supply chain

Hedge funds bet heavily against manufacturing stocks amid Strait of Hormuz crisis

Global hedge funds bet heavily against manufacturing stocks in June, more than in any other sector, as investors grew increasingly concerned about supply-chain disruption from renewed tensions around the Strait of Hormuz, according to data from Hazeltree released on Wednesday.

IEA warns critical mineral investment fell 9% in 2025

The International Energy Agency released its Global Critical Minerals Outlook 2026 on Thursday, warning that investment in critical mineral development fell by 9% in 2025 — the first contraction after several consecutive years of growth — as price volatility and…

IEA says China rare earth curbs threaten $6.5T in output

The International Energy Agency warned on Wednesday that the full implementation of China's rare earth export restrictions could put $6.5 trillion of downstream production outside the country at risk each year, underscoring the scale of Western industry's dependence on Chinese…

Alcoa to build gallium plant in Australia with US, Japan backing

Alcoa announced on Tuesday that it has reached a final investment decision to build a gallium production plant at its Wagerup alumina refinery in Western Australia, backed by the governments of Australia, Japan, and the United States.

Manufacturers stockpile at pandemic-era rates as supply chain strain persists

Global manufacturers are continuing to build buffer inventories at rates not seen since the pandemic-era supply chain crisis, according to the latest GEP Global Supply Chain Volatility Index released on July 13. The index, produced by GEP and S&P Global,…

NOAA puts super El Niño odds at 81% as Panama Canal tightens draft limits

Insurance and risk management firm TT Club has called on global supply chain operators to urgently review their resilience strategies as forecasts point to a developing "super" El Niño that could deliver simultaneous disruption to ports, energy systems, commodity markets,…

Saudi Arabia becomes top buyer in Taiwan’s booming drone industry

Saudi Arabia purchased $47.2 million worth of drones from Taiwan in June, the largest single-month UAV export to any country since Taiwan began publishing detailed trade data in 2023, according to Bloomberg. The deal marks a commercial breakthrough for Taiwan's…

Huawei builds DRAM fab amid worst memory shortage in years

Huawei is reportedly partnering with the Chinese government and Shenzhen-based chipmaker Swaysure to construct a 12-inch wafer fabrication plant dedicated to DRAM memory production, as the company moves to secure its own memory supply amid an intensifying global shortage driven…

Global shipping rates hit post-pandemic high as Hormuz traffic plunges

Container shipping rates have surged to their highest levels since the pandemic-era supply chain crisis of 2022, driven by a combination of rush shipments ahead of U.S. tariff deadlines, ongoing disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz, and port congestion that…

Chinese firms use rare-earth ban to squeeze foreign rivals

Chinese manufacturers that use rare earths are seizing what the Financial Times describes as a "historic" opportunity to move up the industrial value chain and squeeze out foreign competitors, leveraging Beijing's escalating export controls on critical minerals to capture higher-value…

Apple tests Chinese military-linked DRAM chips for devices sold in China

Apple has begun testing DRAM chips from China's state-backed ChangXin Memory Technologies for use in devices sold within mainland China, the Financial Times reported on Tuesday, a move that could reshape the global memory-chip supply chain and deepen ties between…

Nvidia denies report that its Kyber AI rack is delayed to 2028

Nvidia pushed back Monday against a report from semiconductor research firm SemiAnalysis claiming its next-generation Kyber NVL144 rack-scale AI system has been delayed by more than 12 months to 2028. "Our roadmap is intact," a spokesperson told Seeking Alpha, in…

Broadcom, Apple extend chip partnership through 2031

Broadcom announced on Monday that it has agreed to expand its chip supply partnership with Apple through 2031, covering the development and supply of a range of custom semiconductors. Shares of the chipmaker rose nearly 4% in premarket trading following…

Analyst says foldable iPhone faces supply crunch at launch

Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said this weekend that the company's first foldable iPhone — widely expected to be called the iPhone Ultra — will likely face severe supply constraints when it is unveiled in September, with pre-orders and shipments pushed…

New factory data shows Hormuz disruption fueling global supply crunch

The Strait of Hormuz has formally reopened to commercial shipping following the U.S.-Iran memorandum of understanding signed in mid-June, but supply chain experts and new manufacturing data released this week reveal that the economic damage from four months of disruption…

Nomura warns of ‘epic’ chip shortage, countering peak narrative

Even as chip and AI infrastructure stocks sold off Wednesday after Bloomberg reported that Meta Platforms is building a cloud business to sell excess computing capacity, Nomura pushed back against the growing "peak semiconductor" narrative with a 119-page report warning…

Novo Nordisk demands price cuts from suppliers amid margin squeeze

Novo Nordisk has written to its suppliers requesting price reductions as the Danish pharmaceutical giant grapples with mounting cost pressures in a rapidly changing weight-loss drug market, according to a report by MedWatch on Wednesday. The correspondence gave suppliers only…

Apple raises foldable iPhone production target to 10M units

Apple is preparing one of its most ambitious iPhone launches in years, planning to release at least five new models between the second half of 2026 and the first half of 2027, while raising production targets for its first foldable…

EU chip sector faces ‘bleak future’ from US, China risks, report finds

Europe's semiconductor industry confronts a "bleak future" squeezed between Chinese export controls on critical materials and deep technological dependence on the United States, according to an EU-funded report published Thursday that lays bare the structural vulnerabilities threatening the bloc's chip…

Apple lobbies Trump admin to buy chips from blacklisted Chinese firm

Apple is lobbying the Trump administration for clearance to purchase memory chips from ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT), a Chinese company placed on the Pentagon's military blacklist, as soaring AI-driven memory prices squeeze the tech giant's hardware margins.

China becomes net olefins exporter as Iran war reshapes trade

The conflict in Iran has upended Asia's petrochemicals supply chains, turning China from the world's largest importer of plastics and olefins into a regional supplier as Southeast Asian buyers scramble for alternatives to disrupted Persian Gulf feedstocks.

CMA CGM nears $1.4B deal for FedEx logistics unit

French container shipping giant CMA CGM is in advanced talks to acquire FedEx's third-party logistics business for approximately $1.4 billion in cash, according to the Financial Times. A deal could be finalized as soon as Wednesday, the report said.

Ferrari and BMW switch to aluminum wiring as copper prices hit records

Ferrari and BMW Bayerische Motoren Werke AG are rolling out new models with aluminium wiring, joining Tesla and several Chinese electric vehicle makers in an industry-wide shift away from copper that could reshape demand for one of the world's most…

iPhone 18 Pro details exposed in Tata Electronics breach

A ransomware attack on Tata Electronics has exposed confidential details about Apple's upcoming iPhone 18 Pro, including supplier lists, component specifications, and photos of the devices during drop tests, according to Reuters reporting confirmed by multiple outlets.

Musk, Cook warn memory chip shortage is ‘unprecedented’ as AI demand soars

Apple CEO Tim Cook has called the global memory chip shortage "a hundred-year flood," while Elon Musk declared it "the biggest price jump in anything I've ever seen," as the two tech leaders sound alarms over a structural crisis reshaping…

Maersk nearly doubles 2026 profit forecast on surging container demand

A.P. Moller-Maersk A.P. Møller - Mærsk A/S upgraded its full-year 2026 financial guidance on Monday, citing strong container market demand that has outpaced earlier expectations. The Copenhagen-based shipping giant now expects underlying EBITDA of $8 billion to $10 billion, up…

Asia’s plastic costs surge as Hormuz crisis squeezes naphtha supply

Across Asia's bustling street markets and food stalls, the cost of plastic bags, containers, and cups has climbed sharply — a downstream consequence of the Middle East war that choked off naphtha supplies through the Strait of Hormuz for nearly…

Tata breach extends to TSMC and Qualcomm files, Reuters reports

A data breach at Tata Electronics is wider than initially reported, with leaked files extending beyond Apple and Tesla to include purported documents from chip giants TSMC Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited and Qualcomm, according to Reuters reporting published on…

TSMC says fabs running normally as typhoon floods Taiwan

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company confirmed on Friday that all its fabrication plants are operating normally as torrential rains from a passing tropical storm shut down parts of the island, forcing roughly six million people off work or school.

Consumer RAM prices surge up to 89% as AI devours chip supply

A structural global memory chip shortage, driven by the insatiable demands of artificial intelligence data centers, is forcing consumer electronics makers to raise prices and warning of worse to come. Consumer DRAM and NAND flash prices surged by as much…