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#OnTheMove – Dispatch 4

Welcome back to Dispatch 4 of #OnTheMove (5-min read).

Your monthly insight into the people, places, and patterns moving global trade.

Welcome back to Dispatch 4 of #OnTheMove (5-min read). We are Metafora Search, specialists in Logistics & Supply Chain executive search. Each month, we bring you industry developments and interpret what they mean for businesses hiring, and for candidates planning their next move.

In this issue:

  • Market Insights: Australia’s surge, talent pressures, tariff shifts, US collaboration, and LogTech stepping up
  • Breakbulk Round-Up: 35 years of project-cargo innovation and what the latest edition revealed
  • M&A’s: Activity accelerating across parcel, healthcare, and regional forwarding
  • Leadership Moves: New leaders shaping the agenda across global logistics
  • #OnTheMoveJobs: Senior commercial and operational roles across the US

 

Market Insights

Australia: Momentum Builds Across Logistics

Australia remains one of the most active logistics markets globally, with meaningful growth across transport, warehousing, and e-commerce fulfilment.

Several operators are expanding aggressively:

  • Wallenius Wilhelmsen has secured a major new logistics contract in Australia, strengthening its automotive and RoRo presence.
  • Australia Post is now integrated directly with Shopify – improving shipping efficiency for thousands of SMEs and reinforcing its central role in domestic e-commerce.
  • JD Logistics has reported record early-season peak volumes, highlighting continued growth in cross-border and domestic consumer demand.

Combined with the Port of Melbourne‘s $154 bn FY25 record, the country’s appetite for logistics capacity is unmistakable. Labour shortages and operating costs remain challenges, but investment in automation, sustainability, and distribution infrastructure continues to climb. Australia remains a standout region for logistics leaders looking for scale, transformation, and long-term career runway.

 

Talent Capacity: The Constraint That’s Hard to Ignore

Across maritime, project logistics, and freight forwarding, talent shortages – not freight volumes – are becoming the real operational bottleneck.

This was a dominant theme at Breakbulk Events & Media, where operators, EPCs, and heavy-lift specialists all raised the same concern: demand is rising, but the supply of skilled people is not. Crewing remains tight, project managers and engineers are in short supply, and the retirement wave is now visible across technical and operational roles.

Technology will ease pressure, but it can’t replace the people required to plan, execute, and troubleshoot complex logistics moves. Forward-thinking businesses are responding by investing in training pathways, apprenticeships, and early-career development long before roles become critical. Those who wait until the pain hits risk falling behind in a fiercely competitive talent market.

 

Tariffs: Still Turbulent – but US Logistics Is Pulling Together

Tariffs remain a global pressure point, influencing routing decisions and margin structures. But in the US, something new is happening: companies are collaborating domestically in ways we haven’t seen for years.

Faced with uncertainty, many operators, manufacturers, and 3PLs are strengthening internal supply chains – sharing infrastructure, co-locating distribution, and building joint domestic solutions to maintain service reliability. This inward focus is reshaping capacity decisions, network design, and hiring patterns.

The latest US–China agreement has eased some friction, though no one expects a return to pre-trade-war dynamics. Europe and the UK remain active with sector-specific tariff recalibrations.

The takeaway: demand is rising for trade compliance leaders, procurement strategists, and commercial talent who can navigate volatility while strengthening US-centric supply-chain resilience.

 

Logistics Tech: Innovation That’s Moving the Needle

Technology is no longer “future-focused” – it is reshaping performance today. And several operators are raising the bar:

The global players are doubling down:

  • Saloodo! (DHL) is now a fully digital road-freight marketplace – pricing, documents, tracking, invoicing – all brokered internally.
  • Kuehne+Nagel has embedded schedule reliability and real-time visibility directly into myKN / seaexplorer, reducing reliance on third-party data providers.
  • DSV – Global Transport and Logistics’s new MyDSV eVisibility adds BI dashboards for inventory and warehouse trends, layered onto its WMS and automation stack.
  • DACHSER has rolled out its new DACHSER Platform and expanded ILO digital-twin capability, tracking freight at item level across terminals.
  • GEODIS × Hapag-Lloyd AG have built a real-time rate API flowing ocean contract data directly into GEODIS’ pricing engine.

Meanwhile, LogTech innovators continue to push ahead:

  • project44 has secured its fifth straight year as Gartner’s RTTVP Leader.
  • Shippeo continues expanding predictive visibility and network depth across Europe.
  • FourKites, Inc. is rolling out digital-twin architecture and AI-driven “digital workers” in its Intelligent Control Tower.
  • cargo.one has launched AI-powered quoting and rate-management tools for forwarders.

The message is clear: companies investing in practical, day-to-day digitalisation – not future experiments – are pulling ahead on service reliability, accuracy, and customer experience. That shift is now defining hiring across digital operations, product, and data-led leadership roles.

 

Breakbulk Round-Up: Celebrating 35 Years

The 35th anniversary edition of Breakbulk Events & Media Americas arrived with energy, optimism and a clear focus on execution in project logistics. Connections were strong, deal-pipelines active, and conversations around workforce, digitisation and heavy-lift infrastructure dominated the agenda.

What it revealed for talent and hiring:

  • The industry’s talent gap was perhaps its most mentioned challenge – from crewing to project planning, experienced operators and technical specialists are now truly scarce.
  • Firms that are investing in workforce planning, training and career pathways are getting ahead – while those still hiring reactively risk falling behind.
  • Project cargo remains a growth zone: heavy-lift, energy infra, renewables logistics and complex transport are all creating demand for leadership and specialist roles.

 

M&A Spotlight

M&A momentum is always strong across the industry; this month has seen activity spanning parcel, healthcare logistics, and regional forwarding networks across North America, Europe, and Asia. Growth is being driven by rising cross-border e-commerce, demand for multimodal capability, and the race to secure specialist expertise – particularly in healthcare and time-critical logistics. Here’s the lowdown:

What this means for talent

M&A value is increasingly unlocked after the deal – meaning integration leadership is more important than ever. Businesses need senior operators who can align systems, cultures, and commercial strategies without weakening service performance. Demand is especially strong in cold chain, healthcare logistics, cross-border operations, and digital integration roles.

For candidates, deals present both uncertainty and opportunity – those confident leading through change will find more doors opening than closing.

Leadership Moves

Leadership change remains a constant theme across global logistics, as companies recalibrate direction and build capability for growth, digitalisation, and new market expansion. This month’s highlights include:

What it means for hiring

Leadership transitions usually spark reorganisations, capability reviews, and renewed hiring across commercial, operational, and digital functions. For candidates, new leaders often bring new priorities – and new opportunities. For employers, retention and clear communication during change are critical to stabilising teams and protecting performance.

#OnTheMoveJobs

We’re currently supporting a number of top-tier logistics and supply chain organisations with key commercial and operational hires:

  • Regional Sales Director – Shipping & Maritime (Chicago) Leading commercial growth for a major ocean carrier across the Midwest. Requires strong regional relationships, deep trade-lane knowledge, and disciplined international freight sales capability.
  • Sales Director – Contract Logistics / E-Commerce Fulfilment (Remote – US) Driving enterprise new business across fulfilment, warehousing, and transportation solutions. Suited to a structured hunter with credibility in contract logistics.
  • VP, Key Accounts – Contract Logistics / Omni-Fulfilment (Remote – US) Responsible for retention, expansion, and service performance across key enterprise accounts. Ideal for a steady, operationally mature leader with hands-on large-scale fulfilment experience.

If you’re exploring leadership hires – or considering your own next move – let’s connect. 📞

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Metafora Search | www.metaforasearch.com

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