I’ve spent the week talking to people.
Ten video interviews in five days with supply chain and logistics professionals. We talked about a wide range of industry topics and trends, including AI (of course) and what to expect in the year ahead in freight transportation, global trade, and logistics services. We also talked about the weather, our kids, and other random things.
More than five hours of conversation.
That’s a lot of talking, but also a lot of learning and relationship building.
If you’re staring at your computer right now wondering what to do with yourself because Microsoft Outlook is down and you can’t read or send an email, then call someone — or walk over to a colleague’s office — and have a conversation.
It doesn’t really matter who you reach out to, what you talk about, or where you do it. The act itself is what matters most.
It’s what makes us, keeps us
human.
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Moving on, here’s the supply chain and logistics news that caught my attention this week:
- US, China officially extend trade war truce by 2 months (SupplyChainDive)
- Employers, watchmen at California ports extend contract talks (Reuters)
- Maersk Confirms Data Theft as Hackers Demand $5 Million (SupplyChain247)
- Infor and Anthropic Announce Partnership That Turns Insights into Actions for Manufacturing Operations
- IBM and Microsoft Announce a New AI Agent Platform Designed for Industry-Specific Transformation
- ShipBob Opens AI Agent Bobby, Giving Brands an AI Supply Chain Partner That Works for Them
- United Airlines Is Banning AI Bots From Booking Flights (WSJ – sub. req’d)
- DHL Tests Warehouse Robots That Can Decide What to Do When Plans Shift (SupplyChain247)
- Alphabet’s Drone Unit to Invest Up to $125 Million in New Texas Facility (WSJ – sub. req’d)
- Gaining ground with autonomous trucking (Kearney)
- Truckers leverage cost pressures to drive rate recovery (TransportTopics)
- The Achilles’ heel of global trade: Building resilience where it matters most (McKinsey Global Institute)
- Fossil CO2 emissions decrease in 2026 (Global Carbon Project)
- Amazon and Kuehne+Nagel pilot a shared charging model for electric trucks
The news items above illustrate the wide range of trends, challenges, and opportunities supply chain and logistics professionals must navigate — from tariffs, labor disputes, and cyberattacks to AI, drones, driverless trucks, sustainability, and much more.
I’m out of time this morning, but I’ll share my commentary on some of these news items next week.
In the meantime, I have another video interview to prepare for before meeting a friend for lunch.
Stay human, my friends.
And with that, have a meaningful weekend.
Song of the Week: “Overthinker” by Chvrches
