North American intermodal freight activity is forecasted to droop slightly in August, moderating from its July pace in a reflection of market uncertainty, according to the Intermodal Association of North America (IANA).

That forecast comes from the latest reading of IANA’s Intermodal Volume Index (IVI), which produced a August 2026 estimate of 101.3, showing a month-over-month decline from July, which is forecast to come in at 104.1, but maintains year-over-year growth.

According to IANA, its IVI is built to work as a pulse check, reporting where the current month is most likely landing while shippers, railroads, and logistics companies are still making decisions about capacity, equipment, and routing. A steady reading near the pre-pandemic baseline tells the industry that intermodal demand remains stable, neither accelerating into a capacity crunch nor sliding toward a downturn.

“The August estimate, though down, reads as a continuation of the strength that we've seen for much of the 2026," said Andrew Sibold, IANA’s Director of Economics. "Although this month's forecast carries a bit more uncertainty, we're seeing no reason for any near-term reversal of the positive trend we've seen this year."

In 2025, WEG Electric Corp., a manufacturer and supplier of electrical and electronic equipment, was feeling a bit squeezed at its U.S. headquarters in Duluth, Georgia. The facility houses engineering and sales in addition to the company’s distribution operations, and things were getting tight, particularly on the distribution side. WEG’s small-parts inventory—think electric motors, controls, panels, generators, and variable frequency drives—had grown over the years and the growth showed no signs of slowing. And that was creating challenges in storing and managing material within the existing warehouse footprint.

Building out was not an option, but automation was, so WEG began looking for a solution that could increase storage density, improve operational efficiency, and reduce strain on the order fulfillment process—which at the time was a manual workflow involving paper pick lists and forklifts.

Its search led it to the AutoStore automated storage and retrieval system (AS/RS), a high-density vertical storage system that can hold thousands of small items. Designed to optimize warehouse storage space, the system has the dual advantages of minimizing square footage needed and—because robots retrieve items and deliver them to ergonomic workstations—reducing the need for forklifts and order picker travel.

​SCALING TO FIT

Once the decision was made, WEG Electric turned to automated storage solutions specialist (and global AutoStore partner) Kardex to install and integrate an AutoStore at the Duluth facility. The AutoStore system supplied by Kardex consists of a high-density grid supporting 13,938 storage bins, seven R5 AutoStore robots, and three picking ports or workstations (two CarouselPorts for picking and one ConveyorPort for inbound inventory).

The system has the potential to grow even larger in the future. Kardex notes that the AutoStore’s modular architecture makes it easily scalable: As business grows, WEG can simply add more robots, ports, or storage to the system.

WEG also opted to implement the Kardex FulfillX warehouse execution system (WES) to orchestrate the flow of thousands of small parts in the AS/RS. Integrated with the company’s enterprise resource planning (ERP) system, the FulFillX WES now manages inventory storage, order sequencing, and system workflows in real time, helping ensure that inbound, storage, and outbound processes operate efficiently together.

MULTIPLE BENEFITS​

Since partnering with Kardex to deploy the AutoStore solution, WEG has seen small-parts picking speeds double and is able to handle higher order volumes while providing a reliable service. The Duluth facility has also been able to redeploy six employees from manual picking tasks to higher-value-added activities and has reduced the need for forklifts for picking and putaway.

The supplier has seen other benefits as well: For example, by centralizing small-parts storage in the AutoStore grid, WEG freed up warehouse space for pallet storage and other inventory. On top of that, the system’s controlled storage environment and software-driven inventory tracking have improved accuracy and visibility across the operation.

Company leaders say the project has produced the results they were looking for. “AutoStore [has strengthened] our distribution capabilities by increasing responsiveness, supporting scalable growth, and enabling faster fulfillment across our U.S. network,” Scott Campbell, logistics manager at WEG Electric, said in a press release. “It has enabled us to free up floor space and improve inventory accuracy, and [it has] given us the ability to store more SKUs [stock-keeping units] without expanding the physical warehouse footprint.”

Headwear manufacturer and distributor Outdoor Cap is building on its reputation as a high-quality, high-speed business partner thanks in part to a recent implementation of voice-directed picking technology at its Bentonville, Arkansas, distribution center (DC). Outdoor Cap supplies licensed and private-label headwear to promotional, team sports, and retail customers throughout North America—and as its client roster grew, so did its need for warehouse technology that could support that growth.

That’s when company leaders turned to Ehrhardt Partner Group (EPG) and its Lydia Voice solution to meet the challenge.

“We evaluated multiple picking solutions,” Peel Chronister, senior vice president of operations at Outdoor Cap, said in a statement describing the project. “The priority was improving the customer experience and speed to market, but it was also extremely important that the solution [be] scalable.”

​MEETING THE CHALLENGE

Prior to the switchover, the operation had relied largely on traditional picking methods, but as order volumes grew, those methods proved inadequate to the task. Company leaders say they needed a solution that would:

• Improve pick accuracy and consistency;
• Reduce dependency on screens and handheld devices;
• Speed onboarding for new and seasonal workers;
• Support employees on the floor without increasing complexity.After evaluating several options, leaders at Outdoor Cap selected Lydia Voice, leveraging the tech firm’s Prove-It Program, which allows customers to test the software directly in their warehouse to evaluate both return on investment (ROI) and the user experience. The technology’s intuitive, hands-free operation; advanced speech recognition; and seamless integration with Outdoor Cap’s existing warehouse systems sealed the deal, according to Chronister.

​QUICK RESULTS

The rollout prioritized rapid adoption and operational continuity. Outdoor Cap worked closely with EPG to configure voice workflows that matched existing processes, minimizing disruption to daily execution, according to both partners. What’s more, the intuitive implementation reduced training time and enabled new hires to onboard quickly, even during peak periods.

The easy installation and quick adoption led to measurable improvements fast.

“In our first year of using Lydia, our team experienced an incredible 57% improvement in overall quality,” Chronister reports. “We made significant gains in pick accuracy, which led to a better customer experience.”

At the same time, he says, workers gained confidence and productivity increased—enabling faster fulfillment and higher service levels.

“We experienced a 15% productivity jump, which meant speed-to-market and [the] customer experience greatly improved as a result of implementing [the voice picking system],” he also said.

Going forward, company leaders say they expect Lydia Voice to evolve alongside the organization, serving as a scalable foundation for continued optimization in the warehouse. Voice-driven workflows strengthen day-to-day operations while providing the flexibility to adapt to changing demand, workforce dynamics, and growth initiatives.

“With Lydia Voice, we’re set up not just for where we are now, but for where we’re going,” Chronister said.

Q: How would you describe the current market for forklifts?

A: Immediately after the pandemic outbreak, industry numbers in North America soared, reaching record levels in 2021 and 2022. But today, the market appears to have settled into a more normal, yet still strong, state. Robust growth in 2025 demonstrates the market’s resilience and has further bolstered confidence that the expansion in e-commerce, automation, and electrification will continue to fuel growth for the foreseeable future.

Q: You have a background in engineering and design. How has that helped you in your current marketing role?

A: The lift truck industry is unique in that many, dare I say most, of the commercial leaders are engineers who started in this industry designing forklifts. I am confident that my background, which began in 1992 as a design engineer for one of the top lift truck OEMs [original equipment manufacturers], has established a solid foundation for my career.

While my role today, serving as chief marketing officer for Big Joe Forklifts, has taken me far from my engineering roots, I often find myself leveraging two key attributes I feel are in most engineers’ DNA—an insatiable appetite to please the customer and the ability to build something great. This DNA, combined with Big Joe’s amazing culture of genuinely placing the customer first, has empowered the market to see Big Joe in a different light and to experience firsthand how Big Joe plans to be an influential leader in the industry for years to come.

Q: You have 30 years of experience working in the forklift industry. What are some of the biggest changes you’ve seen during that time?

A: In the early 2000s, soon after OSHA’s mandatory forklift operator safety training became effective, the topic of safety quickly reached fever pitch. Fleet management telemetry systems that incorporated operator access, OSHA daily checklists, and impact sensing were introduced. OEMs began to implement truck stability systems designed to reduce the likelihood of incidents involving lift trucks.

While efforts behind operator training and improving truck designs have remained steady over the years, significant changes to forklift designs were few and far between—until now. Today, the introduction of lithium-ion battery technology, advancements in automation, and the introduction of artificial intelligence are all working together to set the stage for some amazing advancements in the industrial market.

Q: Could you explain why the forklift industry is continuing to move away from internal-combustion engines in favor of electric models?

A: Ever since I entered this industry in 1992 as a young engineer, everyone has been talking about the electrification of the market. Studying the trend lines from 1984, when the overall lift truck market was an even 50/50 split between internal-combustion (IC) and electric models, the movement to electric is evident. But a deeper analysis clearly shows this shift was fueled by expansion in the warehouse market, which drove higher demand for electric-powered equipment like walkie pallet trucks, pantograph reach trucks, and order pickers.

By stripping out electric warehouse equipment, classified as ITA Classes 2 and 3, and focusing on the movement from internal-combustion to electric equipment, it is clear the shift to electrical has been at a snail’s pace. The anchor holding operations back from moving from IC to electrical has been lead-acid battery technology. With the advent of lithium, all the pains associated with lead-acid battery solutions are solved. These lithium battery solutions, combined with much-improved charging technology, are finally empowering operations to confidently make the leap from IC to electric.

Q: Why has Big Joe chosen to manufacture its own lithium-ion batteries?

A: For 75 years, Big Joe has consistently focused its efforts on developing industry-leading electric equipment and solutions for the material handling industry. Big Joe prides itself on being a customer-centric disrupter, developing high-quality solutions that directly address the pain points many customers face in their material handling operations.

Over a decade ago, Big Joe saw where the market was headed and recognized the role lithium would play in the future. To be recognized as the leader in converting internal-combustion users to electric, we had to become self-reliant by owning all areas of battery design, testing, manufacturing, and support.

Third-party retrofittable lithium solutions may have gained some traction today, but at Big Joe, all of our sit-down counterbalanced electric forklifts feature our own battery technology, integrated directly into the equipment for an optimal experience for the operator. For our customers, there is great comfort knowing that with Big Joe, it’s not about the truck, battery, and charger—it’s about the overall package as a singular solution.

Q: Where do you feel forklift innovation will take us in the next 10 years?

A: With electrification and automation still in the early stages of gaining momentum in the market, I predict the next 10 years will be marked by bold and notable changes, including the following:·

• The death of the ITA Class 4 Cushion IC Forklift classification: With Big Joe’s relentless effort to be the leader in electrification, we are driving toward a future where operating an internal-combustion forklift indoors will be seen as inconceivable, much the way much of the population views smoking on an airplane, in the office, or in a restaurant today. Our driving vision at Big Joe is to have a new generation of professionals enter this industry and question why there is a gap between ITA Class 3 and Class 5 forklifts.
• Contraction of third-party lithium battery suppliers: Today, there are about 20 third-party battery suppliers that offer retrofittable lithium battery solutions designed to replace lead-acid batteries. As other OEMs follow Big Joe’s lead by developing their own lithium batteries and integrating them directly into their forklifts, there is an expectation that the number of lithium battery suppliers will be just a fraction of what it is today.
• Automation, automation, automation: The past 10 years have been exciting in terms of the level of automation in the material handling space. When you go to industry trade shows, it seems that all the lift truck OEMs have some level of automation to showcase. With all the autonomous solutions available, it’s a bit surprising that more companies haven’t embraced the technology, particularly given the labor constraints the nation is experiencing. As artificial intelligence (AI) continues to advance across all aspects of our lives, industrial automation will become less complex and will continue to gain the confidence of the industrial market. In a similar fashion to the electrification trend, Big Joe sees itself as a significant player in this area, developing “approachable automation that simply works.”

In a move to offer its customers a streamlined method for reducing the climate impact of transport emissions, logistics service provider (LSP) The Rhenus Group will team with the freight transportation emissions tracking and reduction portal provider Shipzero, the firms said.

Under the agreement, Rhenus customers gain access to a “book and claim” solution designed to reduce the climate impact of global transport, covering alternative fuels and battery-electric vehicles across air, ocean, and road transport.

The strategy helps Rhenus to reduce the climate impact of transport emissions in areas where the company has no direct influence over the underlying assets, Rhenus said. Book and claim enables that approach by allowing companies to support lower-emission transport solutions outside the physical transport chain of a specific shipment, with the climate benefit allocated through a verified accounting system.

Shipzero supports that process by providing its auditable platform, enabling companies to be less reliant on manual processes and data processing.

The system works by employing a trusted accounting system to prove that an LSP, carrier, or shipper paid for renewable fuels, whether those specific gallons of liquid were used in the particular truck that hauled their load or not.

DHL, another third party logistics provider (3PL), defines book and claim as a clever solution to a knotty problem. DHL points out that sustainable fuels are increasingly available as alternatives to diesel, kerosene, and other fossil fuels. But a single user can’t pull up to any pump and fill their truck or plane with sustainable fuels, since those green alternatives are often blended with fossil-based fuels, so there’s no way to track how much of it goes into one individual vehicle.

The solution to that riddle is to use book and claim as a chain-of-custody model that tracks and documents the environmental benefits of sustainable fuels. “It’s a virtual solution to a physical problem based on a one-atmosphere approach. All GHG emissions enter the same atmosphere, so as far as Mother Earth is concerned, it doesn’t matter which vehicle, vessel, or aircraft is burning sustainable fuels instead of fossil fuels,” DHL said.

Autonomous delivery service provider Coco Robotics on Wednesday said it will enable autonomous robot deliveries of meals and snacks from Little Caesars, the third-largest pizza chain in the world.

Coco’s robots—which look like suitcases powered by with four large wheels—will navigate themselves down sidewalks and across street crossings. The service is currently serving Little Caesars store locations in Los Angeles, Chicago, and Miami, and will soon expand to downtown San Jose.

According to Santa Monica, California-based Coco, its robots typically serve neighborhoods within a 1- to 2-mile radius of a participating store. The exact delivery range depends on the local area and sidewalk conditions.

From a customer’s point of view, orders placed through participating Little Caesars locations on DoorDash and Uber Eats may be fulfilled by Coco, providing a faster, environmentally friendly, and more efficient delivery experience, the company said.

"This partnership is about delivering more value and convenience to our guests," said Trish Heusel, VP of Innovation at Little Caesars. "By integrating Coco's autonomous robots, we can deliver hot, delicious pizza in record time to more customers. With Coco, we're now able to make deliveries even more quickly. Automating deliveries also reduces congestion in our stores and helps get orders out faster during peak periods."

Founded in 2020, Coco says it has completed over 500,000 zero-emission deliveries across the U.S. and Europe. The fleet continuously learns from millions of miles of real-world operations, giving Coco instant adaptability to new cities and environments.

The large New Jersey seaport APM Terminals Elizabeth has placed an order for 96 electric terminal trucks from automaker Orange EV, marking one of the largest port electrification commitments in history, port leaders said Wednesday.

The order follows Orange EV's expansion at APM Terminals Los Angeles (Pier 400) earlier this summer, where a year-long 20-truck rental pilot led to a 40-truck expansion, bringing that fleet to 60 trucks. The Port Elizabeth deal also comes on the heels of last week's announcement of a 24-truck deal with Greenwich Terminals, operator of the Packer Avenue Marine Terminal in South Philadelphia.

According to Orange EV, the vehicles for APM Terminals Elizabeth will be its HUSK-e XP units, which are manufactured at Orange EV's production facility in Kansas City, Kansas, and are fully compliant with the Build America, Buy America Act (BABA) requirements. Each truck is built for heavy port and terminal operations, capable of moving up to 180,000 lbs. of combined weight. The vehicles employ a 310-kWh lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery, the largest available battery pack in the Orange EV lineup.

The global industrial standards organization ASTM International has launched an initiative to accelerate the process of setting safety and performance thresholds for “rapidly converging technologies.”

West Conshohocken, Pennsylvania-based ASTM says its standards improve safety and performance in manufacturing and materials, products and processes, and systems and services. The group also provides services such as training, proficiency testing, certification, and its new portal service Compass.

According to ASTM, convergent technologies are those that lie at the forefront of innovation, but advance interdependently, rather than in isolation. For example, artificial intelligence is embedded in robotics and manufacturing systems; semiconductors and energy infrastructure underpin them all.

Currently, more than 40 national governments now publish their own lists of critical and emerging technologies, and those lists diverge and shift. Rather than track those labels, ASTM engages CETs at the intersections where these technologies actually meet, thereby creating the opportunity to develop standards alongside technologies rather than after they propagate across society.

ASTM says it will achieve its goal by creating a new Critical and Emerging Technologies (CET) Division, formerly the Advanced Manufacturing Division. That arm will extend the standards model used in advanced manufacturing to address technologies that are converging fastest.

“A technology is industrialized and at scale when the quality holds, the results repeat, and it performs the same way globally,” says Mohsen Seifi, Ph.D., vice president of the Critical and Emerging Technologies Division at ASTM International. “That is the bar. We reach it faster by engaging early, shaping standards while the technology is still taking form, and carrying the work through to training and certification with partners across industry, government, and academia worldwide.”

The new CET division, which is active in approximately 10 ASTM committees and cooperates across roughly 25 countries, assesses critical and emerging technology by where standards are most needed, and accelerates development by defining roadmaps, applying market intelligence, and building training and certification opportunities.

The newly launched division maintains advanced manufacturing standardization as its flagship, incorporating cutting-edge topics at various levels of maturity, including:

• Robotics, exoskeletons, and commercial space, with dedicated committees and a growing body of standards
• Drones and unmanned systems, supported by a long-established committee and a mature body of standards
• Emerging technologies like semiconductors, quantum, and biotechnology, still the subject of pre-standardization through ASCET, the division’s center of excellence that operates the U.S. National Center of Excellence for CET Standardization under a cooperative agreement with the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)
• Artificial intelligence, a rapidly growing focus area for ASCET and for F50, ASTM’s newest committee on artificial intelligence in manufacturing systems, which drew more than 100 organizations from more than 20 countries in its first months

Business activity in key segments of the logistics economy remained steady despite slowing conditions recorded in July, according to reports released this week.

U.S. trucking activity fell 1% in July after rising 1.5% in June, according to the American Trucking Associations’ (ATA) monthly Truck Tonnage Index.

ATA’s advanced seasonally adjusted For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index equaled 113.5 in July, down from 114.7 in June. The index fell 0.5% from the same month in 2025, which was worse than June’s revised 1.2% gain, ATA said. Year-to-date, compared with the same period in 2025, tonnage is up 1.4% due to robust year-over-year increases from February through April.

“Tonnage levels have been choppy recently, and this trend was reflected in July’s decline,” ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello said in a press release announcing the results Tuesday. “Aside from a couple pockets of strength, including the boom in data center construction for AI, freight has been lackluster. It is also true that the industry is seeing a recovery, but that is nearly all due to excess capacity leaving the market.”

Intermodal freight activity is moderating as well, according to August estimates from the Intermodal Association of North America (IANA), released Monday. The group said its Intermodal Volume Index (IVI) registered 101.3, down from July’s estimate of 104.1, but still showing year-over-year growth.

A steady reading near the IVI’s baseline of 100 indicates intermodal demand remains stable, neither accelerating into a capacity crunch nor sliding toward a downturn, according to IANA.

“The August estimate, though down, reads as a continuation of the strength that we've seen for much of ... 2026,” Andrew Sibold, IANA’s director of economics, said in a statement announcing the monthly report. “Although this month's forecast carries a bit more uncertainty, we're seeing no reason for any near-term reversal of the positive trend we've seen this year.”

Manufacturing groups reported similar results. Declines in consumer goods production were offset by gains in other areas—particularly industrial equipment and defense production—yielding a slightly slower rate of growth in industrial output during July compared to June, according to a report from AMT-The Association for Manufacturing Technology, released Tuesday. Total U.S. industrial production grew 0.2% in July, down from 0.3% growth in June, according to AMT.

“The pullback in production of consumer goods could be the result of the increasingly bifurcated consumer economy,” Christopher Chidzik, principal economist with AMT, said in a press release. “Manufacturing technology orders came in at record levels over the first half of 2026. Some of these capital investments were surely motivated by increased demand for industrial, space, and defense equipment. While a deterioration of consumer strength could quell some manufacturing technology orders, elevated demand from producers of business and military equipment could keep the industrial economy afloat during any upcoming period of declining consumer activity.”

The Atlanta-based systems integrator Fortna will be sold from one private equity firm to another in a deal to reduce the company’s debt by $1.8 billion and raise $150 million in cash, allowing it to continue operating while reducing its interest payments.

Under terms of the proposed deal, the company will be acquired by Los Angeles-based investment firm Ares Management and other lenders. Fortna had previously been acquired by the private equity firm Thomas H. Lee Partners in 2019, and then merged in 2022 with another firm in Thomas H. Lee’e portfolio, the fellow systems integrator MHS Global.

In an announcement, Fortna today said “Majority ownership will transition through the recapitalization to the company’s existing lenders.” Fortna said it expects to consummate the recapitalization transaction in the coming weeks, subject

to the satisfaction of standard closing conditions. After the deal is completed, the recapitalization transaction will have no impact or impairment on the company’s vendors, suppliers, and business partners.

“Today’s agreement marks an important milestone for our company,” Fortna CEO Rob McKeel said in a release. “Following this transaction, we will have a stronger balance sheet and enhanced financial flexibility. Additionally, with the support of new ownership that shares our long-term vision, we will be well positioned to execute our strategy with discipline and confidence.”

Until the deal closes, Fortna said it will continue to operate as normal and remains focused on delivering for customers and advancing projects on time. “As we look ahead, our priorities remain clear. We will continue helping our customers optimize complex distribution and fulfillment operations with mission-critical solutions, expertise and innovative approaches. We are grateful for the continued trust and support of our customers and business partners and look forward to our continued collaboration,” McKeel said.

California-based GrubMarket, a venture-backed e-commerce company serving both business customers and end-consumers in the U.S and Canadian food supply chains, is expanding overseas to the U.K.

The company on Tuesday said it had completed the acquisition of U.K.-based JR Holland, a fresh produce and foodservice distributor servicing North East England and Scotland.

The deal marks GrubMarket’s latest move to grow by takeover, following its acquisition in July of Canadian online grocery company SPUD (Sustainable Produce Urban Delivery), and in April of Houston-based Texas and Gulf Coast food distributor Schoenmann Produce. And in 2025, GrubMarket bought Procurant, a software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform that streamlines fresh procurement, order management, and regulatory compliance for the perishable goods industry. Additional acquisitions in 2025 included the San Diego–based importer and shipper Coast Citrus Distributors; Mexican-grown produce provider Delta Fresh Produce; San Leandro, California-based Bay Cities Produce; and West Coast specialty produce provider Sally Produce.

The firm’s fast expansion is fueled by venture capital backing, including the company’s latest fund injection of $50 million in a “series H” round in February and another $50 million from a “series G” round in 2025.

Looking at the latest example, JR Holland was founded in 1983 by John Holland and has supplied fresh produce, dairy, meat, bakery, and pantry items to customers across the hospitality, education, healthcare, and public sectors for more than four decades. Based in Gateshead, the company operates two locations in the Newcastle area totaling 65,000 square feet and employs a team of over 120 employees. Today, JR Holland completes more than 3,000 deliveries each week with a fleet of 32 modern, temperature-controlled vehicles, serving customers six days a week through its robust distribution network.

As part of GrubMarket's portfolio, JR Holland will now gain access to GrubMarket’s technology solutions, including:

• WholesaleWare, a software-as-a-service (SaaS) ERP platform that provides food industry wholesalers, distributors, and shippers with financial management, sales support, inventory management, lot traceability, grower accounting, and automated routing and logistics;
• GrubAssist AI, GrubMarket's suite of agentic enterprise AI assistants that empower food supply chain businesses with deep insights, intelligent analyses, and workflow automation;
• Orders IO, GrubMarket's custom-branded mobile and online ordering e-commerce solution; and
• GrubPay, the company's digital payments platform specifically designed for the needs of the food supply chain industry.

As an El Nino weather pattern continues to squeeze moisture out of North and South American rainfall patterns, the Panama Canal Authority is coping with resulting water shortages by restricting the passage of cargo ships to lighter-weight vessels.

In a series of tighter conditions for the draft—or depth underwater—of cargo ships passing through its Neopanamax Locks, the canal has already reduced its optimal maximum limit of 50 feet. Now additional steps will reduce that limit on August 26 to just 48 feet (14.63 meters). And a further adjustment will take effect on September 3, lowering the maximum draft to 47.5 feet (14.48 meters).

“The measure is based on current water levels and projected conditions for the upcoming weeks in Gatun Lake. It is part of the canal’s ongoing water management and operational strategy aimed at ensuring the long-term sustainability of its operations,” The Panama Canal Authority said in an August 5 release.

“The draft adjustment will not affect the number of daily vessel transits. Instead, it reflects water conservation and resource management measures that have been in place since December 2025 as part of preparations for the 2026 dry season.”

In reaction, some carriers have already said they will charge higher fees for each ship that sails through the waterway, announcing canal transit surcharges of $200 to $1,000 per forty-foot equivalent unit (FEU) containers for mid-September, according to Freightos. “The Panama Canal Authority is preemptively cutting transits and draft limits ahead of an expected El Niño drought. These steps are a far cry from those implemented in 2023, but could be a sign of things to come,” Freightos said in an analysis.

Likewise, Descartes said it is tracking the influence on freight costs, routing decisions, and sourcing strategies of global supply chain stresses. “July’s import growth shows that demand remains resilient amidst a highly complex and challenging operating environment,” said Jackson Wood, Director of Industry Strategy at Descartes. “As changing tariffs, elevated Middle East maritime risk, tighter Panama Canal draft restrictions and continued Red Sea disruption continue to affect costs, capacity, and schedule reliability, having flexible sourcing and routing strategies will help U.S. importers respond quickly as conditions evolve.”

Demand for U.S. manufacturing workers remains significantly stronger than traditional labor reports suggest, according to a report from Hirequest, a Goose Creek, South Carolina-based staffing and recruiting service provider.

Hirequest says that manufacturing staffing revenue in Q1 and Q2 is tracking at approximately three times its pre-pandemic level, reflecting sustained demand from manufacturers nationwide. That revenue was driven by hiring demand across food production, metal fabrication, solar assembly, packaging, and other industrial sectors.

That growth runs counter to a report from S&P Global that job cuts at U.S. factories in June 2026 ran near their highest levels since the end of the global financial crisis in 2009.

According to Hirequest, the disconnect between those two reports is evidence of a fundamental shift in hiring practices. While traditional employment reports primarily measure permanent payroll additions, staffing firms often see hiring demand weeks or even months earlier, as manufacturers increasingly turn to temporary and temp-to-perm staffing models as a workforce expansion strategy.

Another change in workforce hiring patterns is being triggered by new technology. While AI and automation continue transforming factory floors, HireQuest says the technology is increasing—not replacing—demand for skilled workers who can operate, maintain, and optimize advanced manufacturing systems.

"The narrative that manufacturers have stopped hiring simply doesn't match what we're seeing every day," said Rick Hermanns, President and CEO of HireQuest. "Manufacturers haven't eliminated hiring, but have fundamentally changed how they hire. More companies are using temporary and temp-to-perm staffing to maintain flexibility while continuing to expand production."

Further evidence for a continued demand in hiring came from a report by the California-based research and advisory firm Staffing Industry Analysts (SIA), which said that industrial staffing revenue was up a median 10% year over year, the largest increase of any segment. It was followed by allied healthcare at 4% and per diem nursing and life sciences at 3% each.

The third party logistics provider (3PL) Kenco on Tuesday said it plans to open an expanded Innovation Lab in its headquarters town of Chattanooga, Tennessee, saying the new 30,000-square-foot space will replace the company’s previous 10,000-square-foot facility.

Designed to closely mirror real-world warehouse conditions, the lab is intentionally vendor-neutral, providing an environment for objective, data-driven testing and evaluation.

When it opens on September 10, that additional space will enable the organization to test and demo more supply chain solutions and accommodate larger, more complex technologies. The new lab will also encourage greater collaboration with the Chattanooga technology community, Kenco said.

“The Innovation Lab has long stood as the convergence point for leading technologies and real-world applications, helping both manufacturers and customers identify and realize what’s possible,” says Ainsley Williams, Vice President, Automation & Innovation at Kenco. “By tripling our innovation footprint, we can further provide a space for OEMs to continue experimenting with their products in a real environment and for customers to explore product and value without having to invest in them.”

National home improvement retailer The Home Depot today said it has expanded its express delivery service, saying the move offers rapid fulfillment for “a small flat fee” in U.S. markets.

The network leverages the company’s supply chain network and its more than 2,000 U.S. stores functioning as fulfillment hubs, allowing customers to get qualifying items delivered in three hours or less. And the company said it expects to offer even faster delivery speeds in the months ahead.

For now, the express service provides free same-day delivery on orders of $25 or more placed by 4 p.m. Working in conjunction with local stores, the network delivers more than 65% of in-stock parcel products same day or next day, and approximately 55% of in-stock big and bulky orders within two days. And it supports next day major appliance delivery for items like refrigerators, washers, and dryers.

"Customers expect products to be available when and where they need them, and Express Delivery helps us meet that expectation with a fast, reliable solution," said Jordan Broggi, Home Depot’s EVP of Interconnected Retail. "Whether you're a DIYer who needs one more bag of fertilizer to finish the yard or a Pro running short on adhesives and caulk for a time-sensitive job, Express Delivery makes it easier than ever for our customers to get the supplies they need, right when they need them most."

The Philadelphia robotics tech startup Fort Robotics plans to go public on the NASDAQ stock exchange in a move that values the eight-year-old company at $556 million and could raise up to $201 million in cash.

Fort Robotics said it would make the evolution by merging with a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) called Newbury Street II. That Boston-based entity defines itself as a “blank check company” formed for the purpose of effecting a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses. Newbury Street II is led by CEO Thomas Bushey, former President of Ondas, a provider of private wireless networks and autonomous robotics platforms for industrial infrastructure.

Fort Robotics provides technology to robot manufacturers and end users that makes their autonomous machines safe, secure, and reliable enough to deploy at scale alongside humans, the firm said. It is backed by investors including Tiger Global, Mark Cuban Companies, Prologis Ventures, and Five Eleven Partners. The company grew out of founder and CEO Samuel Reeves's previous company Humanistic Robotics, which built robots to clear landmines.

"Physical AI will change the way we work in every industry, and this will be a game changer for workers, organizations and governments worldwide," said Samuel Reeves, Founder and CEO of FORT Robotics. "However, these new machines come with a completely new and different risk profile, and that must be addressed before autonomous systems can scale. FORT's mission is to 'ensure robots cause no harm' and we are dedicated to pioneering and building a shared framework for trust that robot manufacturers, integrators, end users, regulators, insurers, governments and any other interested party can rely on.”

Geopolitical tensions, cyber-security risks, and a shifting technology landscape threaten to disrupt supply chains like never before—and the costs associated with those threats are weighing heavy on CEOs.

More than 80% of US-based CEOs say that up to a fifth of their revenue would be at risk if their top three suppliers were disrupted for two weeks, according to research from procurement and supply chain consultancy Proxima, released this week. The remainder said that 21% to 40% of revenue would be in jeopardy if their top three suppliers faced disruption.

Proxima surveyed more than 500 CEOs from around the world whose companies generate more than $500 million in annual revenue. The results appear in the company’s Global Supply Chain Resilience Outlook.

But CEOs are willing to pay a premium to reduce the risks they're facing: The 104 U.S.-based CEOs surveyed said they would accept an average increase of 17% on their third-party supplier costs to guarantee supply chain resilience, for example. Seventy percent said they would accept an increase of 11% or more, according to Proxima.

When asked how they would fund those increases, 38% of US-based CEOs said they would implement cost-saving measures, and 36% said they would pass price rises on to customers.

More than a quarter (27%) said they would absorb the costs through reduced margins.

When asked which threat poses the greatest financial challenge to their supply chain, 30% of US-based CEOs cited conflict and geopolitical tensions—the highest percentage of all markets surveyed. This was followed by emerging technologies (20%) and sustainability targets and regulatory requirements (20%).

The research also found that emerging technologies (25%) and sustainability targets and regulatory requirements (25%) are the two threats that US-based CEOs believe their peers underestimate most.

Cybersecurity remains a top concern as well. Almost half (47%) of U.S. CEOs said their business had experienced a supply chain disruption caused by a cyber incident in the past 24 months. At the same time, 37% agreed that significant business revenue would be at risk within their organization if a key supplier fell victim to a cyberattack.

Despite this, the data finds that the majority of US-based CEOs do not have real-time visibility on cyber risk. Less than four in ten (39%) said they have conducted a full cyber resilience stress-test across critical suppliers in the past 12 months. What’s more, just 41% said they believe their business has real-time visibility into the cyber risk exposure of their critical suppliers.

Taken altogether, the threats create a vital need for better risk mitigation strategies, according to Simon Geale, Proxima's executive vice president.

“We are seeing first-hand how U.S. businesses are being impacted by geopolitical uncertainty, with the ongoing conflict in Iran and President Trump’s tariffs regime leaving many CEOs feeling exposed. Amid this backdrop, businesses cannot afford to lose focus on supply chain resilience, and it is no surprise that many are willing to pay more to reduce their risk,” Geale said in a statement announcing the survey’s findings. “With a volatile threat landscape, having a comprehensive risk mitigation strategy is now non-negotiable for businesses. In an increasingly litigious society, where businesses who fail to prepare can face legal challenges from shareholders, boards must recognize the importance of supply chain resilience.”

Consumers are set to bear the brunt of ongoing global supply chain disruption, with more than a third of businesses planning to increase prices to offset costs in the next six months, according to recent research from London-based researcher BSI.

The BSI study, which is based on information from professionals involved in supply chain risk management, found that recent supply chain shocks are directly affecting end consumers. To mitigate against potential or ongoing disruptions over the next six months, more than a third (36%) said their business plans to increase prices. What’s more, the study found that shoppers will face reduced choices and longer wait times for goods, “meaning they could struggle to get hold of everything from consumer electronics to medicines,” the researchers said.

The data shows that a quarter (24%) of U.S. companies plan to reduce the range of products or SKUs (stock-keeping units) on offer in the next six months, while 68% are already pausing new orders altogether. The majority (81%) said they are currently or about to warn customers about shortages, delays, or dependency risks.

BSI researchers said the challenges are being exacerbated by a lack of preparedness for what they describe as “a new normal of near-constant disruption,” due to geopolitical turmoil, climate, and weather-related incidents and digital transformation.

During the last six months, for example, less than a third (30%) of organizations said they were fully prepared for raw material or component shortages, including scarcity of critical inputs, according to the report. This is despite half (49%) having experienced supply chain disruption previously due to geopolitical events, with the same number (50%) having seen issues arise in this period due to raw material or component shortages.

Contingency planning

The data shows how businesses are planning to respond to disruption, with almost four in five (81%) currently or imminently stockpiling or building strategic inventory buffers, and nearly the same proportion (78%) currently or considering nearshoring their supply chain in the next 12 months. With key shipping routes disrupted and high levels of freight theft, 79% are already or planning to change modes of transporting products.

Looking at immediate action, in the next six months, more than a third (37%) expect to find new suppliers, and more than a fourth (28%) expect to shift trade routes. One in five also said they expect to cut jobs or reduce recruitment due to supply chain pressures.

“The era of predictable global trade that defined the last three decades is behind us. Today's supply chains operate in a world shaped by geopolitical competition, climate disruption, and increasing uncertainty,” Tony Pelli, practice director, supply chain resilience, at BSI, said in a statement announcing the findings. “Businesses are facing a new normal of near-constant disruption, and we are likely to see no letup in the coming months and years. As our research shows, this is not just a concern for those managing operations; we are expecting it to directly impact consumers in the coming months. Whether it will be empty shelves, higher prices or delays to receiving orders, impacts are likely to trickle down to the public as businesses battle one disruption after another. For business leaders, building resilience requires stronger collaboration, improved visibility across supply chains, and more proactive approaches to managing risk.”

As the U.S. and Israel’s war against Iran nears its six-month point, the impact of that geopolitical conflict is beginning to become entrenched in global freight pricing increases, spreading from short-term spot rates to long-term contract rates, according to analysis by Xeneta.

“The knock-on effect of almost half a year of disruption caused by war in the Middle East is now spreading into the long-term contract market. Average long-term rates from Far East to US West Coast and US East Coast are up 41% and 40% respectively since the end of February. Long term rates are also up 41% to North Europe and a lesser, but still significant, 17%, into Mediterranean,” Peter Sand, Xeneta’s Chief Analyst, said in a release.

“This is the fire spreading from the short-term market where we have seen massive, triple digit rate increases. The disruption caused by war in the Midde East is becoming a deepset and structural problem that will not go away any time soon, so carriers are in an extremely powerful position to call the shots across both long term and short term markets,” Sand said.

To cope with that new reality, Xeneta advised that shippers must accept that signing a long-term contract means accepting those elevated costs for at least the coming quarter. “Shippers should not go out into a rising market like this and lock themselves into a one-year deal. This is a market for contracts with a shorter tenure, securing space for the coming quarter, but with an adjustment mechanism if/when the short-term market turns,” Sand said.

To illustrate the trend, Xeneta cited statistics comparing how freight prices have changed since the U.S. and Israel began their bombing campaign against Iran on February 28.

Spot rate changes since the end of February (pre-crisis) – 12 August vs 28 February 2026:

• Far East to US West Coast: +271%
• Far East to US East Coast: +287%
• Far East to North Europe: +121%
• Far East to Mediterranean: +76%
• North Europe to US East Coast: +86%

Long term rate changes since the end of February (pre-crisis) – 12 August vs 28 February 2026:

• Far East to US West Coast: +41%
• Far East to US East Coast: +40%
• Far East to North Europe: +41%
• Far East to Mediterranean: +17%
• North Europe to US East Coast: +53%

E-commerce and logistics giant Amazon has extended its network of parcel pickup lockers to more than 750 locations at some 500 American college campuses, saying the system offers better security for package pickup, closer to where students live and study.

These Amazon Locker locations are part of Amazon’s broader network of more than 25,000 package pickup locations across the U.S.

Students can have eligible orders delivered to a campus Locker at no additional cost and pick them up on their schedule. To arrange delivery, students can search by address or ZIP code to find a nearby Locker, add it to their Amazon address book, and select it as the delivery location at checkout for eligible orders. They can also review the operating hours and directions for each location before choosing the Locker that works best for them.

When a package arrives, Amazon sends an email with instructions for opening the Locker using a code, barcode, or the Amazon Shopping app. Packages are held for three calendar days, and orders that aren’t collected during that window are automatically returned and refunded.

“College students are constantly on the move, and picking up a package should fit into their day—not the other way around,” said Viraj Chatterjee, Vice President, Amazon Transportation. “Expanding Amazon Locker across college and university campuses nationwide puts secure package pickup directly into the flow of campus life.”

New rules took effect in the European Union (EU) today requiring retail businesses to use sustainable packaging, with regulators saying that unnecessary packaging waste is difficult to recycle and is expensive for both businesses and consumers.

Supporters say the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) will do away with fragmented national standards across the EU, cut greenhouse gas through reduced use of plastics, decrease pollution on land and in the sea, and reduce PFAS “forever” chemicals in food-contact packaging.

The rules are one example of a series of similar initiatives known as Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) laws, now coming on the books in California and other U.S. states. To help affected businesses comply with the new sets of rules, some suppliers of packaging and related equipment are adjusting their products to accommodate new demands such as handling lightweighted packaging, post-consumer recycled (PCR) materials, smaller pack sizes, and elimination of secondary packaging.

Another instance of industry support for businesses comes from the European Pallet Association e.V. (EPAL), a German nonprofit group which operates an international pallet exchange pool. EPAL says that more than 1,700 EPAL licensees produce and repair EPAL Euro pallets, helping to create what it calls “the biggest open pallet exchange pool in the world,” including 670 million EPAL Euro pallets and approximately 20 million EPAL Box pallets currently in circulation.

The PPWR regs hold that pallets are transport packaging and fall within the scope of the rules, so EPAL now provides confirmation that EPAL pallets are recyclable and reusable, and that they meet the requirements for substances in packaging.

According to the group, that move provides users of EPAL pallets in industry, retail, and logistics with a reliable basis for the use of EPAL pallets under the new legal framework of the PPWR. “The reuse of packaging works particularly well when it is easily accessible and the pallets can be shared by as many companies as possible across different sectors. This is the strength of the open EPAL pallet pool, and the publication of the PPWR declarations of conformity for EPAL pallets contributes to this,” Dirk Hoferer, President of EPAL, said in a release.

“Users of pallets should be able to focus on their core business. EPAL’s publication of the PPWR declarations of conformity for EPAL pallets simplifies compliance processes… This provides legal certainty and reduces the documentation burden on companies. This is a significant advantage, particularly for companies with complex or cross-border supply chains,” Hoferer said.

Pallet user can prove their compliance by using a QR code, which displays the digital pallet passport for EPAL pallets when scanned. “To facilitate proof of PPWR compliance, we use the digital pallet passport for EPAL pallets, which we developed when EPAL pallets with QR codes were introduced in Year 2024 and which originally contained only information about the production of EPAL pallets,” Jarek Maciążek, President of EPAL, said. “We have now further developed the digital pallet passport and will, in future, make all key information about EPAL pallets and their use and reuse available here.”

A survey from IDC has found that many supply chain companies lack a disciplined approach to AI investment and deployment, leaving them vulnerable to costly failures and to failing to deliver measurable business value.

That “accountability gap” comes as expectations for adoption of AI are rising rapidly; just 6% of respondents describe their supply chains as autonomous at scale today, but 41% expect that to become their core operating model within one to two years. The problem with that burning technology ambition is that only 1 in 8 organizations has governance fully embedded to support such a wide AI rollout, according to an IDC InfoBrief sponsored by Kinaxis, titled “Making Supply Chain AI Accountable.” The study surveyed more than 2,000 supply chain leaders across nine global markets.

Likewise, the survey found that only 2% of respondents report having no AI-enabled capabilities, but just 12% consider themselves AI leaders. Asked to name the top barriers to faster adoption, over half (52%) cite trust in AI-driven decisions. And companies’ biggest concerns about autonomous/agent-based AI were: data quality and integration (31%), governance and accountability (19%), incorrect decisions (17%), loss of human control (16%), lack of transparency (9%), and cost (9%).

Additional findings from the study include:

• Value must be proven. 62% say better data quality and integration would accelerate investment; 51% want clear ROI and time to value.
• Accountability tops the agenda. 67% say accountability for AI-driven outcomes will require the most governance change.
• Roles will shift, not shrink. 79% see AI as an opportunity over threat, and partners with AI plus supply chain depth will win.

“The next phase of supply chain AI is not simply more adoption. It is accountability—ensuring AI delivers trusted decisions, measurable value, governed autonomy, and operational outcomes,” Eric Thompson, Research Director, Global Supply Chain Planning, IDC, said in a release.

According to survey sponsor Kinaxis, its “Maestro” AI platform meets that need. "AI adoption isn't the question anymore. Whether AI delivers trusted decisions, measurable value, and governed autonomy—that's the question, especially with 52% of leaders telling IDC that trust is what's holding them back. We built Maestro to answer that question. Every AI-driven recommendation is explainable and auditable before it acts, so accountability happens at the decision, not just the policy," said Justin King, Field CTO, Kinaxis.

The nation’s best truck drivers are getting behind the wheel today for the driving portion of the 2026 National Truck Driving Championships (NTDC) and Step Van Driving Championships, taking place at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center in Pittsburgh through Friday, August 14.

Sponsored by the American Trucking Associations (ATA), the event began earlier this week with a written examination and continues with hands-on skills tests designed to uncover the best of the best in trucking.

More than 400 of the industry’s most elite drivers are competing for the title of 2026 National Truck Driving Championships Bendix Grand Champion. The competitors hail from 49 states and represent 55 companies.

Drivers qualify for the national tournament by being accident-free and winning their state competition. This year’s competitors have driven a combined 775 million accident-free miles throughout their careers, according to ATA.

“NTDC represents the trucking industry’s finest,” NTDC Chairman Heath Arnold said in a statement Wednesday. “Each competitor has earned the opportunity to be here through an unwavering commitment to safety, professionalism, and excellence behind the wheel. As we begin the 2026 competition, we celebrate the men and women who set the gold standard for our profession and demonstrate the skill, dedication, and responsibility required to keep America's economy moving. We congratulate every finalist and wish them the best of luck as they compete to see who will be named Grand Champion.”

The NTDC and affiliated state Truck Driving Championships (TDC) are considered one of the industry’s largest and most effective safety programs, according to ATA. During the competition, each driver undergoes a rigorous written examination, thorough pre-trip inspection test, and a challenging driving skills test.

Finalists will be announced Friday morning, and a Grand Champion will be crowned Friday evening. Regular updates are available via social media by following ATA and #NTDC26.

North American companies ordered 8,940 robots valued at $622 million in the second quarter of 2026—a year-over-year unit increase of 4.3% and a revenue increase of 21.3%, according to data from the Association for Advancing Automation (A3), released today.

Second-quarter results brought first-half totals to 17,995 units valued at more than $1.16 billion, representing 2.0% growth in units and 6.6% growth in order value over the first half of 2025.

A3 said the results show that robotics demand is becoming increasingly diversified across industries, a trend that has been building over the past several quarters. Growth in general industry offset automotive OEM softness in the first half of the year, for example: Automotive OEM orders declined 25% during the first half compared to a 35% increase in semiconductors/electronics and a 32% increase in life sciences and pharmaceuticals, for example.

Several industries posted double-digit year-over-year gains in robot orders during the second quarter, as well. Semiconductors and electronics increased 38% year-over-year in Q2, while automotive components grew 20%. Food and consumer goods and metals each increased 18%, and life sciences and pharmaceuticals posted 9% growth.

Non-automotive customers accounted for 56% of robot units ordered during the second quarter, continuing the trend of robots being adopted across a variety of industries, according to A3.

The report also found that collaborative robots continued to represent a significant portion of automation investment during the first half of 2026. Companies ordered 2,774 collaborative robots valued at $114 million, accounting for 15.4% of all robot units ordered and 9.8% of total order revenue. In the second quarter alone, companies ordered 1,137 collaborative robots valued at $44 million, representing 12.7% of total units and 7.1% of quarterly revenue.

Collaborative robot adoption remained particularly strong in life sciences/pharmaceuticals and semiconductors/electronics, where collaborative robots accounted for 43.7% and 36.5% of first-half robot orders, respectively.

“The first half of 2026 shows how the mix of the robotics market continues to evolve,” Alex Shikany, A3’s executive vice president, said in a statement announcing the findings. “Automotive remains an important driver of demand, while we’re also seeing growth across a wider range of industries. Results were not uniform across every sector, but the breadth of growth outside Automotive OEM is an important trend we’ll continue to watch.”

Truckers and fleets continued to get good news this week about the sector’s recovery from a nearly three-year long freight recession, as the load board and freight analytics provider DAT Freight & Analytics reported that contract rates for dry van and refrigerated truckload freight posted their largest June-to-July increases on record.

Rates climbed even as freight volumes declined across all three equipment types, highlighting the growing influence of shrinking capacity on pricing. And the volume decline was notable. According to Portland, Oregon-based DAT, freight volumes typically decline in July following seasonal activity in June. However, the June-to-July decrease in reefer volume was the steepest in six years, and the 13% year-over-year decline was the largest among the three equipment types.

Despite that drop in demand, rates were up. DAT defines contract rates as the negotiated prices paid by shippers to asset-based carriers and freight brokers. Including fuel surcharges, national average contract rates increased across all three equipment types in July:

• Dry van: $3.01 per mile, up 12 cents from June
• Reefer: $3.29 per mile, up 7 cents
• Flatbed: $3.83 per mile, up 3 cents

In comparison, spot rates, which DAT says are paid by freight brokers to carriers on a per-transaction basis, were mixed in July. Van and reefer rates moved higher despite declining volumes, while the flatbed rate retreated from its all-time high in June:

• Spot van rate: $3.01 per mile, up 1 cent from June
• Spot reefer rate: $3.42 per mile, up 3 cents
• Spot flatbed rate: $3.64 per mile, down 5 cents

Those numbers showed that van spot and contract rates reached parity; national average van spot and contract linehaul rates were both $2.39 per mile in July. With fuel included, both averaged $3.01 per mile.

“Spot rates moving ahead of contract rates have historically signaled a tightening market, but we haven’t seen a capacity-driven market quite like this one,” said Dean Croke, DAT industry analyst. “Van spot and contract rates reached parity in July even as volumes declined, while van and reefer contract rates posted record June-to-July gains. When rates rise this quickly as volumes fall, it indicates that available capacity is exerting greater influence on pricing.”

Trucking freight carriers continue to enjoy a “very favorable market” as an index of business conditions eased only slightly from its record high level in May, according to transportation analyst firm FTR.

Bloomington, Indiana-based FTR said its Trucking Conditions Index (TCI) for June eased to 17.1 from May’s record 20.4 reading. The change came as slightly less robust freight rate growth was partially offset by lower diesel prices in June to produce overall market conditions that were not quite as positive as those in May.

Despite that downward blip, the outlook for carriers is a bit stronger than it was in the prior forecast, the report found.

“We expect the market to be favorable for carriers throughout our two-year forecast horizon, but the recovery appears to be stabilizing. For example, spot rates in July softened as seasonally expected even though fuel prices rose sharply – quite a different dynamic than what occurred in March. Even if spot rates have peaked, contract rates likely will continue to rise well into 2027,” Avery Vise, FTR’s vice president of trucking, said in a release.

“To this point, the truck freight market’s strength is principally due to supply-side constraints – especially for dry van and refrigerated operations. An encouraging signal is the ongoing recovery in manufacturing demand, and consumer spending has been solid. Data center construction clearly has boosted flatbed especially. Concerns include slowing U.S. job growth, a persistently weak housing sector, and stubborn price inflation for both consumers and businesses. Although freight demand still doesn’t look that strong, we see little sign that trucking capacity will rise substantially in the near term.”

The TCI tracks the changes representing five major conditions in the U.S. truck market: freight volumes, freight rates, fleet capacity, fuel prices, and financing costs. Combined into a single index, a positive score represents good, optimistic conditions, while a negative score represents bad, pessimistic conditions.

Logistics flows in Europe and East Asia have been slowed by extreme weather conditions this week, including record low water levels in major freight rivers in Germany and a typhoon storm that closed maritime ports in China.

Severe disruptions began on Friday, August 7, when China’s Port of Ningbo suspended operations due to the arrival of Typhoon Dolphin. The storm then made landfall on Sunday in China as a Category 1 typhoon after battering Okinawa, Japan, with Category 2 winds topping 100 mph, threatening inland flooding and impacting 3 cargo airports, 6 major ports, and 22 major cities across China, Japan, and Taiwan, according to a report from Everstream Analytics.

In the short term, the port’s closure meant that no empty container pickups or returns were possible, loaded containers were no longer accepted, feeder/barge traffic was stopped, and vessels were evacuated out of the port. But since Ningbo is one of the busiest container ports in the world, the move has created ripple effects that will spread broadly through global trade patterns, according to a statement from freight broker C.H. Robinson.

“The port closures due to Typhoon Dolphin come on top of pre-existing backlogs. Wait times were already 2-3 days at Ningbo and 5-8 days at Shanghai. Immediate recovery from the storm may add several days to these delays. Additionally, working through the broader disruptions caused by increased vessel queues, container backlogs, disrupted carrier schedules, and equipment rebalancing is expected to take several weeks,” C.H. Robinson’s president of Global Forwarding, Mike Short, said in an email.

"Shippers with ocean cargo moving through East China should expect schedule disruptions, delayed container pickups and deliveries, and the possibility of cargo rollovers as carriers work to restore vessel schedules. Customers should stay in close contact with their logistics providers, confirm terminal operating status before dispatching cargo, and build additional lead time into transportation plans. While the direct storm impacts may be measured in days, congestion and vessel bunching could affect shipping reliability across the region for several weeks after operations resume," Short said.

Even as China strives to recover from that blow, freight flows in much of Europe have slowed to a crawl, as the continent is now in its fourth heat wave of the summer, with temperatures 4–7°C above normal affecting nearly half the population and setting records in Western and Central Europe. Combined with historically low rainfall, the weather pattern has drained the Rhine and Danube rivers to record low water depths, which means cargo ships can no longer carry heavy loads that force their hulls to ride low in the water.

To continue sailing their scheduled routes, some vessels are carrying just 20% of their usual capacity, Everstream said in its weekly “Forecast in Focus” report. And forecasted rains for southern France, Spain, Portugal, and Italy next week will come too late to help ailing crops or river levels, the report said.

Supply chain insurance is increasingly seen as “must-have” protection amid global instability, but some insurance companies are wary of covering such unpredictable threats, according to analysis from GlobalData, a London-based research and data provider.

The rising demand comes as ongoing conflicts in the Middle East and Eastern Europe are creating specific trade bottlenecks such as those in the Suez Canal and Strait of Hormuz, leading to widespread shipping reroutes, while alternative maritime corridors are emerging. Meanwhile, the U.S. shift toward economic nationalism—marked by sudden tariff hikes, export restrictions, and sanctions—is pressuring international trade supply networks, GlobalData said.

Pressed by those conditions, businesses overwhelmingly view the fallout of geopolitical tensions through the lens of indirect operational disruption, seeking products that safeguard their daily commercial operations.

To gain that safety, research shows that supply chain insurance (41.1%) is the product expected to see the highest demand due to geopolitical tensions, coming in far ahead of cyber insurance (20.6%), business interruption insurance (15.0%), marine insurance (14.0%), and political risk insurance (9.3%). The data comes from a poll conducted by GlobalData on Verdict Media sites in Q2 2026, which garnered over 100 responses from industry insiders.

“Organizations are deeply concerned about business continuity amid the cascading risks linked to a highly volatile geopolitical landscape,” Beatriz Benito, Lead Insurance Analyst, GlobalData, said in a release. “In contrast, demand for specialist transport and direct asset protection is lower. This highlights that organizations are deeply concerned about trade route blockages, state-sponsored cyberattacks, and collateral revenue losses that can have a cascading effect on operations, threatening day-to-day business continuity.”

However, despite demand for more insurance, insurers are struggling to adapt to the rapidly changing risk landscape, reducing the amount of coverage they’re willing to extend due to a fear that the risks are unquantifiable, Benito said.

“Only insurers with the most risk appetite are willing to adapt their underwriting strategies and product offerings. This requires providers to tighten policy wordings and exclusions around tariffs and sanctions, as well as to stress-test products to avoid catastrophic losses from a single event,” she said.

U.S. maritime imports are showing resilience in the face of ongoing trade policy and geopolitical uncertainty, according to the July update of logistics metrics monitored by Canadian supply chain software firm Descartes.

By the numbers, July 2026 U.S. container import volumes increased 4.5% over June to 2,508,310 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs), reflecting typical month-over-month seasonal growth, Descartes said in its August Global Shipping Report for logistics and supply chain professionals.

Year-over-year, July imports were down 4.3%, but Descartes said that’s a misleading comparison, since last year’s numbers reflected “suspected aggressive frontloading” in July 2025 when volumes reached 2,621,910 TEUs, triggered by trade policy combined with seasonal demand. For the first seven months of this year, volumes were down a slight 0.9% compared to the same period in 2025, but up by 14.1% compared to the same period in pre-pandemic 2019.

Tracing specific trading partners, July’s results point to a broad-based strengthening in import activity across major sourcing markets, led by China, Descartes said.

July U.S. containerized imports from the top 10 countries of origin (CoO) increased 4.9% month-over-month for a combined increase of 83,706 TEUs. China recorded the largest volume gain, increasing 58,655 TEUs (7.2%) to its highest monthly total since July 2025. Other notable increases came from Hong Kong, up 7,191 TEUs (9.5%), Germany, up 6,174 TEUs (11.1%), Japan, up 5,728 TEUs (10.9%), South Korea, up 4,701 TEUs (5.1%), and India, up 3,974 TEUs (3.8%). Vietnam also posted a modest increase of 2,721 TEUs (1.0%), while Thailand was essentially unchanged. The only declines among the top 10 sourcing countries were Indonesia, down 2,943 TEUs (4.9%), and Taiwan, down 2,474 TEUs (4.4%).

“July’s import growth shows that demand remains resilient amidst a highly complex and challenging operating environment,” said Jackson Wood, Director of Industry Strategy at Descartes. “As changing tariffs, elevated Middle East maritime risk, tighter Panama Canal draft restrictions and continued Red Sea disruption continue to affect costs, capacity and schedule reliability, having flexible sourcing and routing strategies will help U.S. importers respond quickly as conditions evolve.”

Retail sales rose again in July, marking the 10th consecutive month of gains, according to the CNBC/NRF Retail Monitor, powered by Affinity Solutions, released today by the National Retail Federation (NRF).

“Retail sales maintained their steady upward momentum in July as consumers kept shopping despite ups and downs in other economic indicators,” NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay said in a release. “Supported by a low unemployment rate and steady wage gains, households remained budget conscious but took full advantage of midsummer sales and early back-to-school promotions to stretch their dollars. Retailers helped balance budgets by remaining committed to affordability, ensuring that everyday products remain accessible for American families.”

Total retail sales, excluding automobile dealers and gasoline stations, were up 0.32% seasonally adjusted month over month and up 5.15% unadjusted year over year in July, according to the Retail Monitor. That compared with increases of 0.33% month over month and 9.41% year over year in June.

The Retail Monitor calculation of core retail sales (excluding restaurants in addition to auto dealers and gas stations) was up 0.3% month over month in July and was up 4.72% year over year. That compared with increases of 0.36% month over month and 10.08% year over year in June.

Total sales were up 6.57% year over year during the first seven months of the year, and core sales were up 6.53%.