 66% of...
Etihad Cargo Launches the Air Cargo Logistics Training Academy
Etihad Cargo has unveiled the Etihad Cargo Excellence Hub, the airline industry’s first dedicated logistics training academy. The digital academy delivers mandatory and elective courses covering operating standards, safety, compliance, and soft‑skill development for Etihad’s global partners. By standardising training,...
Authentic Brands, IAC Partner to Expand Dockers Across Americas
Authentic Brands Group and IAC have signed an agreement to expand Dockers apparel across Central America, the Andean region, Ecuador, and select Caribbean markets. IAC will manage manufacturing and distribution for men’s and women’s lifestyle apparel and accessories. The partnership...
Longford SMEs Invited to Cut Costs, Win More Contracts and Strengthen Margins at Circular Advantage
Longford’s SMEs face rising input costs, supply‑chain volatility and stricter sustainability rules, prompting a shift toward circular economy practices. The Circular Advantage event on 3 March, co‑funded by the Irish government and the EU Just Transition Fund, offers practical tools to...
NShift Pushes for Integrated Returns Ahead of New EU Regulations
nShift warns EU and UK retailers that the upcoming Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR), effective July 2026, will ban the destruction of returned clothing, footwear and accessories. The firm recommends integrating returns with logistics, warehousing and backend systems to...
Govt Plans to Expand Domestic Shipping Industry to Reduce Dependence on Foreign Vessels: Sanjeev Sanyal
India is launching a ₹77,000 crore programme to build a domestic merchant fleet and expand shipbuilding, aiming to cut its reliance on foreign vessels that handle more than 90% of imports and exports. The plan prioritises ship construction, port upgrades, and...
Indonesia Weighs State-Led Revamp to Rescue Ailing Textile Sector
Indonesia is preparing a state‑backed overhaul of its textile and clothing industry, aiming to tighten integration across the supply chain. The sector, which employs roughly 3.75 million workers, has faced slowing growth, rising imports and eroding competitiveness over several years. Policymakers...
From Watch to Know 2025-2026 – How Graphite Connect Made the Transition
Graphite Connect has moved from the Hackett Group’s 50 To Watch list to the elite 50 To Know roster, reflecting rapid expansion and product innovation. Its Supplier Network now hosts over 700,000 suppliers, generating more than one million data updates each month, which are...
Kongsberg Maritime to Equip LS Marine’s Ultra-Large Cable Lay Vessel
Kongsberg Maritime has been chosen to provide a fully integrated equipment suite for LS Marine Solution’s next‑generation ultra‑large cable‑laying vessel being built at Turkey’s Tersan Shipyard. The 148.4‑metre ship will carry up to 13,000 tonnes of subsea HVDC and optical cable...
Why Supply Chain Inefficiency Is the Ultimate ESG Failure
The article argues that supply‑chain inefficiency is the greatest ESG shortfall, with roughly $3 trillion of fast‑moving consumer goods wasted each year due to blind, push‑based logistics. Manufacturers lack real‑time visibility beyond the factory gate, leading to overproduction, excess inventory, and...
‘Interest for Semi-Trailers on Rail in Ukraine Is Growing’
Interest in rail‑based semi‑trailer transport from Ukraine to Europe is rising as driver shortages and war‑related disruptions strain road freight. East‑West Intermodal Logistics (EWIL) launched a new Lviv‑to‑Fényeslitke service in partnership with Ukrainian Railways and UZ Cargo Poland, despite attacks...
Shell, METLEN Sign LNG Supply and Trading Deal
Shell and Greece’s METLEN have signed an MoU to supply and trade up to 1 bcm of LNG annually from 2027 to 2031. Deliveries will flow through the Revithoussa and Alexandroupolis regasification terminals. The deal leverages the Vertical Gas Corridor to...
Penny Software Expands Global Footprint with New UK Office to Drive AI Procurement
Penny Software, the Saudi‑based AI procurement platform, has opened a new office in Derby, UK, to serve as a regional hub for its growing European client base. The move follows rapid adoption of its cloud‑native solution across more than 75...
Rail Freight Group Responds on Planning Reform Consultations
The Rail Freight Group (RFG) welcomed the UK government’s draft overhaul of the National Planning Policy Framework, saying it tackles long‑standing obstacles to rail freight terminal development. The group highlighted that clear planning guidance is essential to meet the target...
Arka Express Deploys Trucker Path to Cut Routing Hazards
Illinois carrier Arka Express cut low‑clearance incidents by half after rolling out Trucker Path for Fleets on its 800‑vehicle fleet. The safety platform, installed on Android tablets, syncs with the company’s Samsara ELDs and 10 Speed TMS to provide truck‑specific...
How AI at the Edge Is Reinventing Manufacturing Quality
AI‑powered quality control, driven by edge computing and Arm‑based processors, is reshaping modern manufacturing. By embedding intelligence on the factory floor, manufacturers can detect anomalies in real time, cut waste, and continuously fine‑tune processes. Siemens’ partnership with Arm showcases the...
Large-Scale 3D Metrology Enables Reconstruction of Critical Agitation Component
Buffalo Metrology was hired to reverse‑engineer an 8‑foot clarifier cover used in wastewater treatment after a fracture damaged the component. Using the Shining 3D FreeScan Trak Nova, the team captured the entire geometry in a single day and processed the data...
AMGTA Expands Manufacturing Collaboration as MTDG Becomes Principal Member
The Additive Manufacturer Green Trade Association (AMGTA) has promoted the Manufacturing Technology Deployment Group (MTDG) to Principal Member status, expanding its leadership role within the global additive‑manufacturing community. The elevation brings Dean Bartles onto AMGTA’s Board of Directors effective 1 February 2026, reinforcing...
New Dedicated Freight Corridor From Dankuni to Surat to Boost MP Logistics, Exports
Union Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw announced a 2,052‑km Dedicated Freight Corridor from Dankuni in West Bengal to Surat in Gujarat, traversing Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra. The East‑West line will link with the existing Western Dedicated Freight Corridor, providing...
UNSW Turns Peanut Shells Into Sustainable Graphene in Manufacturing Advance
Researchers at UNSW Sydney have devised a method to turn discarded peanut shells into high‑quality graphene using a rapid flash‑joule heating process. The technique heats pre‑treated shell char to roughly 3000 °C for milliseconds, yielding single‑layer graphene at an estimated energy...
Panama Seizes Two Canal Ports
Panama's government announced the seizure of two strategic ports along the Panama Canal, citing national security and revenue concerns. The move follows a series of regulatory actions aimed at tightening state control over critical infrastructure. Officials indicated that the ports...
Designing Smarter Operations for Multi-Day Tours: From Chaos to Clarity
Adventure travel operators find selling tours easy but delivering multi‑day experiences increasingly complex as itineraries overlap. Al Check of Odyssey highlights that growth merely reveals existing operational cracks, prompting a shift from reactive hiring to systematic design. Centralizing itineraries, pricing, supplier...
Hayward Holdings Inc (HAYW) Q4 2025 Earnings Call Transcript
Hayward Holdings reported a 7% rise in Q3 net sales to $244 million, driven by price gains and modest volume growth, and lifted its full‑year outlook to 4‑5.5% sales growth and a 5‑7% increase in adjusted EBITDA. Gross margin expanded to...
Phishing Campaign Targets Freight and Logistics Orgs in the US, Europe
A financially motivated group called Diesel Vortex has been running a phishing campaign against freight and logistics operators in the U.S. and Europe since September 2025. Using 52 domains and Cyrillic homoglyph tricks, the actors stole 1,649 unique credentials from...
What’s Behind Shein’s $1.4B China Bet
Shein announced a 10 billion‑yuan ($1.4 billion) investment to build a smart supply‑chain system in Guangdong, China. The plan includes digital factory tools, a shared innovation center, and tighter integration of design, production, and logistics to keep its two‑to‑three‑week turnaround. By anchoring...
Legislation to Kill Double Brokering Hits Senate Floor
The Senate has placed the Household Goods Shipping Consumer Protection Act on its calendar, restoring the FMCSA’s authority to levy civil penalties for unauthorized brokerage activities after a 2019 court decision stripped that power. The bill mandates a physical business...
Florida Carrier with 57 Drivers Files for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy
Standard Freight Logistics Inc., a St. Augustine‑based over‑the‑road carrier with 57 drivers and 49 power units, filed a voluntary Chapter 11 petition in the Middle District of Florida. Court records list assets between $100,000 and $500,000 and liabilities from $500,000...
Showcase Your Certifications: How an Updated Thomas Profile Connects You With the Right Buyers
ThomasNet has upgraded its supplier platform to make certifications a searchable attribute, allowing buyers to filter results by standards such as ISO, CMMC, FDA, and EPA. Suppliers can add credentials via the Company Profile Manager, choosing to upload certificates, link...
Aptean Acquires OpsVeda to Bring End-to-End Agentic Orchestration to the Logility Supply Chain Planning and Execution Platform
Aptean announced the acquisition of OpsVeda, an AI‑powered operations command center, to integrate with its recently acquired Logility supply‑chain platform. The deal adds a real‑time, agentic execution layer that bridges planning and execution, enabling continuous AI‑driven orchestration across the supply...
Report: Warehouse Automation Order Intake up by 7%
A new Interact Analysis report shows warehouse‑automation order intake rose 7 % in 2025 despite a weak macro environment, driven largely by inflated project values from rising steel and labor costs and large‑scale investments by retailers like Amazon, Walmart and Tesco....
India Is Conducting Exercise for Mapping Import Reliance
India’s Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) has launched an exercise to map import reliance by cataloguing goods that lack domestic manufacturing across all ministries. The initiative will compile five‑year public procurement data, targeting the $650 billion import...
RXO: TL Market Seeing ‘Biggest Structural Change’ Since Deregulation
Freight broker RXO reports truckload spot rates outpacing contract rates as capacity tightens, marking the most significant structural shift in the U.S. carrier market since the 1980 deregulation. Its proprietary spot‑rate index rose 5.2% year‑over‑year in Q4 and is up...
Voestalpine Railway Systems’ Key Role in EU Rail FA3
voestalpine Railway Systems has joined as a founding member of the EU Rail FA3 programme, a pan‑European research effort to make rail the most sustainable and cost‑efficient transport mode. The company contributes its turnout and track‑system expertise across four use...
CSX CEO: Flat Industrial Results Holding Back Railroad Freight Growth
CSX Chief Executive Steve Angel told investors that flat industrial production worldwide is the primary reason railroad freight volumes have stagnated. He noted that China’s growth engine has faded, Europe never delivered growth, and emerging markets lack the scale to...
Expeditors Numbers Reflect Difficult Ocean Freight Market in 4Q
Expeditors International reported a weak fourth quarter 2025, with ocean freight tonnage down 6% year‑over‑year and revenue slipping 3% to $2.86 billion. Operating income fell 17% to $250.9 million and net income dropped to $200.7 million, while salaries and other expenses rose 6%....
