Here in the Northern Hemisphere, spring 2026 begins with the vernal equinox today (March 20) at 10:46 a.m. EDT.
Considering it was 24F yesterday morning, it’s not exactly shorts and t-shirt weather yet, but our journey around the sun promises us warmer days ahead, nonetheless.
We’re almost a quarter of the way through 2026 already. How did that happen?
The Russia-Ukraine war goes on, and another war has broken out in the Middle East, but are we in a better or worse place than in March 2020, when the world effectively shut down due to the Covid pandemic?
To quote a-ha, “I used to be confused, but now I just don’t know.”
Alright, enough deep thoughts. It’s Friday, spring is about to arrive, and for now, there’s a blue sky above.
Here’s the supply chain and logistics news that caught my attention this week:
- Middle East conflict weighs further on slowing trade outlook (WTO)
- Trump waives Jones Act shipping rules for 60 days to steady oil market (CNBC)
- CMA CGM rolls out multimodal corridors to bypass Strait of Hormuz (Splash247)
- Allies to Trump: We’ll Live With Tariffs, Just Don’t Make Them Any Higher (WSJ – sub. req’d)
- EU resumes US trade deal with ‘multi-tiered safety net’ (SupplyChainDive)
- CBP’s 4-part tariff refund process inches forward (SupplyChainDive)
- Amazon introduces faster delivery with new 1-hour and 3-hour options
- Amazon Plans Drastic Cut in Packages Sent Via Already-Struggling Postal Service (WSJ – sub. req’d)
- US Postal Service will run out of cash within a year without Congress’ help, postmaster warns (CNN)
- FedEx Is Planning an AI Agent Workforce (WSJ – sub. req’d)
- Körber accelerates AI innovation in logistics and supply chain in collaboration with NVIDIA
- Cognizant Expands AI Infrastructure Capabilities with Launch of Cognizant AI Factory
- DHL expands its North America logistics infrastructure amid growing global demand for data center logistics services
- Tesla Finally Has Its First Semi-Truck and It’s Already a Hit With Truckers (WSJ – sub. req’d)
- Oregon Permanently Ends Issuing Non‑Domiciled CDLs, CLPs (Transport Topics)
- “Dalilah’s Law” passes House committee (The Trucker)
- Energy Department Invests $500M in Critical Minerals Supply Chain (SupplyChain247)
Amazon: “I Feel the Need, the Need for Speed”
It was an iconic scene and line from the movie Top Gun: Tom Cruise walking to his fighter jet, proclaiming, “I feel the need, the need for speed.”
Don’t ask me why, but that’s what popped into my head when I read the news that “Amazon delivery keeps getting faster, with new 1-hour and 3-hour options giving customers the ability to shop over 90,000 products for fast, reliable delivery in just a few quick clicks.”
Here are some details from the press release:
The convenience of 1-hour delivery is currently available to customers in hundreds of cities and towns across the U.S., including parts of major metropolitan areas like Los Angeles, Chicago, Oklahoma City, Nashville, Houston, and Washington, D.C., and smaller cities such as Des Moines, Iowa; Boise, Idaho; and American Fork, Utah. 3-hour delivery is offered in over 2,000 cities and towns, which includes large, mid-size, and small cities, as well as surrounding suburbs like Cornwall, Pennsylvania; Harrah, Oklahoma; and Arabi, Louisiana. Our new delivery options are available seven days a week and we plan to bring 1-hour and 3-hour delivery to even more areas in the coming months.
Fast delivery is not free, however. “Prime members get even more value with discounted delivery fees of $9.99 for 1-hour delivery and $4.99 for 3-hour delivery. Customers without a Prime membership pay $19.99 for 1-hour delivery and $14.99 for 3-hour delivery.”
Delivery remains a strong competitive weapon for Amazon, and with the exception of Walmart, other retailers have struggled to find the right balance of delivery speed, cost, and quality (as I highlighted earlier this week in “The Bill For Free Shipping Has Finally Arrived”).
What’s clear, however, is that 1-hour, 3-hour, or even same-day delivery is a luxury reserved for a relatively small set of consumers and products. Most people are willing to wait one or more days for what they order — especially if they don’t have to pay for shipping.
Another Week, Another Wave of AI Announcements
It’s not easy keeping up with all the AI announcements from supply chain and logistics companies.
Earlier this month, Descartes announced “expanded artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities on its multimodal Global Logistics Network (GLN) with the introduction of Descartes MacroPoint™ OpsForce, a suite of AI agents designed to automate freight visibility workflows, maintain tracking continuity and improve execution across complex, inter-enterprise supply chains.”
Last week, Blue Yonder announced “an expanded set of AI agents and role-specific mobile applications for its end-to-end planning and execution solutions,” and C.H. Robinson revealed how “with over 100 trillion proprietary data points generated across decades of global operations — and growing with every shipment executed — the company has built an AI engine that is reasoning, deciding and acting in complex supply chains.”
Which brings us to this week, with FedEx, Körber, and Cognizant issuing press releases about their AI activities.
In FedEx’s case, as reported by Belle Lin in the Wall Street Journal, the company, “which already deploys artificial intelligence in software development and other areas, is now looking to drive AI agents further into operations, including network planning and business processes.”
Here are some excerpts from the article:
By 2028, FedEx expects to have AI integrated into more than half of its core operational workflows, part of what Chief Digital and Information Officer Vishal Talwar sees as a global shift toward artificial intelligence.
Memphis-based FedEx is currently focused on setting up the underlying data and management foundation to oversee its AI bots — a multiyear process that will enable the company to safely scale the tech, according to [FedEx Chief Digital and Information Officer Vishal Talwar].
“Any enterprise that’s not established those foundational capabilities is setting itself up for a risk on the cyber-resilience side, or it’s setting itself up for not leveraging true agentic capabilities,” Talwar said.
Talwar is right: You have to build a strong data foundation and governance structure before you go crazy deploying AI agents across your organization. Unfortunately, many CEOs are too impatient and want AI agents deployed now, before they’re truly ready to do so. They’re driven by FOMO, which never ends up well.
At the end of the day, real competitive advantage won’t come from how fast you deploy AI agents, but from how well your organization is prepared to use them.
And with that, Happy Spring!
Have a meaningful weekend!
Song of the Week: “The Blue Sky” by a-ha
