☕ The Price of Doing Business | Cargoccino 2.10.26
Freshly brewed supply chain intelligence, served short and strong
Top of the Cup: BlueCargo at TPM26
At TPM26, BlueCargo will be on stage for a high-impact conversation on the contract-to-cash playbook.
Our CEO & Co-Founder, Alexandra Griffon, will join leaders from The Home Depot, Kohler, and Michelin to discuss how shippers are tightening execution between commercial agreements, operational reality, and financial outcomes.
This is a practitioner-level session grounded in real contract complexity, real cost exposure, and real decision-making—not theory.
📍 TPM26 | Long Beach
The Contract-to-Cash Playbook: How Leading Importers Unlock Profits Trapped in Their Supply Chain
Valentine’s Day Meets Inflation
Cupid’s Day is getting more expensive, with higher prices across chocolate, flowers, jewelry, and imported goods. Persistent inflation, transportation costs, and supply-side pressures continue to show up in seasonal purchasing moments, reminding retailers that even predictable demand cycles now carry margin risk.
Source: SupplyChainBrain
FMC Fines MSC $22.67M for Shipping Act Violations
The Federal Maritime Commission fined MSC $22.67 million for multiple Shipping Act violations spanning several years, including:
- Improper billing of demurrage and detention to customs agents
- Failure to properly publish tariffs for non-operating reefers (NORs)
- Overcharging customers on roughly 23% of NOR bills in 2021
The FMC concluded these were not isolated errors but unreasonable practices, reinforcing regulatory scrutiny on carrier billing behavior.
Source: FreightWaves
U.S. Locks in Critical Minerals Cooperation, Reshaping Long-Term Sourcing
The U.S. has reached agreements with the EU, Japan, and Mexico to cooperate on securing critical minerals essential to automotive, clean energy, aerospace, defense, and electronics supply chains. These pacts aim to reduce dependency risks and stabilize access to materials increasingly central to industrial competitiveness.
Source: Supply Chain Dive
Maersk & Hapag-Lloyd Return Gemini Services to Suez
Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd confirmed that their ME11/IMX Gemini service will begin transiting the Suez Canal in mid-February, marking the first Red Sea transit for a Gemini service in over two years. A sustained return could add up to 7% to the global fleet's effective capacity, and Shippers are advised to review insurance coverage carefully as security conditions remain volatile.
Source: Journal of Commerce
Lunar New Year Air Freight Muted
Air cargo demand from Asia showed solid growth in January, but analysts expect only a modest pre–Lunar New Year bump this year. With the holiday starting late (Feb. 17), volumes and rates are increasing gradually rather than spiking.
Key takeaways:
- Strong January demand from China to Europe and Southeast Asia/Taiwan to the U.S.
- Asia–U.S. capacity down YoY overall, but Vietnam and Taiwan lanes remain active, driven largely by AI-related components
- Spot rates rose week over week (US: +6% to $4.02/kg; Europe: +7% to $3.80/kg)
- Forwarders report expectations of steady, not sharp, rate increases heading into the holiday
IATA forecasts global air freight demand growth of 2.4% in 2026, down from 3.4% last year, with trade policy and geopolitics shaping flows.
Source: JOC
EU Extends Tariff Suspension on U.S. Goods
The European Union extended its suspension of retaliatory tariffs on $109.8 billion of U.S. imports for another six months, maintaining a pause in trade tensions tied to long-running disputes.
Source: Reuters
☕ What’s Brewing at BlueCargo ☕
Manifest 2026:
The BlueCargo team is on the ground at Manifest. It’s not too late to meet. Reach out to Kawas to lock in time on the show floor, or stop by Booth #1050.
New Case Study Coming Soon:
We’re about to release a new case study with a major global fitness equipment company, showing how they replaced a legacy approach with real-time freight visibility to regain control over costs and execution.
TPM26 Stage Session:
Join us after Alexandra Griffon takes the stage at our TPM26 with The Home Depot, Kohler, and Michelin. Learn first how they’ll break down the contract-to-cash realities shaping shipper performance today; then meet us at our booth to discuss how contract terms translate into real costs once freight starts moving.
