What’s going on in freight — Wednesday 28 October 2026

The US Navy has told ships to keep clear of Hormuz as Washington signals strikes after next week’s midterms, while drones hit a container ship off Bulgaria and a small security union threatens Los Angeles–Long Beach terminals from Sunday. Ashore, insurance and crash-liability costs knocked broker shares despite strong quarters, Washington put machinery imports on a 180-day tariff clock, and Canada’s tariff talks stalled as Mexico pushes for an interim deal.

War, chokepoints and disruption

• The US Navy told ships with no need to use the Strait of Hormuz to “remain well clear” on 28 October, its first such notice since July, and the Wall Street Journal reports Gulf states were told to expect a “short, intense” campaign after the 3 November midterms. Iranian attacks on ships reached almost 30 in October. (Transport Topics, Algemeiner) [01]
• About 250 watchmen in ILWU Local 26 could strike at 5 p.m. Pacific on Sunday 1 November at terminals that employers say handle about 85% of Long Beach’s cargo and 33% of Los Angeles’. Freightos puts Asia–US East Coast at a year-high $10,565 per 40ft. (gCaptain, FreightWaves, AJOT/Freightos) [02]
• Three sea drones hit a container ship carrying 421 boxes from Haifa to Constanta on 28 October, about 21 miles south-east of Shabla in Bulgaria’s economic zone. All 18 crew got off safely and the ship was left badly damaged and listing. (Baird Maritime (Reuters)) [04]

Rates and markets

• CMA CGM adds a peak season surcharge of $900 per TEU from China to southern West Africa and $700 to Nigeria and Côte d’Ivoire from 1 November. Maersk is cutting its Gulf–West Africa emergency surcharge by $500 from the same date. (Container News, Maersk) [09]

Tariffs, customs and policy

• President Trump declared imported robots, industrial machinery and their parts a national-security threat on 28 October but set no tariff, ordering 180 days of talks. The order keeps “imposing or modifying tariffs, duties, quotas, and fees” open. (White House, Reuters via Yahoo) [05]
• A Canadian official said on 28 October that talks with Washington on steel and auto tariffs have made “limited progress”, while Reuters reports Mexico and the US are weighing an interim deal before the 3 November midterms. (Reuters via AOL, Reuters via GV Wire) [07]

Forwarders, carriers and deals

• C.H. Robinson shares fell 11.14% to $127.60 on 28 October even though Q3 adjusted earnings per share rose 28.6%, as investors focused on insurance and crash-liability costs. Landstar closed down 17.76%. (C.H. Robinson, FreightWaves) [03]
• Danish forwarder Scan Global Logistics agreed on 28 October to buy OIA Global of Portland, Oregon, which had $780m in revenue last year. The deal is expected to close in the first quarter of 2027. (FreightWaves) [06]

Software, AI and automation

• Aurora said on 28 October its driverless truck build is about six weeks behind plan, moving its 200-plus truck target to end-February 2027. The same day Kodiak announced a deal to supply 75 driverless trucks to carrier DTL Transport from 2028. (Investing.com, TechCrunch) [08]
• About 90% of priced air cargo searches on CargoAi are still quoted manually, the platform said at TIACA’s Air Cargo Forum in Miami, though its email agent handled 25,000 airline customer emails in October. Miami International launched a shared cargo portal for truck scheduling the day before. (STAT Times, Air Cargo News) [10]

Coming up

• End of this week: Iran’s reply to Qatar’s seven-day framework is expected [01]
• Friday 30 October: 100 more product codes join the 50% Section 338 list on Canadian goods [07]
• Sunday 1 November: ILWU Local 26 watchmen strike deadline at 5 p.m. Pacific [02]; CMA CGM Asia–Africa surcharges and Maersk’s lower Gulf–West Africa surcharge take effect [09]; Iran’s “legal action” against Sinokor-linked ships begins [01]
• Tuesday 3 November: US midterm elections [01] [07]
• Early December: Aurora expects to build 20 driverless trucks a week; Kodiak plans to remove safety operators on its I-45 Dallas–Houston service [08]
• End of February 2027: Aurora’s new target for 200-plus driverless trucks [08]
• First quarter of 2027: expected close of Scan Global’s OIA deal [06]
• About 26 April 2027: 180-day report due on machinery and robotics trade talks [05]