By Alex Stark
This week, I had the honor of reconnecting with the ALAN (American Logistics Aid Network) partners’ call. This fantastic organization (which recently celebrated its 20th anniversary) truly lives its mission: Saving lives through logistics. Its executive director is the incomparable Kathy Fulton.
Kathy and her team lead this exemplary, industry-wide organization that provides supply chain support to humanitarian groups during disasters, with help from many members of the logistics community. ALAN and its partners (including Holman Logistics) consist of logistics and supply chain professionals from third-party logistics (3PLs), manufacturers, retailers, and industry vendors.
During the most recent meeting, participants reflected on 2025 and made predictions for the upcoming year. The consensus is that many of the hot-button topics currently (tariff impact, economic uncertainty, labor, and AI) will continue to affect supply chains, making for interesting times ahead.
A topic nearly everyone feels is shaping the look of supply chains is imports. In an article published by FreightWaves, the author reported that policy decisions and economic uncertainty are likely to shape 2026, particularly as the holiday season concludes.
The recent months of year-over-year declines in import cargo volume through the busiest U.S. container ports is expected to continue in the New Year, according to data from the National Retail Federation’s Global Port Tracker. Volume totaled 2.07 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) in October, down 1.8% from September and 7.9% year-over-year. November volumes not yet reported are estimated at 1.91 million TEUs, off 11.6% y/y, while December is forecast at 1.86 million TEUs, a decrease of 12.7%.
Another segment of the economy that is being affected by buyer/seller confidence is the housing market. According to November’s data, the U.S. housing market continued its recent trend. Affordability pressures are creating market gridlock.
- Inventory climbs for the 25th straight month (+12.6% YoY), but growth is slowing, as the plateau in the post-pandemic supply recovery continues.
- Buyer activity remains soft as homes stay on the market longer (+3 days, YoY) and prices ease (-0.4% YoY). The slowdown is most pronounced in the South and West, while many Northeast and Midwest metros still see faster-than-normal sales due to tighter inventory.
- Delistings remain well above seasonal norms and outpace inventory gains, with about 6% of listings coming off the market each month since June.
- Affordable “refuge markets” stand out nationally, posting some of 2025’s strongest price gains as cost-conscious buyers shift to lower-priced metros.
On the soft skills side of the human equation, Seth Godin writes about “captaincy.” It certainly is not a skill taught in school. In the rush to embrace AI and all the good it can bring, we should think twice about individuals ceding their decision-making and problem-solving abilities to a bot.
Seth Godin describes captaincy as –
Someone who doesn’t just go to meetings–they change the outcome of the meeting. Someone who doesn’t depend on authority but is eager to take responsibility. It’s not about having a great idea… it’s about leading when the great idea collides with reality.
Bonus: Here’s an interesting visual on global births by country in 2025. This is particularly interesting when I think about the larger context of supply chains – where people are living, population fluxuations, and the labor that makes the whole system work.
Take your time out there and be mindful of others during the jolly season.
Remember, it costs nothing to be kind.
