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☆ The Baltimore bridge disaster is just the latest knock to global shipping and trade
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-28 | by ( Huileng Tan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Over the past few years, supply chain woes have repeatedly come into the spotlight. Since then, global integrated supply chain systems just seem to keep getting disrupted — be it by the COVID-19 pandemic or Russia's war in Ukraine. The domino effect is due to the "just in time" model that supply chains have been relying on for decades. Here are three key reasons why supply chains just seem to keep screwing up in recent years. Examining ongoing conflicts in the Black Sea and Red Sea respectively shows how geopolitical conflicts affect global supply chains.

Persons: —, they've, Donald Trump, Dali, Francis Scott Key, Project44, Nari Viswanathan, Viswanathan, tailspin, Julie Gerdeman, Trump, Rahul Khanna, Geoff Weiss, Allan Post, Justus Heinrich, Khanna Organizations: Service, Business, Maersk, BI, Shipping, Allianz, Allianz Commercial, Technologies Locations: China, Ukraine, Baltimore, The Port, of Baltimore, Europe, Asia, Iran, Israel, Suez, Good, Africa, Panama, El, Egypt

☆ 2023 has been an AI feeding frenzy, here are the startups that attracted the most investment this year
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-04 | by ( Darius Rafieyan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Despite an overall slump in startup funding, 2023 saw a scramble among investors to pour money into AI and machine learning startups. And the company's star still appears to be rising, despite a messy leadership struggle that recently spilled into public view. Meanwhile OpenAI's perennial rival Anthropic attracted multi-billion dollar investments from both Google and Amazon to fund a competing AI model known as Claude. At the same time legacy companies from John Deere to accounting firm PwC played up their AI bona fides to capitalize on the hype. The list doesn't include startups who have not publicly released the amount of their funding rounds.

Persons: OpenAI, Anthropic, Claude, Databricks, John Deere, PwC, Fresh Organizations: Microsoft, Google, Alpha, Technology, Monogram, Sigma, Lambda, Helsing, Metals, Eagle Eye, Amelia, Asimov, Farmers Business, Harbinger, Prins, Silo, Mistral, Alto, AMP, Management Software, Universal, Coro, Kodiak Robotics, Aerospace, Defense, Sana, Corti, Kyte, Mitra, Tech, Boss Digital Technology, Halcyon, & $ Locations: PitchBook

☆ Panama Canal drought hits new crisis level with nearly half of vessel traffic targeted for cuts
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-03 | by ( Lori Ann Larocco | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

PANAMA CITY, PANAMA - SEPTEMBER 22: The container ship Maersk Bogor is guided by a tugboat as it prepares to enter the Miraflores locks while transiting the Panama Canal on September 22, 2023 in Panama City, Panama. The Panama Canal Authority is continuing to restrict the number of vessels that pass through the Panama Canal locks as drought has caused water levels at Gatun Lake to drop. Over one hundred ships are waiting to transit the canal and the backup could delay goods heading to the United States for the holiday season. The Panama Canal is popular for East Coast trade because it is faster than other options. Traveling through the Panama Canal takes only 35 days.

Persons: Justin Sullivan, Adil Ashiq, Alan Baer, Baer, Jon Davis, Davis, Ashiq, Paul Brashier Organizations: PANAMA CITY, The Panama Canal, Port, CNBC Supply Chain, Panama Canal Authority, East, Panama Canal, MarineTraffic, USA, CNBC, U.S, ITS Logistics Locations: PANAMA, Bogor, Miraflores, Panama, Panama City, The Panama, Colon, Caribbean, United States, Cape Horn, South America, East, Charleston, El Nino, East Coast, Shenzhen, China, Miami , Florida, Suez, North America, U.S, West Coast, Asia, Gulf

☆ Israel-Hamas war rocket attacks are leading oil tankers to make unusual moves near ports
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-30 | by ( Lori Ann Larocco | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Giant gantry cranes and tracks in a container port, viewed from a moored cruise ship in Ashdod, Israel. The moves to evade detection come as shipping lines are also being advised to wait further offshore with rocket attacks reported at the ports of Ashdod and Eilat in Israel. Israel has closed the Port of Ashkelon, the country's biggest oil-importing port, because of rocket attacks. "This suggests that container lines are avoiding the Port of Ashdod, and potentially relying more on the Port of Haifa instead," Woitzik said. The ports of Ashdod and Haifa are the key ports for food imports.

Persons: There's, Homayoun Falakshahi, Ambrey, Falakshahi, Port, Mirko Woitzik, Woitzik, majeure Organizations: Getty, AIS, Israel, CNBC, tanker Sea Galaxy, Port, ICL Group, ICL, Rockets, Army, Evergreen Locations: Ashdod, Israel, Eilat, Port, Port of Haifa, Ashkelon, Haifa, Kpler, Gaza, Suez, Aqaba

☆ Add the climate crisis to the long list of things messing up supply chains this summer
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-12 | by ( Huileng Tan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

The climate crisis is throwing a wrench into already messy supply chains. Climate change and the El Niño weather phenomenon are affecting water levels in the Panama Canal. The situation is serious this summer because of a historic drought affecting rainfall that feeds into the Panama Canal. Advertisement Advertisement Watch:Droughts aren't a new phenomenon at the Panama Canal — climate change has been associated with unpredictable weather for years. Supply chains were already in chaos from COVID-19, geopolitics, and rising costs in ChinaTo be sure, the vessel congestion at the Panama Canal is troubling because it adds to the existing stress on the world's supply chains.

Persons: Nari Viswanathan, Viswanathan, Project44, Stephen Lamar, Jon Davis, Donald Trump, Biden Organizations: Service, American Apparel & Footwear Association, CNBC Locations: Panama, Washington, El, COVID, China, China . Washington, Beijing, India, Vietnam

☆ A severe drought is affecting the Panama Canal. That’s not a good sign for supply chains — or your holiday shopping
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-26 | by ( Alicia Wallace | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Just this week, the Panama Canal Authority extended those restrictions for at least another 10 months. Next shoe to dropBut from a transportation standpoint beyond Panama, the next shoe to drop could be the Mississippi River, Davis said. During the past 30 days, rainfall along the southern Mississippi River has been well below normal. And when you have two disruptions versus just one, that is magnified overall.”Holiday shopping hang-upsFor now, general waiting times have spiked at the Panama Canal. Supply chain shiftsHad this occurred before the pandemic lockdowns and the drastic swings in consumer spending patterns that mangled supply chains, it might have been a different story.

Persons: sandstorm, ”, Janelle Griffith, Marsh, Jon Davis, El, “, Davis, Evelyn Hockstein, Everstream, Ahmad Hassan, hasn’t, “ We’ve, ” Phillip Sanfield, Amanda Kwan, hadn’t, ” Kwan, plumb, Taylor Swift, Kamala Raman, you’ve, Peter Sand, Sand Organizations: Minneapolis CNN —, Panama Canal Authority, Getty, CNN, Port, Port Authority of New, National Retail Federation Locations: Minneapolis, Minneapolis CNN — Panama, Panama, Mississippi, Suez, North American, El, Central America, Grand Tower , Illinois, New Orleans, United States, Europe, Egyptian, Ismailiya, AFP, Panama Canal, Los Angeles, Port of Los Angeles, New York, Port Authority of New York, New Jersey, “

☆ JLR taps Everstream Analytics' AI to dodge supply chain problems
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-18 | by ( Nick Carey | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON, June 19 (Reuters) - JLR said on Monday it has partnered with supply chain mapping and risk analytics firm Everstream Analytics, which will embed artificial intelligence into the British luxury carmaker's system to help avert future global supply issues. The new AI technology, JLR said, will allow it to monitor its supply chain in real-time and protect the production of its current models and next generation of electric vehicles (EVs). JLR, a unit of India's Tata Motors (TAMO.NS) said Everstream's technology has already enabled it to avoid disruption at global freight ports to deliver vehicles to clients. In a post-pandemic world full of supply chain snarls, a growing group of startups and established logistics firms have created a multi-billion dollar industry to apply AI and machine learning to help businesses minimise disruption. JLR was hit particularly hard by a global shortage of semiconductor chips that forced major carmakers to curtail production of certain models.

Persons: JLR, Barbara Bergmeier, Nick Carey, Barbara Lewis Organizations: India's Tata Motors, Everstream, Thomson

☆ There's a cheat code out there to help businesses cut supply-chain emissions — but hardly anyone uses it
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( Emma Cosgrove | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

That's because they'll travel on different models of ships and likely at different speeds — maybe even with different fuel. The toy giant Hasbro, for example, has pledged to reach net-zero emissions by 2050 — with a 40% reduction by 2030. Eventually, they'll have to wade into their supply chains — where 90% of most companies' emissions come from — and transportation is a key element. When companies look closer, they often find they're producing fewer emissions than they think, and identifying places to reduce gets even easier. Saving money equals reduction," Eric Rempel, the chief innovation officer of Redwood Logistics, said.

☆ Where the trucking and rail recession is showing up in the economic data
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( Lori Ann Larocco | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

The decrease negatively impacts earnings for both trucking and rail where revenue is generated by moving freight. Ocean freight orders are a leading indicator of train and trucking earnings since 90% of the world's trade moves by water. This is one of three key supply chain charts that are signaling more financial potholes for trucking and rail companies. West Coast ports have been losing trade to both the East Coast ports and Gulf ports as a result of prolonged labor negotiations, though union representatives indicated last week a "tentative agreement" had been reached, but no details were provided. Trucking is needed for both container pick up at the ocean terminals and rail ramps.

☆ Union warns it has been left without enough workers to install new rail safety measures
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( Lori Ann Larocco | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

"Adding 1,000 more wayside detectors will create more work in the craft," said Michael Baldwin, president of the Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen. There is no federal mandate for detectors, including the hot box detector, to be inspected. "Norfolk Southern has hired and trained more than 150 new signal employees, and we continue to hire. We are committed to the safety and integrity of our defect detectors," said Connor Spielmaker, Norfolk Southern spokesman. Total Class I freight rail employment in January 2023 was 119,245, up 6.7% (7,491 employees) over January 2022.

☆ Relief Efforts in Turkey, Syria Face Logistical Hurdles
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( Paul Berger | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +4 min

Aid groups and logistics operators worldwide are ramping up urgent relief efforts for victims of the earthquakes in Turkey and Syria but say moving supplies through the region’s devastated infrastructure will be a major challenge. Mr. Hovey said Direct Relief plans to fly supplies to airports at Istanbul in northwestern Turkey and at Adana in southeastern Turkey, close to the disaster zone. Many U.S. charities without aid operations in Syria and Turkey are now planning relief efforts, said Kathy Fulton, executive director of American Logistics Aid Network, which coordinates aid efforts among logistics operators following disasters. Aid groups are mostly focused on getting relief to Turkey and Syria by plane. He said the demand for air charters is also starting to make it harder and more expensive to secure space for aid and relief efforts in other parts of the world, such as Ukraine.

☆ India is trying to become the new factory of the world, but it could take more than a global pandemic to unseat China from its 40-year reign
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-12 | by ( Huileng Tan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

But it isn't easy to fully replace China's supply chain ecosystem in any country — even one as vast as India. "India has a large labor pool, a long history of manufacturing, and government support for boosting industry and exports. Data irregularities improved China's position in 2018, according to a World Bank audit published in December 2020. India also has a history of protectionism, which makes it less competitive in terms of attracting large investments. That's precisely because they want to diversify, from having dependency on one country, like China, to a couple of locations."

Beijing/Hong Kong CNN Business —Workers at China’s largest iPhone assembly factory were seen confronting police, some in riot gear, on Wednesday, according to videos shared over social media. Videos of many people leaving Zhengzhou on foot had gone viral on Chinese social media earlier in November, forcing Foxconn to step up measures to get its staff back. Numerous complaints have also been posted anonymously on social media platforms — accusing Foxconn of having changed the salary packages previously advertised. Searches for the term “Foxconn” on Chinese social media now yield few results, an indication of heavy censorship. A vital hubThe Zhengzhou facility is the world’s largest iPhone assembly site.

Hong Kong/Beijing CNN Business —More than 100,000 people have signed up for a massive recruitment drive by Apple’s supplier Foxconn for the largest iPhone factory in China, according to Chinese state media. And our hiring process is now closed temporarily,” a Foxconn executive, Yang Han, in Zhengzhou told state news outlet Yicai on Thursday. Some local governments in Henan have recently also asked community officials to join the production line themselves, according to multiple Chinese state media reports. Several unidentified such officials, also known colloquially as local “grassroots officials,” or “cadres,” told state media publication Cailian Press Tuesday that they were told to work at the Zhengzhou campus from one to six months. “We now expect lower iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max shipments than we previously anticipated,” the tech giant said in a statement earlier this month.

☆ New York continues streak as nation's No. 1 port as LA cargo volume hits level not seen since 2009
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( Lori Ann Larocco | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Earlier this week, the Port of Los Angeles posted its lowest level of October since 2009. "Firstly, shippers are still avoiding the West Coast to mitigate the risk of labor strikes at LA and Long Beach. According to Project44 data, total vessel TEU capacity deployed from Europe to the East Coast is up 15.5% compared to Oct 2021. CNBC Supply Chain Heat Map providers warned in the summer and fall of a decrease in manufacturing orders which has impacted the volume of shipping. The lesser container volumes are now being seen off the ports across the East Coast, including New York and New Jersey.

☆ Canceled sailings from China and 'radical' vessel cuts hit U.S. ability to reach export market
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-11 | by ( Lori Ann Larocco | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +9 min

"As shipping lines reduce their vessel calls in the form of blank sailings, this reduces the capacity for outbound volumes. Sea-Intelligence wrote in its recent blank sailings report that it has detected some unannounced cancellations for the calendar-year period of weeks 42-52 in the past two weeks. "Blank sailings have been ramped up drastically on the Transpacific, but not so much on Asia-Europe," said Alan Murphy, CEO at Sea-Intelligence. On Asia-North Europe routes, Sea-Intelligence is only seeing an additional six blank sailings, and on Asia-Mediterranean routes an increase of four blank sailings. The weekly average of vessels waiting this week is 14, waiting for an average of 6.3 days.

☆ A new wave of UK port labor strikes begins, with 'massive impact' for Christmas supply chain
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-28 | by ( Lori Ann Larocco | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

A striking dockworker on a picket line outside the Port of Liverpool during a strike in Liverpool, UK, on Tuesday, Sept. 20, 2022. The shop stewards who represent union workers accepted Peel Ports request for a meeting at the union office on Tuesday. Supply chain impact from second round of U.K. strikesThe latest development comes amid mounting labor issues linked to inflation at U.K. ports, with workers at the nation's largest port, Felixstowe, beginning another strike this week after one in August. "Unite made it clear that until they have reached their goals these waves of strikes will continue which will have a massive impact on the Christmas business and supply." The CNBC Supply Chain Heat Map shows the present situation at the ports.

☆ Tensions rise in West Coast port labor battles, with unions and management trading accusations
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-28 | by ( Lori Ann Larocco | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Tensions are rising in West Coast port labor battles as unions and port management trade accusations about worker productivity and the awarding of job assignments. Jerome Roberts, GVP of marketing at supply chain consulting company Blume Global, told CNBC the one shift protest had no lasting productivity impact. Logistics companies fear the latest round of accusations will only increase tensions for a supply chain and national port infrastructure already dealing with multiple labor concerns. Project44, which also collects and analyzes port productivity for the CNBC Supply Chain Heat Map, has tracked some recent issues at Seattle operations. Container dwell times at the Port of Oakland have been improving over the month of September, according to Josh Brazil, vice president of supply chain insights at Project44.

☆ New York is now the nation's busiest port in a historic tipping point for U.S.-bound trade
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-24 | by ( Lori Ann Larocco | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

This comes as the flow of trade continues to move away from the West Coast with logistics managers worried about a labor strike or lockout. More East Coast trade, and more port congestionThe CNBC Supply Chain Heat Map for the U.S. shows how the continued increase in trade has East Coast ports and Gulf port as the winners in this movement of freight. Maritime prices fallingThe flow of trade away from the West Coast has decreased the demand for vessel space, leading Far East to West Coast maritime freight prices to fall. "Shippers are still bringing in a lot of containers, on the East Coast and West Coast and Gulf Coast as well." Shippers are still hesitant to return re-routed cargo to the U.S. West coast, Sand said.

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