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Ship disaster photos show fate of containers lost overboard

Photos of a containership run aground off New Zealand's coast are both fascinating and instructive.

Here's something you don't see every day: photos of a foundering containership. Not to make light of the resulting oil spill and its tragic consequences or rub salt into vessel operator Mediterranean Shipping Co.'s wounds, but some of the photos of the Rena aground on Astrolabe Reef off the coast of New Zealand are interesting indeed. (Full disclosure: This writer worked for Med Shipping back in the 1980s.)

A collection of 32 photos can be seen on The Atlantic's website.


Dozens of containers have fallen overboard and hundreds of gallons of bunker fuel have leaked from the cracked hull since the Oct. 5 accident, fouling the shore and reportedly killing more than 1,000 seabirds. What's intriguing to importers, exporters, and others with an interest in maritime goings-on are the photos showing a stack of containers coming loose from the deck lashings and toppling overboard and 40-foot containers floating in the water like giant bath toys. Also of interest: photos of local residents exercising their ancient and completely legal right of salvage, opening containers and scooping up merchandise that washed up on the beach.

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The LMI jumped nearly five points from December to a reading of 62, reflecting continued steady growth in the U.S. economy along with faster-than-expected inventory growth across the sector as retailers, wholesalers, and manufacturers attempted to manage the uncertainty of tariffs and a changing regulatory environment. The January reading represented the fastest rate of expansion since June 2022, the LMI researchers said.

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Disrupting the furniture supply chain: An interview with Jay Rogers

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In other words, the furniture market is ripe for disruption. And John "Jay" Rogers wants to be the catalyst. In 2022, he cofounded a company that takes a whole new approach to furniture manufacturing—one that leverages the power of 3D printing and robotics. Rogers serves as CEO of that company, Haddy, which essentially aims to transform how furniture—and all elements of the "built environment"—are designed, manufactured, distributed, and, ultimately, recycled.

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And many of them will have a budget to do it, since 51% of supply chain professionals with existing innovation budgets saw an increase earmarked for 2025, suggesting an even greater emphasis on investing in new technologies to meet rising demand, Kenco said in its “2025 Supply Chain Innovation” survey.

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