We’re officially halfway through 2026 — or halfway out of it, depending on your perspective. Either way, it’s been an eventful six months in the world of supply chain and logistics.
Looking back at the first half of the year, here are the five developments that stand out the most to me:
- The Strait of Hormuz crisis puts supply chains on high alert. Geopolitical tensions remind companies that global supply chains remain vulnerable to sudden disruptions.
- The Supreme Court tariff ruling reshapes sourcing and trade strategies. Legal and policy uncertainty force companies to reassess sourcing decisions, inventory strategies, and cross-border trade flows.
- Freight fraud drives renewed focus on carrier vetting and trust. Rising cargo theft, identity fraud, and legal developments reinforce the importance of rigorous carrier selection and secure transportation processes.
- Agentic AI emerges as the industry’s biggest technology story. While many AI initiatives remain in the pilot stage, the conversation shifts decisively toward AI agents that can automate work and support decision-making.
- The trucking market shows signs of recovery. After a prolonged freight recession, tightening capacity and improving demand suggest the market is beginning to turn a corner.
I’m sure I’ve missed something. What else would you add to the list? Post a comment and let me know.
One issue that’s already on my radar for the second half of 2026 is the future of USMCA.
As I wrote back in April — in what turned out to be our most-read post of the quarter — the USMCA renewal process had the potential to become one of the biggest supply chain stories of the year.
Today’s announcement underscores why. Rather than agreeing to extend the agreement for another 16 years, the United States declined to renew USMCA in its current form, setting the stage for annual reviews and continued negotiations. Instead of reducing uncertainty around North American trade, today’s decision extends it, making sourcing, manufacturing, and cross-border transportation decisions even more challenging for companies with integrated North American supply chains.
If your supply chain depends on USMCA, this is not a “wait and see” moment. It’s a “prepare and decide” moment. (See my April post for the actions I recommend.)
In the meantime, like many other places in the Northern Hemisphere, we’re in the middle of a heat wave here in Boston. I’m not complaining because (aside from having air conditioning) I know it won’t be long until December arrives, and with it, the cold and snow. Just gotta grin and bear it.
And with that, here are some Talking Logistics and Indago highlights for Q2 2026.
The Quarter in Review
In case you missed them the first time around or want to read/view them again, check out the top posts and new episodes from the second quarter of 2026. After reading/watching them, share this post with your colleagues and social media followers, then post a comment and share your perspective on these topics!
Top Posts
- While Everyone Watches Oil and Tariffs, USMCA Looms
- Navigating the Post-IEEPA Regulatory Landscape
- Forget AI (At Least for a Moment)
- Running Different: The Supply Chain Imperative
- Freight Fraud Is Escalating. Are You Taking It Seriously Yet?
- The Predictability Premium: Navigating Financial Risk with Dedicated Capacity Models
- How Big is the ‘Zombie Inventory’ Problem?
- Takeaways from Magaya’s Momentum 2026 Conference
- Why Most Logistics AI Projects Never Scale Beyond the Pilot: What Shippers Should Do About It
- Robotic Trailer Loading/Unloading: High Interest, Limited Adoption
New Episodes
- How AI Is Unlocking Hidden Capacity In Delivery Fleets
- Navigating The Post-IEEPA Regulatory Landscape
Indago Research Reports
This quarter we completed seven research surveys and donated a total of $850 to Breakthrough T1D, American Logistics Aid Network, American Cancer Society, Feeding America, and Make-A-Wish.
- Would You Put Your Freight on a Driverless Truck? (June 2026): Back in August 2022, we asked Indago members about testing driverless trucks. At the time, most respondents were not testing the technology. It’s now four years later. Has shipper sentiment changed? Are companies more willing to test or use driverless truck capacity, and what barriers remain to broader adoption?
- What Should Supply Chain Leaders Stop Doing? (June 2026): This survey explored the practices that create the biggest obstacles to supply chain success, the activities that consume the most unnecessary time and effort, and the areas where organizations should focus their improvement efforts over the next few years.
- The Future of Transportation Planning (June 2026): This survey, which built on our recent survey about transportation leadership, explored how transportation planning is performed today, the biggest challenges organizations face, and how processes and technologies are evolving.
- Amazon as a 3PL: Opportunity or Risk? (May 2026): Amazon recently launched Amazon Supply Chain Services (ASCS), opening its freight, warehousing, fulfillment, and parcel shipping capabilities to businesses beyond Amazon sellers. This survey explored how supply chain and logistics executives view this development, including potential benefits, concerns, and whether they would consider Amazon as a logistics partner.
- What Will Separate Transportation Leaders from the Rest? (May 2026): This survey explored a key question: What will separate transportation leaders from the rest over the next 3–5 years? We were also interested in understanding the constraints organizations face today, how digitally integrated operations have become, and what it takes to build trust across transportation networks.
- Navigating USMCA Uncertainty (April 2026): By July 1, 2026, the United States, Mexico, and Canada must decide whether to extend the United States-Mexico-Canada (USMCA) trade agreement or allow it to enter a cycle of annual reviews that could ultimately lead to its expiration. While a range of scenarios is possible, the path forward remains uncertain. In this environment, how are supply chain and logistics leaders assessing the risks? How dependent are their operations on USMCA? And how prepared are they to respond if conditions change?
- How Supply Chain Leaders Learn (and What Gets in the Way) (April 2026): This survey explored how supply chain and logistics executives approach learning today, including the role their organizations play in supporting (or limiting) those efforts.
If you’re a supply chain or logistics practitioner from a manufacturing, retail, or distribution company, I encourage you to learn more about Indago and join our research community. It is confidential, there is no cost to join and the time commitment is minimal (2-4 minutes per week) — plus your participation will help support charitable causes that need our help today more than ever.
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