Energy-market dislocations from the Hormuz blockade kept rippling through global supply chains today, while operators on both sides of the Atlantic pushed ahead with capacity, automation and digitalisation moves. From Baltimore’s first private container terminal in decades to a fresh IMO carbon framework that survived a U.S. pushback, here are the briefs that defined the past 24 hours.
Operations & 3PL
MSC and Tradepoint break ground on Sparrows Point. Construction has begun on Baltimore’s Sparrows Point Container Terminal, the first new private U.S. container facility in decades. The opening berth is scheduled for 2028, fourteen years after the former steel mill site started its conversion into a logistics hub. The MSC-Tradepoint joint venture targets East Coast capacity at a moment when port flows remain volatile. Source: JOC
DHL doubles down on U.S. data-centre logistics. CEO Tobias Meyer told investors that ten dedicated DHL Supply Chain warehouses totalling 7 million sq ft will go live in North America this year, all aimed at data-centre fulfilment. The build-out makes hyperscaler logistics one of the group’s clearest growth bets for 2026. Source: JOC
Port of NY/NJ delivers PATH rail upgrade. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey activated the largest PATH service overhaul in nearly 25 years, restoring seven-day service across all four lines and ending the long-running Hoboken detour. The improvements close out the multi-year PATH Forward modernisation programme. Source: Container News
LTL pricing snaps higher. U.S. less-than-truckload rates are showing their strongest upward momentum since the 2023 Yellow exit, with the LTL monthly cost-per-hundredweight index running roughly 12.5% above year-ago levels and 29% above May 2021. The move reflects bid cycles repricing capacity as the broader freight market turns. Source: FreightWaves
Technology & Automation
Dassault Systèmes and Omron pair virtual twins with factory automation. The two companies will combine 3D simulation and industrial control to deliver software-defined manufacturing, linking design, robots and production lines. The stated aim is to compress commissioning times and break IT-OT silos that still drag on most factories. Source: SCQ
ORBCOMM closes $460 million IoT refinancing. The asset-tracking specialist secured a $460 million package backed by Carlyle, Bain Credit and Morgan Stanley, refinancing existing debt and adding revolver capacity. Proceeds will fund customer deployments and expansion of its real-time data and AI capabilities across maritime, logistics and industrial sectors. Source: Container News
Liberian Registry rolls out digital seafarer credentials. The world’s largest shipping registry has launched SEA360, a mobile app that issues electronic Seaman’s Books, licences and sea-service records with QR codes for instant verification by Port State Control. The move is one of the most concrete steps yet toward fully paperless crewing on Liberian-flagged vessels. Source: Container News
Sustainability & Energy
IMO carbon framework survives MEPC 84. The International Maritime Organization kept its landmark shipping climate framework alive after a week of high-stakes negotiations in London, despite renewed U.S. pushback. A decisive vote is now expected later this year, with deep divisions still to be bridged. Source: gCaptain
New tool measures critical-minerals supply chain resilience. e-Stewards and Bloom ESG have unveiled a granular methodology to track how critical minerals are diverted from disposal back into manufacturing, addressing a measurement gap that has held back U.S. policy efforts on supply security. Source: ESG Dive
Hormuz blockade widens Gulf revenue gap. Saudi Arabia and Oman are heading for an oil-price windfall as the Strait of Hormuz disruption splits Gulf exporters between those still able to ship and those locked in. The price impulse is reshaping freight, insurance and procurement assumptions across energy-exposed supply chains. Source: gCaptain
International Markets
U.S. container rates climb as Europe softens. Container freight indexes continued to diverge over the past week, with U.S.-bound rates extending gains while European trades pulled back. Geopolitical turmoil has yet to derail the upward bias on transpacific lanes. Source: Lloyd’s List
India and Russia sign reciprocal logistics pact. The RELOS agreement covering military exercises, training and humanitarian missions is expected to lift Moscow’s footprint in the Indian Ocean while extending New Delhi’s Arctic ambitions, opening new corridor questions for shippers operating between Eurasia and South Asia. Source: SCMP
Goertek expands Vietnam camera output by $20 million. The Chinese electronics manufacturer is adding capacity at its Bac Ninh site, deepening Vietnam’s role as a production base for global consumer-electronics supply chains and confirming the gradual relocation pattern within the region. Source: DIGITIMES
Descartes maps a turbulent year at U.S. ports. The 2026 Descartes Datamyne Port Report shows U.S. containerised imports edged down 0.03% in 2025 to 28.09 million TEUs, with sourcing strategies and port-of-entry shares reshaped by tariff policy and unseasonable demand swings. Source: DC Velocity
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Updated daily — your morning briefing on global supply chain.
