Last month, President Donald Trump inked an Executive Order (EO) focused on restoring United States maritime dominance and also revitalizing the American shipbuilding industry. The primary objective within the EO directs the creation of a Maritime Action Plan (MAP), which will provide a strategy with specific actions in order to restore and create sustained resiliency for the American maritime sector. This plan was part of a mandate issued by a White House EO issued in April 2025, entitled “Restoring America’s Maritime Dominance.” “Up until now, government procurement processes and over-regulation have hindered private industry’s ability to build vessels on time and on budget—this Order reverses that trend,” the EO stated. Key aspects of the White House’s Maritime Action Plan in a White House fact sheet include: The White House cited President Trump’s recent State of the Union address, in which he pledged to “resurrect the American shipbuilding industry, including commercial shipbuilding and military shipbuilding.” “We used to make so many ships,” he said. “We don’t make them anymore very much, but we’re going to make them very fast, very soon. It will have a huge impact.” The MAP also calls for a universal infrastructure or security fee on all foreign-build commercial vessels calling on U.S. ports, which would be assessed based on the tonnage of imported cargo arriving on a vessel, with $0.01 per kilogram of imported cargo able to bring in around $66 billion over a 10-year period and $0.25 per kilogram bringing in around $1.5 trillion for the same period—with revenues from this fee to be directed into a new Maritime Security Trust Fund to support shipbuilding capacity, fleet expansion, and maritime workforce development. It also calls for a land port maintenance tax, focused on ensuring land border ports contribute more equitably to U.S. trade infrastructure costs. The fee would be comprised of a 0.125% of the value of merchandise entering the through land ports of entry, Mexico and Canada, with proceeds allocated towards a Land Port Maintenance Fund, for port planning, construction, maintenance and improvements. John D. McCown, Non-Resident Senior Fellow at the Center for Maritime Strategy, the Navy League’s think tank, told LM that, in his assessment of the MAP, the U.S. has a “pretty amazing” shipbuilding industry in certain niches, which needs to be further leveraged. “I think we ought to build on that,” he said. “The higher end you go, the more effective we are…and layer that on top of everything going on, whether it is molten sulfur, atomic plants, automation, or AI—things which the U.S. should be leading. I embrace all of that but where it [MAP] got a little confusing to me are the fees. There are certain aspects of this that are kind of a redo of what the USTR had proposed. But this is broader and does not really just affect China. If you are doing this to build the maritime base, you need to be clear in stating that.” The MAP’s focus on expanding mariner training, including at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, was welcomed by McCown, whom called it a critical need. To that end, he explained that a high priority should be placed on operating vessels that have spots for crew personnel and staff coming out of U.S. Merchant Marine academies.

The joint strikes launched by the United States and Israel on Iran over the weekend, in an initiative geared halting Iran’s development of nuclear weapons, are expected to bring about various logistics- and supply chain-related issues on various fronts, according to industry observers. Those issues include things such as the likelihood of higher energy prices, restricted shipping lanes in and around the Middle East, as well as the most recent example in what could be viewed as an ongoing series of heightened global logistics challenges, or concerns, among others. Bruce Chan, Managing Director, at investment firm Stifel, observed in a research note that perhaps the biggest takeaway of this development is that the conflict has caused a shuttering of the Straight of Hormuz “and a prolonging effect of reduced Suez Canal and Red Sea shipping traffic.” Which, in turn, reduced recent signs that Red Sea shipping traffic, that, going back to late 2023, when an ongoing series of attacks on the Red Sea shipping lane by the Yemeni Houthi pirates in response to the ongoing Israel-Palestine conflict took hold, had started to show signs of a return to more normalized operations. Prior to the late 2023 attacks, the Red Sea/Suez Canal shipping route saw 10%-to-15% of global maritime trade moving through it, according to industry estimates. In terms of ocean cargo operations, Chan explained that the conflict could curtail global fleet capacity and also keep ocean container rates elevated for longer, adding that in the aftermath of these strikes on Iran by the U.S. and Israel have seen container shipping lines suspend transit through the Strait of Hormuz—representing around 2% of the global ocean container fleet. “Increased uncertainty from geopolitical conflict presents a broad risk to demand, especially if fuel prices increase substantially enough to affect consumer discretionary expenditures,” wrote Chan. Daniel Moore, Baird & Co. analyst, noted that the ostensible closing of the Straight of Hormuz is viewed as “especially critical because around 20% of global petroleum liquids consumption and roughly one-third of globally traded seaborne crude oil, which is equivalent to 17 million-to-20 million barrels per day move through it, adding that 90% of Saudi Arabia’s oil exports flow through the Strait of Hormuz. As for the nations most impacted by this conflict, Moore cited the following: India imports around 85% of its oil needs, approximately 60% of which comes from the Gulf; China sources around 40% of its oil needs via the Strait of Hormuz, which is especially significant given its reliance on Venezuela, which is now effectively controlled by the U.S; and it is reasonable to expect meaningful consequences for Japan, which imports 90% of its oil needs, approximately 60%-70% of which comes from the Gulf region. “The most immediate consequence of these developments is higher energy prices,” wrote Moore. “However, the impact is unlikely to stop there. Disruption to maritime corridors will likely push container rates incrementally higher in some lanes as transit times lengthen and insurance premiums rise. At the same time, shippers seeking to mitigate delay risk may shift incremental volume to air cargo, increasing demand for lift capacity, which is likely to place upward pressure on airfreight rates across much of the region. We expect the direct economic impact on U.S. and European markets to be more limited.” Commentary from Peter Sand, chief analyst, for global freight intelligence platform Xeneta, observed that repercussions of this conflict will see what he described as the further weaponization of trade and also shatter hopes of a largescale return of container shipping to the Red Sea this year. “Carriers had been returning selected east-west ocean container services to transits via Suez Canal in recent months after sailing around Cape of Good Hope since late 2023 due to attacks by Iran-backed Houthi militia in the Red Sea region,” noted Sand. “If Houthi militia resume attacks, as now seems likely, carriers will reverse the decision to return services to the Red Sea and prioritize the safety of crew, ship and cargo. Any plans for a phased return of container shipping to the Red Sea in 2026 will be shelved until the security situation becomes clearer. Carriers are on red alert and we have seen signs of them pre-empting this security deterioration in the Middle East, notably with CMA CGM last month reversing a decision to return its FAL1, FAL3 and MEX to the Red Sea citing ‘the complex and uncertain international context.’” And with a largescale return of container ships to Red Sea in 2026 now unlikely, Sand said that freight rates on major global trades will continue to soften, but will not fall as hard as previously expected in the second half of the year as more services returned to Suez Canal transits. Chris Clowes, associate director at SCALA, a global supply chain and consultancy, said that from a supply chain perspective, the biggest risk of the escalation in the Middle East is wider instability that could affect both energy prices and the routes used to move everyday goods. “Air freight is likely to feel the impact fastest,” said Clowes. “If airlines must avoid certain airspace, capacity falls and flight times increase, pushing up rates quickly, with time-critical goods such as medicines, semiconductors and high-value technology among the most exposed. When it comes to sea freight, which is typically used to transport everything from clothing to consumer electronics, the Suez Canal isn’t formally closed, but if security risks rise, more Asia to Europe services are likely to divert via the Cape of Good Hope. That can add around 10-to -15 days and increase fuel and insurance costs. Longer voyages also tie up ships and containers, which can tighten wider capacity and push up rates beyond the region. Then there is the matter of energy; even partial disruption or perceived risk around the Strait of Hormuz could trigger a rapid rise in oil and liquefied natural gas prices, feeding through into transport, manufacturing and packaging costs in turn.”

Dive Brief:

• Manufacturers are expecting to more than double their use of automation, artificial intelligence and other advanced technologies by 2030, according to an industry outlook from PricewaterhouseCoopers published Friday.
• The U.K.-based professional services firm, also known as PwC, surveyed 443 industrial manufacturing executives around the world for the report. The median share of respondents believe that advanced technology adoption throughout their operations is set to increase from 26% to 68% over the course of five years.
• Two areas with the heaviest use of advanced technology today are production/operations and product design/development, according to the report. Other areas where adoption is relatively low, such as business support functions like finance and human resources, are set to quadruple by the end of the decade.

Dive Insight:

The race is on for manufacturers looking to enable AI and automation across their operations to boost efficiencies or create growth opportunities across the $16 trillion sector, but not everyone is starting from the same place. 

There is a widening gap between the “future-fit” companies and those falling behind due to poor data quality, skills gaps or fragmented systems, Ryan Hawk, global and U.S. industrials and services leader at PwC and author of the manufacturing outlook, said in an email. The gap could grow further as technology and capability advantages build on one another.

“The question is no longer whether companies will adopt new technologies, but how fast they can integrate them,” Hawk said. “As automation becomes ubiquitous, the advantage shifts from who has tools to who can orchestrate them across the enterprise.”

Automation of key business processes, such as data capture and analytics and physical production, is set to boom. According to PwC, adoption of highly automated processes will nearly triple by 2030, extending from the front and back offices to research and development and the shop floor. Survey results show a more even distribution of technology enablement across the value chain, not just in production/operations.

Hawk said this even spread was “most eye-opening.” It signals a fundamental shift toward AI-supported engineering, digital twins and more simulation-driven development, “not just smarter factories,” he said. There’s also growing interest in sensor technologies and physical AI.

As technology enablement and automation surge, manufacturers are looking beyond their core products for ways to generate revenue. They are positioning themselves as providers of “integrated solutions” that combine hardware with software, data, services and technology support, Hawk said. Deere & Co., for example, has been moving beyond equipment toward a digital platform that helps farmers make faster, better decisions.

“Instead of simply shipping equipment, they’re looking to own more of the lifecycle from predictive maintenance to data-driven optimization,” he said. “In many cases, that requires ecosystem collaborations and new capabilities that didn’t sit at the core of the organization five or 10 years ago.”

PwC survey respondents are expecting “fully 44%” of their companies’ total revenue to come from outside of manufacturing industrial or consumer products by 2030. The top three “growth hotspots” are technology, digital and communications products and services; defense, governmental and educational offerings; and energy and fuel production and distribution.

Fostering a strong company culture is also important for manufacturers on their adoption journeys. When leaders are confident about their digital transformation, but their frontline teams do not feel safe or supported in learning new skills, adoption slows, Hawk said.

To bridge the gap, manufacturers need to communicate effectively on how roles will change, invest in upskilling and create environments that encourage experimentation, he said. “Companies that treat workforce readiness as a core pillar of their automation strategy will be far better positioned to turn technology ambition into measurable performance gains.”

This article was written by Nathan Owens from Manufacturing Dive and was legally licensed through the DiveMarketplace by Industry Dive. Please direct all licensing questions to [email protected].