Logistics Pulse by FulfillYN

"I'm in favor of progress; it's change I don't like."

Mark Twain said that over a century ago, but honestly, he could have written it this morning. Between tariff whiplash, Middle East shipping disruptions, and AI eating through job descriptions faster than anyone anticipated, there's a lot of change hitting you right now—and not much of it feels like progress yet.

Let's get into it.

Over the past week, major airports including Dubai International, Abu Dhabi, Doha, Bahrain, and Kuwait City either closed or operated under severe restrictions as combat operations and airspace shutdowns rippled across the region. Dubai is one of the most critical air cargo transfer points on earth, connecting Asia, Europe, and North America. When it goes dark, time-sensitive shipments lose a primary transit option with no easy substitute.

On the maritime side, the Port of Jebel Ali—one of the largest container hubs in the Middle East—suspended operations after debris from aerial attacks caused a fire. And the Strait of Hormuz, through which roughly 25% of global seaborne oil and 20% of LNG pass annually, has effectively become impassable for many operators. Marine insurers began canceling war-risk coverage for Gulf transits, with cancellations set to take effect March 5. At least 150 crude and LNG tankers were anchored outside the strait at the height of the disruption.

The container carriers have already moved. Maersk, Hapag-Lloyd, MSC, and CMA CGM have all altered schedules, reduced Gulf port calls, and introduced emergency surcharges. CMA CGM is charging $4,000 per 40-foot container on affected lanes. Hapag-Lloyd has added war-risk fees on top.

Gulf ports directly handle 3-4% of global container volume—not enormous, but their role as connectors between major trade lanes means the disruption degrades reliability across networks rather than isolating it. For U.S. 3PLs managing clients whose suppliers stage inventory through Gulf facilities: the near-term hit is on predictability, not just cost. Available-to-promise dates are harder to set, landed costs are shifting mid-cycle, and the air cargo fallback is less accessible than usual because those airports are constrained too.

If the conflict persists, the competitive advantage in fulfillment may shift from lowest price to the most resilient supply chain. Worth thinking about now.

It doesn't get the same headlines as spot rate swings or freight tech funding, but dedicated contract carriage is quietly one of the most interesting stories in trucking right now—and it's getting bigger.

The most recent State of Logistics report pegged combined "private or dedicated" trucking revenue at $541 billion, with dedicated accounting for somewhere between $100 billion and $150 billion of that. E-commerce is the accelerant: nearly every major retailer now has agreements with core carriers locking in freight volumes on specific routes, often in exchange for better pricing.

The appeal for shippers is straightforward. You get fleet control and service reliability without owning the assets, managing compliance, or dealing with driver turnover directly. For carriers, you get contractual stability, deeper customer integration, and drivers who actually know the dock.

Not everyone's buying in, though. Old Dominion—the LTL market leader with an industry-best 74.3 operating ratio—has explicitly opted out. "We've studied that market, and the returns just aren't that exciting for us," said COO Greg Plemmons.

Worth watching: as the freight market softens and shippers look for cost certainty, dedicated arrangements could accelerate. The structure suits a market where spot rates are unpredictable, and capacity reliability matters more than ever.

Walmart agreed to pay $100 million to settle FTC allegations that it misled Spark delivery drivers about their pay. The complaint, filed in federal court in California and joined by 11 states, alleged that Walmart showed drivers inflated earnings estimates and told them they'd receive 100% of customer tips—then split those tips among multiple drivers handling a delivery.

Walmart also allegedly lowered base pay without warning when orders were removed from multi-delivery batches, and hid conditions required to earn referral bonuses. Regulators have been on a gig-worker pay enforcement spree lately: Uber Eats settled in New York last month for $3.5 million for failing to pay minimum rates on canceled trips.

Walmart said it's paying affected drivers and working on transparency improvements.

A new wave of workplace monitoring tech has moved well beyond the warehouse floor. Cisco's Spaces platform has digitized 11 billion square feet of enterprise locations and can track employee movement in real time via Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. Juniper's Mist is precise enough to log when you left the break room and how long you were there. The connected office market was valued at $43 billion in 2023 and is projected to reach $122.5 billion by 2032.

The backlash has been real. Boeing scrapped a sensor pilot in Missouri and Washington after an employee leaked the internal presentation. Students at Northeastern physically ripped out under-desk sensors. Barclays got fined $1.1 billion by UK regulators after deploying software that could single out individual workers.

For 3PL operators managing warehouse staff: this tension isn't new to you. The same debates playing out in corner offices have been happening on your dock floors for years. The difference now is that white-collar workers are just catching up to what hourly workers have lived with for decades—and they're not happy about it.

Cross-border e-commerce is projected to grow from $1.92 trillion in 2024 to $3.37 trillion by 2028. But a new survey from Freight Right Global Logistics reveals that one merchant category is almost entirely cut out of that growth: sellers of big and bulky items.

When Freight Right reached out to 50 oversized goods merchants—saunas, hot tubs, pool tables, fitness equipment—asking about international shipping, 78% either said they couldn't do it or gave no response at all. Only 8% actively engaged and offered to help.

The reasons are structural, not just operational. E-commerce infrastructure was built for parcels. Shopify's plugin ecosystem, checkout flows, and shipping integrations all assume you're putting something in a box with a label. When your product weighs 500 pounds and requires lift-gate service, two-person delivery, and white-glove installation, none of that infrastructure works. Real-time freight pricing at checkout is essentially impossible. Duties and taxes on international shipments are difficult to calculate in advance. A single failed delivery—when the buyer refuses the shipment at the door—can wipe out the order's margin and then some.

Internationally, it gets worse. To compete with local merchants in a new market, oversized sellers typically need to establish a local business entity, secure warehouse space, and pre-position inventory. That's not a plugin. That's a six-figure commitment before you've made a sale.

For 3PLs: this is a gap worth paying attention to. As the data-driven discovery of niche products accelerates on TikTok and in AI search, demand for oversized goods is going global faster than the fulfillment infrastructure can keep pace. The operators who figure out how to serve this category internationally—with reliable pricing, customs handling, and last-mile capabilities for freight-grade goods—will be solving a problem that's currently unaddressed for most of the market.

Target drops artificial dyes from cereal. The retailer is requiring all cereals on its shelves to be made without certified synthetic colors by the end of May—ahead of when Kellogg's, General Mills, and others have pledged to make the switch. If you're fulfilling Target orders for food and beverage brands, or onboarding new clients who sell into Target, this is worth a conversation now. Brands that don't reformulate in time risk getting pulled from shelves, and that means volume drops for them—and for you.

Walmart launches Scintilla In-Store. The new platform (formerly known as Volt) gives supplier field reps real-time in-store inventory visibility via a single app, letting them catch out-of-stocks and shelf discrepancies during store visits. If your clients are Walmart suppliers, this is the kind of tool that changes how they manage replenishment and in-store execution. Better inventory visibility on Walmart's end means tighter expectations on yours—so it's worth knowing what your clients are working with before they come to you with new fill rate requirements.

We Are Fulfillment shuts down. The UK-based 3PL, which had been doing over £5M in revenue and was last valued at £6M, closed its doors last week. A reminder that revenue doesn't guarantee survival in a market this compressed.

Amazon is no longer Seattle's top employer. Headcount at Amazon's Seattle base has dipped below 50,000, knocking it off the top spot it's held for years. The company's ongoing push to cut costs and redistribute work across cheaper markets is starting to show up in the numbers in its own backyard.

2025 was a grind for most 3PLs. And if you're like the operators I've been talking to lately, 2026 is the year you're finally getting serious about sales.

One question I keep getting: What CRM do you use?

Monday.com. Full stop. It's simple, it's cheap, and the day I stopped managing deals out of my inbox was the day I stopped losing deals I didn't even know I was losing. If you're still running your pipeline out of Excel, I say this with love — stop it.

If you decide to give it a shot, use our referral link. It costs you nothing and keeps me from eating ramen noodles: try.monday.com/fulfillyn

FulfillYN connects fast-growing brands with vetted top-tier 3PL providers worldwide (300+ warehouses). We align partners with your business needs and guide you from intro to contract.

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Learn more at FulfillYN.com or reach out when you're ready to find your ideal fulfillment match.

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