Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

Software glitch halts freight flows worldwide

Faulty cybersecurity update freezes Microsoft systems at hundreds of companies.

crowdstrike Screenshot 2024-07-19 at 11.20.36 AM.jpg

Maritime ports, airports, and logistics businesses worldwide today are struggling to get freight flowing again after a software glitch froze Microsoft computer systems at companies worldwide.

The problem started before dawn on Friday when the Austin, Texas-based cybersecurity firm Crowdstrike issued an update to its “Falcon” cybersecurity product that mistakenly caused Microsoft Windows 10-based systems to stop working, according to supply chain risk management firm Everstream Analytics.


The glitch instantly halted or delayed airport check-in and flight operations at logistics hubs worldwide, including sites in major cities like Berlin-Brandenburg International Airport in Germany; Amsterdam Schiphol Airport in the Netherlands; Dublin Airport in Ireland; and other sites across Spain, Italy, India, Hong Kong, and more, the firm said.

In the U.S., the computer crash forced the Port of Los Angeles to cancel parts of its second shift and triggered operational delays at the Port of Mobile in Alabama.

“Within hours, the technical issues have resulted in widespread operational issues, most notably at some of the world’s major airlines, airports and seaports,” Everstream said in a release. “While some operators have been able to resume operations following the outages, it remains unclear how long it will take local ocean and air cargo operators to clear the backlog that accumulated due to the technical issues. Localized increases in port and airport congestion as well as cargo processing delays at these facilities should be anticipated in the coming days as well.”

The IT logjam comes at a time when air cargo supply chains were already strained, since global air freight demand in June increased by 13% compared to the same month in 2023, while air freight supply increased by a much lesser 3% year-on-year, according to air sector analyst firm Xeneta.

The result is less available capacity in the market and increasing costs for shippers, a situation that could quickly grow worse if today’s delays aren’t fixed fast, Niall van de Wouw, Xeneta’s chief airfreight officer, said in a release. “Air supply chains are highly complex, so a global disruption of this scale could have a severe impact. Planes and cargo are not where they are supposed to be, and it will take days or even weeks to fully resolve.”

“We have seen in 2024 how vulnerable our global maritime supply chains are following the disruption caused by conflict in the Red Sea,” van de Wouw said. “Now we see vulnerabilities exposed in our air supply chains due to IT failure. We benefit greatly from technology and have grown dependent on it – but there is a price to pay when things go wrong.”

In fact, the episode highlights a dangerous lack of diversity in supply chain technology platforms, according to a statement from Andrei Quinn-Barabanov, Supply Chain Industry Practice Lead at Moody’s. “Over-reliance on several key vendors in corporate IT highlights a broader need for supplier diversification," Quinn-Barabanov said. "It goes beyond infrastructure technology into customized and high-performance components and services where single, sole or dominant sources create consequential bottlenecks. Supplier diversification is much easier said than done, since it involves a risky and expensive process of developing a new product or service. These additional costs and risks are often dwarfed by a revenue, performance, and reputational hit originating in a key supplier failure.”

Editor's note: This article was revised on July 19 to add comments from Xeneta and Moody's.

 


 

 

Recent

More Stories

exxonmobile oil field with pumps in texas

Kinaxis and ExxonMobil will design supply chain planning tools

Supply chain orchestration software provider Kinaxis today announced a co-development deal with ExxonMobil to create supply chain technology solutions designed specifically for the energy sector.

ExxonMobil is uniquely placed to understand the biggest opportunities in improving energy supply chains, from more accurate sales and operations planning, increased agility in field operations, effective management of enormous transportation networks and adapting quickly to complex regulatory environments,” John Sicard, Kinaxis CEO, said in a release.

Keep ReadingShow less

Featured

hurricane milton rainfall forecast map florida

Supply chain networks prep for delays as Milton storms in

Hurricane Milton was just beginning to unleash its slashing wind and pouring rain on Florida’s western coast on Wednesday, but the supply chain disruptions caused by the enormous storm have already been unfolding for days.

For example, millions of residents and workers in the Tampa region have now left their homes and jobs, heeding increasingly dire evacuation warnings from state officials. They’re fleeing the estimated 10 to 20 feet of storm surge that is forecast to swamp the area, due to Hurricane Milton’s status as the strongest hurricane in the Gulf since Rita in 2005, the fifth-strongest Atlantic hurricane based on pressure, and the sixth-strongest Atlantic hurricane based on its peak winds, according to market data provider Industrial Info Resources.

Keep ReadingShow less
robots working in factories

North American manufacturers cut back on robot orders in Q1 and Q2

The North American robotics market saw a decline in both units ordered (down 7.9% to 15,705 units) and revenue (down 6.8% to $982.83 million) during the first half of 2024 compared to the same period in 2023, as North American manufacturers faced ongoing economic headwinds, according to a report from the Association for Advancing Automation (A3).

“Rising inflation and borrowing costs have dampened spending on robotics, with many companies opting to delay major investments,” said Jeff Burnstein, president, A3. “Despite these challenges, the push for operational efficiency and workforce augmentation continues to drive demand for robotics in industries such as food and consumer goods and life sciences, among others. As companies navigate labor shortages and increased production costs, the role of automation is becoming ever more critical in maintaining global competitiveness.”

Keep ReadingShow less
weather map florida and hurricane milton

Hurricane Milton takes aim at weary Florida

The warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico are brewing up another massive storm this week that is on track to smash into the western coast of Florida by Wednesday morning, bringing a consecutive round of storm surge and damaging winds to the storm-weary state.

Before reaching the U.S., Hurricane Milton will rake the northern coast of Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula with dangerous weather. But hurricane watches are already in effect for parts of Florida, which could see heavy rainfall, flash and urban flooding, and moderate to major river floods, according to forecasts from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

Keep ReadingShow less
chart of number of containerships off east coast ports

East Coast ports work through hefty backlog of containers

Shippers and carriers at ports along the East and Gulf coasts today are working through a backlog of stranded containers stuck on ships at sea, now that dockworkers and port operators have agreed to a tentative deal that ends the dockworkers strike.

The agreement between the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) and the United States Maritime Alliance Ltd. (USMX) hinges on a compromise deal on wage hikes and returns both parties to the negotiating table to hammer out a remaining debate over automation by a new deadline of January 15, 2025.

Keep ReadingShow less