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As 2025 closes, freight demand remains soft, and many indicators suggest the first half of 2026 may bring even slower patterns before a rebound takes shape. To help shippers plan with confidence, this session breaks down what the data is signaling and how those trends translate into real-world supply chain impacts.

Lee Klaskow, senior analyst for transportation at Bloomberg Intelligence, will unpack the economic forces shaping the 2026 outlook and the metrics that matter most. Gary Cornelius, vice president of business development at TCW, will provide the motor carrier perspective and highlight what shippers can expect from capacity, service models and carrier response as conditions shift.

Join us for a practical, data-backed look at what early 2026 may hold and how your supply chain can prepare for what is ahead.

 Moderator:

Ariane Herrera, Senior Associate Editor, Special Projects, Journal of Commerce by S&P Global

Speakers:

Gary Cornelius, Vice President, Business Development, TCW

Lee Klaskow, Senior Freight Transportation & Logistics Analyst, Bloomberg Intelligence

Check back for description/speakers

Moderator:

William Cassidy, Senior Editor-Trucking and Domestic Transportation, Journal of Commerce by S&P Global

Speakers - TBC

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Geopolitical volatility in the Middle East is again reshaping how breakbulk and project cargo moves — by sea and by air — and the stakes for schedule certainty, safety, and cost have rarely been higher. At the end of February, joint US-Israeli air strikes on Iran, followed by retaliatory attacks across the Middle East brought sea and air movements of breakbulk and project cargoes to a standstill, creating a fast-moving risk landscape for heavy-lift, out-of-gauge, and time-critical shipments. In this timely hourlong webcast, industry specialists will unpack what these developments mean for project forwarders, EPCs, carriers, brokers, and cargo owners moving equipment for energy, infrastructure, mining, and industrial builds. The session will connect the geopolitical headlines to the realities of execution: diversion planning, re-routing mid-transit, port-call and transshipment risks, and sea corridor constraints that can affect charter availability, payload planning, and permissions.

The webcast will conclude with an outlook for the second quarter of 2026, highlighting scenarios that could stabilize — or further disrupt — reliability for project cargo corridors linking the Gulf and Europe-Asia and what we can expect to discuss at Breakbulk26 in New Orleans on April 20-22.

Moderator(s): Carly Fields, Associate Editor-Breakbulk and Project Cargo, Journal of Commerce by S&P Global

Susan Oatway, Senior Research Analyst-Breakbulk and Project Cargo, Journal of Commerce by S&P Global

Speaker(s):

Marc Cowie, CEO-North America, Trans Global Projects

Christian Ohlrich, Global Director, Logistics, Fluence Energy

José Enrique Sevilla-Macip, Senior Research Analyst, Latin America Country Risk, S&P Global Market Intelligence

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Partner(s):

The seasonal rush or lack of before factories slow or cease production for two -week long China’s Lunar New Year celebrations will give the trans-Pacific trade a good barometer on just how depressed Asia import volumes will be for the rest of the years. Analysts forecast Asia import growth in 2026 to be in the very low single-digits to flat compared to last year The materialization of any seasonal rush and how carriers respond with capacity will provide a better sense of first-half demand, reflecting restocking for post-holiday sales and demand for spring wares. While bookings for Asia exports to North America have held up, as measured by maritime visibility provider Vizion and data and analytics company Dun & Bradstreet, the forward-looking demand indicators look lackluster. The National Retail Federation (NRF), in its monthly Global Port Tracker, forecasts the first month-over-month gain in import volumes (January from December) in six months, but noted that year-over-year import volumes would remain negative compared to quite strong import volumes early in 2025 as retailers frontloaded merchandise due to the expectation of higher tariffs. The webcast will provide an outlook on volume demand, ocean reliability and port performance, and annual trans-Pacific service contract negotiations.

Moderator:

Mark Szakonyi, Executive Editor, Journal of Commerce by S&P Global

Speakers:

Kelly Buckley, Deputy Director-Ocean Procurement, Drewry

Kevin Parkerson, Founder & CEO, KP Global Logistics Consulting

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As 2025 drew to a close, project cargo and breakbulk freight demand remained stable, with high hopes that a positive pipeline for mining, power generation for data centers, and LNG projects would keep the market busy. But not everything in the outlook is rosy. With falling oil prices threatening to knock a revitalization of oil and petrochemical projects on the head and the long tail of tariff confusion continuing into 2026, uncertainty could drag on all-important project final investment decisions. Engineering, procurement and construction companies speaking with the Journal of Commerce anticipate a busy 2026, but whereas previous years have been laser-focused on planning, the objective now is speed, putting pressure on the supply chain. This build- it-now mentality is forcing shippers to book ship capacity further out to ensure readiness when the go button on a project is pressed. Add to this, pressures on seaborne chokepoints, congestion and that ever-present specter of geopolitics, and it stands to reason that 2026 will continue to see challenges on project timescales and punctuality.

This hourlong webcast will take a practical, data-backed look at what 2026 may hold and how your breakbulk and project cargo supply chain can prepare for what is ahead.

Moderator:

Carly Fields, Associate Editor-Breakbulk and Project Cargo, Journal of Commerce by S&P Global

Speaker(s):

Jonathan Cournoyer, Global Discipline Director, Logistics, HATCH

Susan Oatway, Senior Research Analyst-Breakbulk and Project Cargo, Journal of Commerce by S&P Global

Brian Odell,Lead Ocean/Barge/Port Mode Specialist, GE Power

Interested in sponsoring this webcast? For more information, please visit: https://subscribe.joc.com/mediasolutions/