Inside Univar Solutions’ Carrier Kickoff
What is happening: FreightWaves Today broadcast live from the Westin in downtown Chattanooga, Tennessee, for Univar Solutions’ annual Carrier Kickoff event, where roughly 100 transportation providers and more than 200 attendees gathered alongside Univar Solutions’ procurement and operations leadership for a supplier conference built around the fact that relationships, not just rates, win freight when trucks get scarce.
The post Inside Univar Solutions’ Carrier Kickoff appeared first on FreightWaves.
Why it matters: FreightWaves Today broadcast live from the Westin in downtown Chattanooga, Tennessee, for Univar Solutions’ annual Carrier Kickoff event, where roughly 100 transportation providers and more than 200 attendees gathered alongside Univar Solutions’ procurement and operations leadership for a supplier conference built around the fact that relationships, not just rates, win freight when trucks get scarce.
The post Inside Univar Solutions’ Carrier Kickoff appeared first on FreightWaves.
What to do (Procurement Lead): Review exposed inbound lanes and update ETA/cost assumptions for affected supplier shipments. Constraint: Limit action to suppliers or customer commitments using the affected corridor.
Supply chain shocks · Immediate · Evaluate · 81/100
gCaptain↗Hormuz Shipping Traffic Shows No Sign of Recovery
What is happening: Latest trade data show no dramatic changes in the flow of trade through the Strait of Hormuz and Bab el-Mandeb.
Why it matters: Latest trade data show no dramatic changes in the flow of trade through the Strait of Hormuz and Bab el-Mandeb.
What to do (Procurement Lead): Review exposed inbound lanes and update ETA/cost assumptions for affected supplier shipments. Constraint: Limit action to suppliers or customer commitments using the affected corridor.
Supply chain shocks · Immediate · Evaluate · 81/100
gCaptain↗Hormuz Disruption Cuts Both Ways for Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd
What is happening: The disruption in the Strait of Hormuz is proving both costly and profitable for container shipping, with Gemini Cooperation partners Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd reporting sharply higher operating costs alongside stronger...
Why it matters: The disruption in the Strait of Hormuz is proving both costly and profitable for container shipping, with Gemini Cooperation partners Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd reporting sharply higher operating costs alongside stronger...
What to do (Procurement Lead): Review exposed inbound lanes and update ETA/cost assumptions for affected supplier shipments. Constraint: Limit action to suppliers or customer commitments using the affected corridor.
Energy & cost pressure · Immediate · Evaluate · 81/100
OilPrice↗Jefferies: Diesel Cracks Reveal the Real Oil Market Squeeze
What is happening: Brent crude futures held near recent highs of $90 a barrel before fading to around $87 early Thursday morning, as traders awaited progress toward reopening the Strait of Hormuz. Stalled US-Iran negotiations and tightening global fuel supplies continued to support prices and concern some top energy experts, who warn of a looming supply shock. US-Iran talks remain deadlocked to end the week as the Trump administration maintains its blockade of Iranian ports and Tehran demands compensation for war
Why it matters: Brent crude futures held near recent highs of $90 a barrel before fading to around $87 early Thursday morning, as traders awaited progress toward reopening the Strait of Hormuz. Stalled US-Iran negotiations and tightening global fuel supplies continued to support prices and concern some top energy experts, who warn of a looming supply shock. US-Iran talks remain deadlocked to end the week as the Trump administration maintains its blockade of Iranian ports and Tehran demands compensation for war
What to do (Procurement Lead): Review exposed inbound lanes and update ETA/cost assumptions for affected supplier shipments. Constraint: Limit action to suppliers or customer commitments using the affected corridor.
Supply chain shocks · Immediate · Evaluate · 81/100
OilPrice↗Hormuz Stalemate Raises Risk of $120 Oil
What is happening: For months now, traders and market analysts have had to weigh two opposing scenarios for oil prices—the ongoing war and severely disrupted oil flows at the Strait of Hormuz and hopes that a U.S.-Iran deal would free up millions of barrels of oil and refined products trapped in the Persian Gulf. For five and a half months of negotiations, threats, Iranian attacks on tankers, U.S. blockades on Iran’s oil exports, and numerous pledges of “strong responses” from both sides, oil prices have spiked an
Why it matters: For months now, traders and market analysts have had to weigh two opposing scenarios for oil prices—the ongoing war and severely disrupted oil flows at the Strait of Hormuz and hopes that a U.S.-Iran deal would free up millions of barrels of oil and refined products trapped in the Persian Gulf. For five and a half months of negotiations, threats, Iranian attacks on tankers, U.S
What to do (Procurement Lead): Review exposed inbound lanes and update ETA/cost assumptions for affected supplier shipments. Constraint: Limit action to suppliers or customer commitments using the affected corridor.
Panama Canal fees hit record high as El Niño and Iran war choke shipping
What is happening: Falling water levels caused by weather phenomenon could limit transit slots through crucial maritime passageway
Why it matters: Falling water levels caused by weather phenomenon could limit transit slots through crucial maritime passageway
What to do (Procurement Lead): Review exposed inbound lanes and update ETA/cost assumptions for affected supplier shipments. Constraint: Limit action to suppliers or customer commitments using the affected corridor.
Supply chain shocks · Immediate · Evaluate · 80/100
OilPrice↗Middle East War Pushes China Toward the Arctic Trade Route
What is happening: The Middle East conflict and the heightened threats to shipping in the Red Sea have prompted China to boost the use of the Arctic to move containers from the Chinese east coast to Europe. The fast-melting Arctic ice offers an alternative shipping route in the summer as the Houthi threats to shipping in the Red Sea and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait make cargo operators more cautious in transiting the key chokepoints in the Middle East. Shipping through the Arctic is not something new, but this time ar
Why it matters: The Middle East conflict and the heightened threats to shipping in the Red Sea have prompted China to boost the use of the Arctic to move containers from the Chinese east coast to Europe. The fast-melting Arctic ice offers an alternative shipping route in the summer as the Houthi threats to shipping in the Red Sea and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait make cargo operators more cautious in transiting the key chokepoints in the Middle East
What to do (Procurement Lead): Review exposed inbound lanes and update ETA/cost assumptions for affected supplier shipments. Constraint: Limit action to suppliers or customer commitments using the affected corridor.
Spot vs. Contract Rates: Don’t Be Fooled by Short-Term Declines
What is happening: The gap between spot and contract freight rates is widening, with contract rates up almost 20% year-over-year while spot rates see a monthly dip. Dive into SONAR data to understand why this isn’t just seasonal softening. We’ll explore the strategic shift to intermodal in key markets like Indianapolis and what it means for your procurement […]
The post Spot vs. Contract Rates: Don’t Be Fooled by Short-Term Declines appeared first on FreightWaves.
Why it matters: The gap between spot and contract freight rates is widening, with contract rates up almost 20% year-over-year while spot rates see a monthly dip. Dive into SONAR data to understand why this isn’t just seasonal softening
What to do (Procurement Lead): Review exposed inbound lanes and update ETA/cost assumptions for affected supplier shipments. Constraint: Limit action to suppliers or customer commitments using the affected corridor.
Energy & cost pressure · Immediate · Evaluate · 79/100
OilPrice↗EIA Sees 600,000 Bpd of Middle East Oil Still Offline by End-2027
What is happening: The longer-than-expected closure of the Strait of Hormuz means that some part of the oil production in the Middle East will remain shut in through the end of next year, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said in its latest Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO) this week. The renewed tensions in the Middle East that began in late July and have been simmering so far in August will keep traffic at Hormuz severely constrained through this month, which has prompted the EIA to hike its third-
Why it matters: The longer-than-expected closure of the Strait of Hormuz means that some part of the oil production in the Middle East will remain shut in through the end of next year, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said in its latest Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO) this week
What to do (Procurement Lead): Review exposed inbound lanes and update ETA/cost assumptions for affected supplier shipments. Constraint: Limit action to suppliers or customer commitments using the affected corridor.
Energy & cost pressure · Immediate · Evaluate · 79/100
OilPrice↗High Oil Prices Deliver a Windfall for China’s Coal-to-Chemicals Industry
What is happening: China’s biggest coal-to-chemicals producer reported record profits for the first half, raking in the equivalent of $1.4 billion as crude oil prices soared internationally, strengthening the business case for converting coal to chemicals. Bloomberg reported today that Ningxia Baofeng Energy Group Co., which accounts for about a third of China’s coal-to-chemicals output, had an especially strong second quarter when oil prices spiked amid the Strait of Hormuz oil flows disruption. The first-half fi
Why it matters: China’s biggest coal-to-chemicals producer reported record profits for the first half, raking in the equivalent of $1.4 billion as crude oil prices soared internationally, strengthening the business case for converting coal to chemicals. Bloomberg reported today that Ningxia Baofeng Energy Group Co., which accounts for about a third of China’s coal-to-chemicals output, had an especially strong second quarter when oil prices spiked amid the Strait of Hormuz oil flows disruption
What to do (Procurement Lead): Review exposed inbound lanes and update ETA/cost assumptions for affected supplier shipments. Constraint: Limit action to suppliers or customer commitments using the affected corridor.
Supply chain shocks · Immediate · Evaluate · 79/100
gCaptain↗Four Crew Killed in Red Sea Attack While Missile Strike Reported in Gulf
What is happening: Four crew members were killed in an attack by Iran-backed Houthis on a small cargo ship in the Bab el-Mandeb strait on Tuesday, Yemen's transport ministry said, while sources reported a missile attack on a container ship off Pakistan in a suspected U.S. strike.
Why it matters: Four crew members were killed in an attack by Iran-backed Houthis on a small cargo ship in the Bab el-Mandeb strait on Tuesday, Yemen's transport ministry said, while sources reported a missile attack on a container ship off Pakistan in a suspected U.S. strike.
What to do (Procurement Lead): Review exposed inbound lanes and update ETA/cost assumptions for affected supplier shipments. Constraint: Limit action to suppliers or customer commitments using the affected corridor.
Asia to US East Coast ocean rates rise to new high
What is happening: Sustained import volumes and rising freight rates near the end of an early peak season are “taking most observers by surprise,” Freightos said.
Why it matters: Sustained import volumes and rising freight rates near the end of an early peak season are “taking most observers by surprise,” Freightos said.
What to do (Procurement Lead): Review exposed inbound lanes and update ETA/cost assumptions for affected supplier shipments. Constraint: Limit action to suppliers or customer commitments using the affected corridor.
