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The Supply Chain Intelligence Brief is a SMC³ member benefit that provides a snapshot of the day's key industry news. Stay informed and connected with the SMC³ Supply Chain Intelligence Brief. Opt out at any time, with no impact to other SMC³ communications you may receive. If you would like to add any coworkers to the distribution list for this publication, please reply to this message with their names and email addresses.

TRUCKING

Trump's Dalilah Law introduced into Senate, DOT funding tied to state compliance

CCJ Jason Cannon February 25, 2026

Senator Banks' bill requires that states re-certify "all current CDL holders" within 180 days of the law's enactment. Recertification requires verification that the driver meets the citizenship, residency, or visa requirements; is proficient in the English language; and has passed all required knowledge and skills examinations in English.

The Dalilah Law could create a trucking rate super cycle

Freight Waves Craig Fuller February 25, 2026

The Dalilah Law, the Senate bill introduced by Sen. Jim Banks (R-Ind.) following President Trump’s call during the State of the Union, would trigger a sharp, immediate contraction in trucking capacity if enacted, potentially igniting a trucking super cycle with overnight rate surges amid severely tight supply. Much higher trucking rates could become permanent, giving carriers the best operating conditions in decades.

Trump Highlights CDL Measures in State of the Union Address

Transport Topics Eugene Mulero February 25, 2026

President Donald Trump’s push for stricter English‑language requirements for commercial driver license holders drew backing Feb. 25 from House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Sam Graves, who called the proposal a “common sense” safety measure.

DAT Dry Van Market Conditions Index

DAT Freight & Analytics Dean Croke February 24, 2026

Dry van load post volumes saw a third consecutive weekly drop, following an 11% decline last week. However, volumes remain strong, sitting 58% above last year and 110% higher than the 10-year average (excluding the pandemic years of 2021 and 2022). This volume decrease, alongside a 3% reduction in equipment posts, has eased dry van capacity, resulting in the national load-to-truck ratio settling at 8.66.

Bot Auto, Ryan Transportation partner on driverless freight between Houston and Dallas

Freight Waves Thomas Wasson February 25, 2026

Autonomous trucking collaboration is expanding. Bot Auto announced Thursday a strategic partnership with Ryan Transportation to launch driverless autonomous freight operations. The Houston-based autonomous trucking and technology company and the Overland Park, Kansas-based top 20 freight brokerage will launch driverless autonomous freight operations between Houston and Dallas.

UPS begins notifying delivery drivers about optional buyout program

Freight Waves Eric Kulisch February 25, 2026

UPS has begun sending letters to about 105,000 package van drivers offering them voluntary severance packages worth $150,000, to resign, the company confirmed on Wednesday.

SHIPPERS / 3PLs

Home Depot expands AI, B2B as it grows online sales in Q4

Digital Commerce 360 Mark Brohan February 25, 2026

To improve fulfillment reliability, Home Depot has expanded real-time delivery tracking to big and bulky items, including flatbed lumber shipments and appliances.

Link: The Home Depot Q4 2025 Performance Infographic

INDUSTRY

Shipping Industry Sends Strong Consumer Demand Signal For The Year

The Wall Street Journal Paul Berger February 26, 2026 $Subscription Based

The forecast year-over-year import declines mask healthy demand for goods because they compare to an abnormal influx of furniture, clothes and electronics at the start of last year as importers raced to get ahead of tariffs.

Link: Xeneta Shipping Index: Global Container Price Index

Shipper purchase orders hold steady despite tariff uncertainty

Supply Chain Dive Kelly Stroh February 25, 2026

“I watch purchase orders that go out three months in advance to Asia factories, and right now they’re looking stable,” Seroka said. He added that in the past, he’s seen shippers cancel purchase orders during years with a “bumpy” economic output.

WiseTech says to cut nearly 30% of workforce as it preps for AI era

Journal of Commerce Eric Johnson February 25, 2026 $Subscription Based

WiseTech Global will lay off approximately 2,000 of its employees — nearly 30% of its current workforce — over the next two years because of the efficiencies artificial intelligence will bring to its ability to develop products and interact with customers, the forwarding software vendor said Wednesday.

TECHNOLOGY

Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff: This isn’t our first SaaSpocalypse

Tech Crunch Julie Bort February 25, 2026

The concept hung so heavily in the air during the earnings call that CEO Marc Benioff mentioned the term at least six times.

“You’ve heard about the SaaSpocalypse? And it isn’t our first. We’ve had a few of them,” he said, later adding, “If there is a SaaSpocalypse, it may be eaten by the Sasquatch because there are a lot of companies using a lot of SaaS because it just got better with agents.”

Link: Salesforce Q4 FY26 Earnings Call Presentation

Gartner: 55% of Leaders Say Agentic AI Will Cut Entry-Level Jobs

Supply Chain 24/7 February 25, 2026

“The highest performing supply chain organizations are using AI to reinvent how work gets done and how talent is developed. They are not treating AI as a blunt instrument for headcount reduction,” said Marco Sandrone, VP Analyst in Gartner’s Supply Chain practice. “The priority for chief supply chain officers (CSCOs) should be redesigning roles, skills, and workforce processes, so people and machines can create value together.”

‘Piloting’ AI Tools Isn’t Cool Anymore

The Wall Street Journal Isabelle Bousquette February 26, 2026 $Subscription Based

Companies used to get a stock boost from touting AI pilots. Today, the term has become a sign that they might be falling behind.

AI’s Big Payoff Is Coordination, Not Automation

HBR Sangeet Paul Choudary February 25, 2026 $Subscription Based

AI’s greatest economic impact will come not from automating tasks but from dramatically lowering the “translation” costs that keep teams, tools, and data from working together. By extracting structure from messy, fragmented inputs and continuously reconciling them, AI makes it possible to coordinate complex projects without forcing everyone onto common standards or platforms.

Six Types of AI Startups, Explained

MIT Sloan Management Review Jeffrey P. Shay and Thomas H. Davenport February 25, 2026 $Subscription Based

Understanding a startup’s approach to artificial intelligence isn’t just a word game: It gives stakeholders a competitive advantage. Use this framework to categorize six types of AI startups: originators, explorers, infrastructure builders, enhancers, optimizers, and experimenters. You’ll also learn about the common traps that founders, investors, and customers must avoid as they work with AI startups.

SUSTAINABILITY / SAFETY / SECURITY

This company claims a battery breakthrough. Now they need to prove it.

MIT Technology Review Casey Crownhart February 26, 2026 $Subscription Based

The company said its batteries can charge super-fast and have a high energy density that would translate to ultra-long-range EVs. What’s more, it claimed the cells can operate safely in the extreme heat and cold, contain “green and abundant materials,” and would cost less than lithium-ion batteries do today.

European Council adopts simplified sustainability reporting laws

ESG Dive Lamar Johnson February 25, 2026

In addition to changing the scope and requirements of the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive and Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive, the Council will give member states additional time to incorporate the CSDDD’s changes into their national regulatory framework.

BUSINESS AND THE ECONOMY

Trump Plans Targeted Tariff Increase to 15%

Transport Topics/Bloomberg News February 25, 2026

President Donald Trump will sign a directive in the coming days raising his global tariff to 15% “where appropriate” and is seeking “continuity” with nations that struck trade deals, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said.

Shippers brace for ongoing volatility amid new Section 122 tariff

Logistics Management Jeff Berman February 25, 2026

Over the next 150 days that the 10% tariff is in effect, it could have the effect of simplifying things in a complex time, according to Jonathan Todd, Partner and Vice-Chair, Transportation & Logistics, at Benesch, a Cleveland-based law firm.

While President Trump wants to up the 10% tariff to 15%, Todd said there is likely a low chance Congress would extend it after the 150-day period.

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