Industry Trends

MHI News In‑person event to feature nearly 1,000 exhibitors, 200 sessions and keynotes from Salim Ismail and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. When the largest manufacturing and supply chain trade event of 2026, MODEX, returns to Atlanta on April 13, it will include over 1,000 exhibitors from leading solution providers and a comprehensive Educational Conference focusing on best‑in‑class solutions for manufacturing and ...

How Agentic AI Turns Supply Chain Uncertainty into Business Advantage Five industry experts share how agentic artificial intelligence is transforming supply chains by enabling autonomous decision‑making, real‑time adaptation and resilience in the face of an unpredictable future.   BY SARA PEARSON SPECTER   In today’s globalized and hyper‑connected world, supply chains face an extraordinary array of challenges. From geopolitical instability, ...

Emerging Technologies Give Companies Insights from Every Vantage Point   BY NICK FORTUNA   When supply chains operate in the dark, costs add up quickly—and for too long, instinct and improvisation have stood in for solid information. “Supply chains, by and large, are run by heroes,” said William Wappler, chief executive of MHI member Surgere. “These folks often don’t have ...

Protecting the Power and the Water Supply   BY MARY LOU JAY   Discussions about the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on the supply chain tend to focus on all the potential benefits it offers for improving operations. But those improvements come at a cost that is just now starting to receive more attention: Implementing AI places considerable demands on ...

MHI News To support continued growth and innovation in the supply chain industry, MHI has released its 2025 Membership Directory and Reference Guide, now available in a digital format. This annual publication highlights MHI’s 1,000+ member companies, who are the leading suppliers of material handling and supply chain equipment and system and technology solutions. It serves as a comprehensive resource ...

BY TOM GRESHAM   Since the COVID pandemic, trade uncertainty and disruption have been commonplace in the retail supply chain. “Whether it’s on the trade front or geopolitics or weather disasters or all manner of different things, there’s always something going on that’s affecting the retail supply chain,” Jess Dankert, vice president of supply chain for the Retail Industry Leaders ...

A shifting policy landscape is pushing companies to rethink how they balance clean energy goals with economic security and industrial growth.   BY JASON SCHENKER, PRESIDENT OF PRESTIGE ECONOMICS® AND CHAIRMAN OF THE FUTURIST INSTITUTE®   As the Trump Administration prioritizes U.S. reindustrialization, technological supremacy and energy dominance, the landscape for sustainability and clean energy appears to be entering a ...

WERC Matters Filling a new role, Capellán leads MHI’s workforce initiatives. BY MICHAEL MIKITKA, EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT OF MHI’S KNOWLEDGE VALUE CENTER AND WERC As the material handling and supply chain industry continues to evolve rapidly, the pressure to build a skilled, diverse workforce has never been greater. Enter Pahola Capellán, MHI’s new Workforce Development Manager. She’s filling a new ...

Manufacturing Supply Chain Document & Records Management From data to compliance, strategies for improving supply-chain efficiency. Amid a prolonged workforce shortage, increasing order volume, SKU proliferation, pressure to speed up delivery times, and lingering economic uncertainty, factories, and warehouses are turning to AI-powered technologies to automate time-consuming tasks. But for all their investments in digital transformation, many supply-chain organizations are ...

More than half of industry leaders plan to increase investments in supply chain technologies to facilitate end‑to‑end orchestration of equipment, workforce and goods, according to the 12th edition of the MHI Annual Industry Report. BY CAROL MILLER, CHIEF MARKETING OFFICER, MHI The increasing complexity and volatility of today’s highly competitive business environment is prompting companies to pursue a more integrated ...