Supply Chain

Chicago – October 29, 2026 -- Chainsight, an AI-native supply chain consulting firm, has appointed Tom Lin, a data and AI executive with more than 25 years of experience, as Managing Partner of Data & AI. The hire expands the firm's analytics and AI capabilities for manufacturers, distributors and retailers.

Lin most recently served as Senior Vice President of Consulting at Wavicle Data Solutions, which was acquired by Deloitte. There he led industry practices delivering data and AI solutions to manufacturing and distribution customers.

Lin will build Chainsight's Data & AI Practice around five service lines

The practice combines data strategy, engineering, governance, advanced analytics and AI enablement. Chainsight is prioritizing four supply chain applications: demand forecasting, inventory optimization, supplier intelligence and integrated business planning.

Providence – October 29, 2026 -- U.S. defense software company Havoc and CSBC Corporation, Taiwan, the island's largest shipbuilder, will hold a joint press conference on Tuesday, Nov. 3, at 10:30 a.m. Taiwan time at MATURE Taiwan in Tainan, as they advance licensed co-production of autonomous surface vessels (ASVs).

Joint press conference and demonstrations are set for booth M501

Havoc CEO and Co-Founder Paul Lwin and CSBC President Kun-Tsung Tsai will speak at the CSBC booth (M501). The session starts at 9:30 p.m. ET on Monday, Nov. 2. Havoc will also run virtual demonstrations of its collaborative autonomy software during the event. Times and locations for those demonstrations have not yet been released.

MONTREAL – October 29, 2026 -- Natural Resources Canada has approved C$1,215,185 for PMET Resources Inc. to upgrade the access road serving its Shaakichiuwaanaan lithium project in Quebec's Eeyou Istchee James Bay region.

NRCan funding targets 20 kilometers of road to the Trans-Taiga corridor

The money comes from NRCan's First and Last Mile Fund (FLMF). The application was approved under the Critical Minerals Infrastructure Fund, which has been integrated into the FLMF. The contribution goes to Innova Lithium, a wholly owned PMET subsidiary.

The project will upgrade about 20 kilometers of PMET's 100%-owned road linking the Trans-Taiga Road to the property. The upgrade is meant to improve the road's reliability and capacity for increased mining activity. The property is already accessible year-round by all-season road and sits near regional hydroelectric power infrastructure.

Catamarca – October 29, 2026 -- Rio Tinto has formally opened its Fénix 1B expansion and Sal de Vida operation in Argentina's Catamarca province after a combined investment of around $1.4 billion, adding 25,000 tonnes of annual lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) capacity once fully ramped up.

Both projects reached first production in the second quarter, ahead of plan

Both assets are now ramping up. Argentine President Javier Milei and Catamarca Governor Raúl Jalil joined Rio Tinto Chief Executive Simon Trott at the inauguration, along with employees, suppliers and representatives of local and Indigenous communities.

Milei called the Fénix expansion a historic milestone and said Argentina had again created incentives for producing essential resources.

Phoenix – October 29, 2026 -- Honeywell Aerospace (NASDAQ: HONA) will invest $500 million in a 300,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Tempe, Arizona, to expand capacity for commercial aviation and defense programs. The plant is scheduled to open in late 2028.

Digital production system and in-house machining target supply constraints

The facility will feature an integrated digital production system, modular robotics, automated inspection, digital twins and an end-to-end digital thread. It will add internal complex machining capability, which Honeywell describes as a key area of its supply base that is currently constrained.

The plant also moves the company toward a more vertically integrated production system for next-generation products, including Assure advanced actuation systems and Attune vapor cycle cooling subsystems.

PHOENIX – October 29, 2026 -- Honeywell Aerospace (Nasdaq: HONA) raised its full-year 2026 pro forma standalone adjusted earnings per share and second-half free cash flow guidance after third-quarter sales rose 2% to $4.6 billion, and its board declared an inaugural quarterly dividend of $0.40 per share.

Net income came to $0.7 billion. Adjusted EBIT rose 1% to $1.2 billion, even with new costs of operating as an independent public company and a net benefit of about $50 million from International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) tariff refunds. The company kept its full-year organic sales outlook and narrowed its adjusted EBIT guidance range.

PITTSBURGH – October 29, 2026 -- Wesco International reported record third-quarter net sales of $7.2 billion, up 17% year over year and 8% sequentially, and raised its full-year 2026 outlook as backlog grew about 80%.

Data center sales rise about 55% to $1.8 billion

Data center sales reached $1.8 billion, up roughly 55% from a year earlier. Non-data center sales rose 7%. Organic sales grew 16.6%, with volume gains in all three segments (CSS, EES and UBS) and a favorable price effect. Organic sales for the first nine months rose 13.9%.

Total company backlog hit a record, and each of the three business units set its own backlog record. CEO John Engel said the growth is fueled by multi-year customer commitments, and that the past five consecutive quarters of double-digit sales growth show a growth profile that extends beyond data centers.

United States – October 29, 2026 -- SupplyOne is marketing engineering-led custom corrugated packaging that combines product protection, retail branding and supply chain services for manufacturers, distributors and e-commerce businesses.

The company's nationwide team of packaging engineers and designers covers structural concepts, prototypes, custom die-cuts, printed shipping boxes and retail-ready displays.

SupplyOne right-sizes boxes to reduce excess material and damage-related returns

Engineers align box dimensions, board grade, interior protection and structural features to cut excess materials and wasted space. SupplyOne says this can lower damage risks during handling, transportation and storage, reduce damage-related returns and improve total packaging costs across the supply chain.

Charlotte – October 29, 2026 -- Aberdeen Carolina & Western Railway (ACWR) has been awarded a $19.9 million federal grant through the U.S. Department of Transportation's Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements (CRISI) Program to rebuild track laid in the early to mid 1900s.

Grant funds 30 miles of continuous welded rail across two North Carolina counties

The project will replace the existing line with approximately 30 miles of continuous welded rail in Montgomery and Stanly counties. The grant supports a total rail infrastructure investment of $41 million. ACWR and the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) will contribute a 52% non-federal match.

ACWR CEO Anthony Menzies said a healthy rail network is critical to "take freight off of our nation's highways."

Munich/Tokyo – October 29, 2026 -- Proxima Fusion and Japan's Fujikura signed a memorandum of understanding to explore industrial-scale production of high-temperature superconductor (HTS) tape in Germany, anchored by planned demand of 60,000 kilometers from Proxima's own fusion projects. The MoU was signed in Tokyo in the presence of German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi.

The production site is planned for Lower Saxony. The plant is meant to close a central gap in Europe's fusion supply chain, since HTS tape is currently made mostly outside Europe.