Monthly Supply Chain Pulse - 23

📰 Supply Chain Pulse | Monthly Edition – October 6, 2025

Your Go-To Source for Supply Chain Insights, Trends, and Actionable Advice

Supply Chain Theme of 2025: Success will be measured by resilience and cost efficiency.

Q4 is here — are your supply chains ready?

From tightening tariffs to shifting lead times, the final months of the year can make or break next year’s results.

Let’s look at what’s happening across global sourcing and how to build resilience where it matters most.

📊 Key Metrics

Staying competitive means keeping an eye on the data that matters most. Here are five supply chain metrics that we monitor and will provide updates on within each newsletter.

🛳️ Drewry World Container Index (WCI)

What to consider: The 40ft container shipping rate from Shanghai to New York dropped another 12.97%, signaling ongoing overcapacity and softer-than-expected demand. For importers, this remains a strategic window to move goods out of Asia before any Q4 congestion or rate surges begin.

🚚 DAT Truckload Freight Rate Index

Why it matters: The national average van spot rate has edged up to $2.13/mile. While the increase isn’t dramatic, it signals early Q4 pressure and suggests rates may continue a slow, steady climb as holiday shipping ramps up and weather-related disruptions emerge. Locking in key lanes now could help protect margins as demand builds.

🛢 Commodity Research Bureau (CRB) Index

The CRB index measures a basket of 19 commodities including energy, agriculture, and metals. It’s widely considered a leading indicator of inflation, economic health, and overall cost trends for goods across the market. An increase tends to signify an increase in economic activity while a decrease tends to signify a slowdown in economic activity.

Why it matters: The CRB Index dipped slightly to 298.33, a marginal 0.67% decrease. While the change is minimal, it suggests overall commodity pricing remains relatively stable which is a welcome sign for manufacturers managing material costs heading into Q4. Staying alert to shifts in energy and raw material categories will be key as year-end demand builds.

🇺🇸 🏭 Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Index

To create this index, the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia surveys around 250 manufacturers, asking about factors like employment, working hours, new and unfilled orders, shipments, inventory levels, delivery times, prices, costs, and business forecasts for the next six months. An index level above zero signifies improving conditions, while a level below zero indicates worsening conditions. Read more here.

Why it matters: The index jumped to 23.2 in September, signaling strong expansion and marking a sharp rebound from last month’s brief contraction. This surge suggests renewed confidence and momentum in the Mid-Atlantic manufacturing sector, a potential leading indicator for broader industrial activity.

What to consider: As factory sentiment improves, upstream demand may begin to rise as well. This is a good time to assess inventory positions, secure key supplier capacity, and prepare for increased production runs heading into Q4.

🧾 Purchasing Managers Index (PMI)

The PMI is an economic indicator derived from monthly surveys of private sector companies, measuring the performance of the manufacturing and services sectors. It covers metrics such as new orders, inventory levels, production, supplier deliveries, and employment. A PMI above 50 indicates expansion, while below 50 suggests contraction.

Why it matters: The PMI ticked up slightly to 49.1, but remains below the 50 threshold. While not signaling a sharp downturn, the sub-50 reading reflects ongoing caution in the manufacturing sector, with demand, hiring, and production still pacing conservatively.

What to consider: The slow climb suggests stabilization may be forming, but uncertainty remains. This is the time to double down on supplier performance, evaluate cost levers, and build flexibility into your sourcing strategy. If the index returns above 50 soon, those who prepped during the slowdown will be best positioned to capitalize on the next growth cycle.

🌍 Global Hot Topic: What the future of trade looks like (Click To Read Article)

Standard Chartered’s latest Future of Trade report surveyed 1,200 corporate executives from major global industries and uncovered three dominant forces shaping trade strategy over the next 3–5 years: tariffs, emerging technologies, and global economic growth. Companies are no longer just bracing for disruption, they’re actively restructuring how they manage trade, sourcing, and treasury operations. Key moves include shifting suppliers to new geographic regions, adopting artificial intelligence and cloud tools, and investing in digital finance platforms to improve cash flow visibility and supplier support.

Why It Matters:
As global trade grows more fragmented, this report signals a decisive shift from reactive risk management to proactive resilience-building. Companies that succeed in the next phase of global commerce will be those who:

• Diversify their supplier base across regions to reduce tariff and political exposure

• Digitize supply chain visibility and cash flow tracking to better navigate volatility

• Use financial tools to support smaller suppliers and create more agile sourcing ecosystems

• Leverage smart technologies like AI to optimize inventory, logistics, and decision-making

At Ena Source, we help clients take tangible steps in these directions, whether that’s identifying alternate suppliers in new regions, reshaping their sourcing cost models, or building more flexible logistics partnerships. The era of “wait and see” is over, now is the time to act before trade policy or regional disruption catches your business off guard.

🇺🇸 US Hot Topic: U.S. Government Shutdown: How Will It Impact The Global Supply Chain? (Click To Read Article)

The recent U.S. government shutdown is creating far-reaching supply chain disruptions, from customs delays and compliance backlogs to shipment hold-ups at major ports. Even brief interruptions in regulatory functions can trigger delays, added costs, and uncertainty for businesses across the globe. As global supply chains grow more interconnected, small administrative hiccups in one country increasingly cause outsized ripple effects worldwide.

Why It Matters:
While shutdowns may seem like domestic political issues, their impact reaches far beyond U.S. borders. Customs clearance delays, paused export reviews, and compliance bottlenecks create real operational and financial risk for manufacturers and importers everywhere. This moment serves as a critical reminder to strengthen digital infrastructure, diversify supply routes, and build more agile response plans. At Ena Source, we help clients reduce exposure to chokepoints like this through smarter sourcing strategies, compliance support, and supplier diversification so you stay ahead, no matter what happens in Washington.

📈 Ena Monthly Stock Pick

$SPSM– SPSM is a diversified small-cap ETF that offers broad exposure to U.S. companies that have been beaten down by tightening cycles but are primed to rebound as credit conditions ease. These companies tend to be more domestically focused, more sensitive to rate changes, and often overlooked during mega-cap rallies. Historically, small-cap stocks outperform when interest rates fall and with inflation cooling and the Fed signaling a shift in policy, the stage may be set.

🔥 Last month’s pick, $INTC, is already up 53.46% since the newsletter release.

• As always, it’s not about timing the market, it’s about time in the market

• Disclaimer: This is not financial advice or a recommendation for any investment. The content is for information purposes only, you should not construe any such information or other material as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.

🚀 Your Supply Chain, Your Competitive Edge

Supply chains aren’t just about logistics, they’re about your bottom line, your growth, and your ability to outpace the competition. At Ena Source, we don’t just find suppliers; we engineer strategic supply chain solutions that cut costs, build resilience, improve reliability, and free up your cash flow.

If you’re curious how much you could be saving, let’s talk. No pressure. No cost. Just clarity.

📩 Click here to book a meeting. Resilient supply chains don’t happen by chance, they happen by choice. Let’s build yours, strategically.

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