Another week, another week on the road.
Dallas, Scottsdale, Austin, Amsterdam, Las Vegas, and Chicago.
It’s been a busy month traveling across time zones to attend various supply chain and logistics events. Not surprising, AI and tariffs dominated many of the conversations. A couple of speakers, at two different events, talked about war — as in the growing risk of another World War erupting (e.g., Russia vs. Europe, U.S. vs. China) and why companies should be planning for it now.
Honestly, I don’t want to think about that now. I’m tired, jetlagged, and need another cup of coffee.
I’ll share my takeaways from my travels in future posts. In the meantime, here’s the supply chain and logistics news that caught my attention this week:
- China expands rare earths restrictions, targets defense and chips users (Reuters)
- Retailers Stockpiled to Avoid Tariffs. The Holidays Will Put That to the Test. (WSJ – sub. re’d)
- AI goods and frontloading lift world trade in 2025 but outlook dims for 2026 (WTO)
- Trump: Truck tariffs coming Nov. 1 (Supply Chain Dive)
- A Devastating Fire at a Major Ford Supplier Will Disrupt Business for Months (WSJ – sub. re’d)
- SAP Launches Innovative Updates for Supply Chain Management
- Coupa Announces Acquisition of AI-Powered Scoutbee to Drive Supplier Intelligence and Discovery
- Walmart partners with Wiliot on massive supply chain management rollout (Supermarket News)
- Ingka Group acquires Locus, an AI-powered logistics software company to transform the IKEA home delivery experience
- SoftBank to buy ABB’s robot business for $5.4 billion in push to merge AI and robotics (Reuters)
- America’s Manufacturing Resurgence Will Be Powered by These Robots (WSJ – sub. re’d)
- Federal officials investigating Amazon delivery drones crash (The Hill)
- Class 8 Truck Orders Slide 44% as Tariffs Strain (Transport Topics)
It’s time for me to unpack and settle into my home time zone for a few days — until next Thursday when I take off again to Santa Barbara, with my bicycle, to do the Santa Barbara 100 Ride. Since I have a lot of catching up to do, I’ll share my commentary next week.
Have a meaningful weekend!
Song of the Week: “High” by Sir Sly
