What’s going on in freight — Monday 26 October 2026

The Gulf war is at a fork: Washington is weighing new strikes on Iran against a deal, while Egypt’s parliament has cleared troops to defend Saudi Arabia and the Houthi exchange keeps widening. Closer to home, Friday’s dock strike now reaches 24 French ports, Mexico’s main trucking chamber has stopped work, and fuel surcharges near 30% are setting US parcel prices for peak.

War, chokepoints and disruption

• US forces could launch major operations against Iran within 96 hours of an order, CNN reported on 26 October, the same day Saudi, Turkish and Pakistani envoys met Iran’s president in Tehran with no concrete announcement. A tanker was disabled in Hormuz on 23 October, and only 101 US-facilitated transits went through over 22–24 October, against about 138 ships a day in 2025. (Fox News, CBS News, gCaptain) [01]
• Mexico’s national trucking chamber CANACAR began an indefinite stoppage at 6:30am on 26 October, set to spread from Mexico City to 19 states, over 1,105 cargo truck robberies and 15 drivers killed through September. Most other trucking groups took the government’s offer of talks instead. (Latin Times, El Financiero) [02]
• France’s CGT ports and docks union said on 26 October that 24 French ports will stop for 24 hours on Friday 30 October, with its leader forecasting a 95% standstill; Genoa’s port workers plan a noon blockade the same day. (The Rio Times, Primocanale) [03]
• Egypt’s parliament cleared President Sisi on 26 October to defend Saudi Arabia, passing the two-thirds bar of 398 of 596 MPs, while Saudi Arabia shot down another missile aimed at Riyadh and the Houthis warned Cairo. Container capacity through Suez is only just back above half its 2023 level, BIMCO data show. (The National, Daily Ittehad, Tradlinx) [04]

Rates and markets

• UPS’s fuel surcharge is 29.5% and FedEx’s 29%, Reuters reported on 26 October, and the TD Cowen/AFS index sees Q4 ground parcel pricing up 5.8% and express up 13.8% on a year ago. US truck spot rates slipped 2–3 cents a mile in DAT’s latest week. (BNN Bloomberg (Reuters), TheTrucker.com) [06]
• A landing gear on a parked Cargolux 747-8F collapsed in Luxembourg on 23 October, and Cargolux is inspecting its 747-8F fleet; Japan Airlines has chartered 747s from Kalitta, Cargolux and Atlas. WorldACD data puts Asia Pacific–US air rates 41% above last year. (Air Cargo News, FreightWaves, The Loadstar) [07]
• Owners ordered 82 car carriers in the first nine months of 2026, against nine in all of 2025, broker Intermodal says, but about 64% of the orderbook delivers from 2028 and ships still fix at about $95,000 a day. (The Loadstar) [10]

Tariffs, customs and policy

• The US and Canada are working on a deal to ease US tariffs of up to 50% on Canadian steel and 25% on autos, Reuters reported on 26 October, though US sources say Washington wants more concessions. The 50% Section 338 product list still changes at 12:01am ET on 30 October. (Reuters via Regional Media News, AP via ABC News) [05]

Forwarders, carriers and deals

• C.H. Robinson says its AI pricing agents have produced more than 80,000 quotes for over 3,600 customers, cutting air and ocean quotes from a day or more to two to three minutes; its CTO says ten years of digital forms automated only about 5% of booking requests. (The Loadstar, Air Cargo News) [08]

Software, AI and automation

• Charger Logistics signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding on 26 October to buy up to 500 trucks running Aurora’s self-driving system for delivery in 2027 and 2028. Aurora prices at $0.85 or more per mile and has pushed its gross-profit goal to the first half of 2027. (Aurora Innovation, Trucking Dive) [09]

Coming up

• Wednesday 28 October: C.H. Robinson Q3 results. [08]
• Friday 30 October: international dock strike, including 24 French ports and a Genoa blockade; new Section 338 list on Canadian goods takes effect at 12:01am ET. [03] [05]
• Tuesday 3 November: US midterm elections. [01] [05]
• December 2026: possible start of an EU cap on Chinese hybrid car imports. [10]
• 1 January 2027: planned rise in US tariffs on Canadian steel and autos to 50%. [05]
• 12 January 2027: public comments due for the USMCA review. [02]