Just a few weeks ago, the tense situation in the Middle East reached a boiling point when the U.S. and Israel launched an attack on Iran.

Now, as the effects of the conflict ripple across the world, everyone has the same question: How will this affect global trade?

Sal Mercogliano, maritime shipping expert and host of the YouTube channel What’s Going On With Shipping?, joins Lori to help answer that question. Sal shares a nuanced analysis of how the crisis has already affected shipping and what will happen going forward.

To understand why the war in Iran will have such a major impact on shipping, you first need to understand choke points. Sal describes them as “narrow little areas where [ocean] traffic funnels together.” And one of the biggest choke points in the world is the Strait of Hormuz, where the Persian Gulf meets the Indian Ocean.

Sal explains, “Since the United States and Israel struck Iran … shipping has stopped going through.” And unfortunately, “There's no shortcut here. There's no … ‘Let's go around the Persian Gulf.’ You can't. You've got to go through the strait.”

This bottleneck will result in higher costs to businesses and consumers across the world.

While much of our oil comes from the Middle East, there are other sources. According to Sal, we’ll probably begin relying more heavily on places like the United States, Nigeria, and Venezuela for oil.

But that solution comes with its own challenges.

Sal explains, “You have to take natural gas and liquefy it, which means you put it into a ship by cooling it. … There's only a finite number of those ships. You have to go further distances, and there's a set amount you can ship because there's finite [resources] available.”

Even when the conflict ends, Sal expects that shipping will be disrupted.

He compares it to driving down the highway: “All of a sudden, traffic comes to a stop for some reason … because there was an accident there an hour ago and it just hasn't cleared up yet. For almost every day of an incident, it takes three to four to clear it out.”

While we’re waiting for things to stabilize, Sal recommends that businesses stay informed about global events and look for ways to incorporate more flexibility into their shipping operations.

1. Connect with Sal on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/salvatore-mercogliano-ph-d-what-s-going-on-with-shipping-95437729/
2. Check out What’s Going On With Shipping? on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@wgowshipping

From surcharge increases to carriers unexpectedly closing their doors, the world of parcel shipping is constantly changing. And according to Nate Skiver, founder of LPF Spend Management, that trend will continue through 2026.

In this episode of Unboxing Logistics, he shares tips for adapting to disruptions, managing risk, choosing the right carriers, and keeping costs low.

When it comes to carriers, Nate says, “There are more options [than ever], which is a good thing, but it introduces complexity.”

Fortunately, technology can help simplify things. Nate continues, “There is technology available to manage that complexity, allow[ing] shippers to introduce new carriers, optimize for cost, delivery, reliability, and speed.”

Bottom line? “There's never been a better time, I think, for shippers to create value through delivery.”

Alternative carriers offer low costs and fast delivery times. But shippers sometimes hesitate to use them, citing concerns with reliability. So, how can you know whether an alternative carrier will fulfill its promises?

According to Nate, it all comes down to research and risk management.

“There are alternative carriers that will exit the market this year. … So it's a legitimate concern.”

He recommends, “Do your due diligence. Learn as much as you can about the company, their customers, all that you can. But don't take on too much risk.”

When carriers increase prices, they don’t broadcast it to the world. For example, Nate shares that two major carriers recently raised surcharges for additional handling and oversized packages—and the increases slipped under many people’s radars.

He says, “It gets announced. It's very subtly posted on [their] websites. Often … the sales contacts for those carriers don't proactively come out and tell customers. So you have to go find it.”

To make sure pricing changes don’t catch you off guard, Nate recommends either having an in-house employee dedicated to staying on top of the parcel market or partnering with a third-party consultant.

1. Connect with Nate on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/levelplayingfield/
2. Visit LPF Spend Management’s website: https://www.lpfspendmanagement.com/

John Naylor from Trew and Scott Davis from JD Finish Line teamed up to transform a distribution center from mostly manual to automated and efficient—while the center was still operational!

In a recent session at RILA, they shared the details of the project with Lori Boyer, discussing everything from the initial planning stages to the final results and ROI.

If you weren’t able to make it to the session, no worries. We’ve turned the recording into a special episode of Unboxing Logistics. Listen to learn how John and Scott got leadership buy-in, helped employees adopt the new technology, and dealt with unexpected roadblocks.

Throughout the session, a common thread was the need for careful planning. When choosing technology, John and Scott considered two things: whether it would be worth the investment, and how it would hold up to future business growth.

John says, “It really becomes a fairly simple black-and-white math exercise. It's an ROI. Do we invest the money? What is the payback on that?”

He continues, “Are we future proof? Have we painted ourselves into a corner? If our business needs change, or … acquisitions happen, will this be able to accommodate that change?”

An important part of planning is the assumption that things will go wrong at some point. Scott stresses that budgets need to leave room for these unexpected setbacks: “Contingencies are huge. Do you want to go back in a year and ask for more, or would you rather fight the battle upfront so that you can stay within your budgets?”

John chimes in, “Anybody who tells you these projects go flawlessly and on plan is lying to you. … No battle plan survives the first volley.”

Automation projects often come under fire for eliminating human jobs. But for John and Scott, laying off employees was never the goal.

John explains that they forecasted employment needs and made sure not to overhire. The result? “We didn't [need] to lay off people later when [a] job function was eliminated. …

So it was a very … people-focused approach.”

As Scott puts it, the automation project was all about “[doing] more with the same people, not reduc[ing] the people.”

1. Connect with Scott on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/scott-davis-03315652/
2. Follow JD Finish Line on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/jd-finish-line/
3. Visit Trew’s website: https://www.trewautomation.com/