Container lines return to the Red Sea, Canada Goose absorbs US tariffs, and Deere moves factory production

Container lines are back on the shorter Red Sea route between Asia and Europe, Canada Goose has absorbed new US tariffs and will revisit its prices at its annual review, and Deere plans to end production at two Iowa factories as it consolidates manufacturing around demand.

Container lines return to the Red Sea route between Asia and Europe

Nearly every major container line is again running Asia-Europe services through the Red Sea, and Suez Canal traffic has recovered to roughly two-thirds of the volume it carried before fighting in the region diverted ships around the Cape of Good Hope, SupplyChainBrain reports, citing the shipping software platform Freightos. Freightos research head Judah Levine called it "a significant return" in a market update on Nov. 10. Zim is the one container carrier still avoiding the route, although its partner arrangement with MSC effectively lets it send cargo that way.

Sailing around the Cape adds 10 to 12 days to a typical voyage between Asia and Europe. Levine said ships returning to the shorter route might have been expected to catch up with those still on the longer Cape passage and congest ports, but because the switch back has been gradual, congestion is not significant. Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd said in mid-September that four of their joint container routes would use the Suez Canal again.

Levine said the route certainly remains dangerous, but that "it seems to a large extent the Houthi's focus has shifted to their conflict with the Saudis." The most recent attack on a cargo ship off Yemen came several weeks ago, and he speculated that high fuel costs and congestion are motivating carriers to return.

Why it matters: A shorter Asia-Europe voyage changes the lead times and buffer stock that many plans have assumed during the detour, and the route's security can still change quickly. Buyers shipping on these lanes can ask carriers and forwarders which services have switched back, check how current contracts treat transit times and route-related charges, and keep a plan ready in case ships divert again.

Canada Goose absorbs US tariffs and will revisit prices next year

When the United States put 50% tariffs on many Canadian imports in July, Canada Goose hurried its products across the border before the duties took effect a month later, chief financial officer Neil Bowden told CFO Dive, according to Supply Chain Dive. He said those goods paid no duty on entry until mid-August.

Bowden said the early shipments helped bring the expected impact on the Toronto parka maker's EBIT margin down to 100 basis points, about 15 million Canadian dollars (US$10.6 million). Bowden said the company has not raised prices since the duties began, because it typically adjusts them only once a year, when its fiscal year starts in April, and that it has absorbed the full cost of the tariffs this year.

"We will obviously, as we normally do, revisit pricing next year," Bowden said, adding that the consumer environment and "how much of these tariffs are really going to stick" will shape that decision. He said he is not counting on the duties being eased.

Why it matters: Shipping ahead of a duty date helped limit this company's tariff cost for the year, the company says, and its usual once-a-year pricing means any increase would most likely come at the start of its fiscal year in April. Buyers can check when each supplier sets its prices, whether their contracts say how a new duty is shared, and which orders could move before a published effective date.

Deere to end production at two Iowa factories as a division reviews sourcing

Deere & Co. plans to end manufacturing at two Iowa factories and move production at two other sites as it consolidates capacity around regional customer demand, Supply Chain Dive reports, citing a Nov. 4 company press release. The Ottumwa factory, which builds round balers and windrowers (crop-cutting machines), is to close by Oct. 29, 2028, with its work going to Deere's site in Ankeny, Iowa, and production of Hagie sprayers at Clarion, Iowa, is to stop by Oct. 30, 2028, and move to Thibodaux, Louisiana.

Deere also plans to move sugar cane harvester production from Thibodaux to Catalão, Brazil, in fiscal 2029 to bring it closer to its biggest group of buyers, in South America, according to the release, and to move production of small planting machines (planters) from Moline, Illinois, to Paton, Iowa, during fiscal 2027. Its Construction and Forestry Division is reviewing sourcing options across its operations to stay competitive and control costs, a step the release links to "shifting market conditions, evolving customer demand, and global cost pressures".

The moves come nine months after Deere set out plans for a new manufacturing campus in North Carolina and a $125 million distribution center in Indiana, part of a pledge to invest $20 billion in US manufacturing over 10 years.

Why it matters: Factory moves of this kind change where parts are built and bought, and the dates set for these changes leave time to plan. Suppliers to the affected factories can ask how volumes will transfer and whether parts need qualifying again at the new sites, and buyers of the equipment can confirm how parts and service support will work during the move.

The thread

Each story describes a change buyers can plan around: a shorter shipping route that changes lead times, a tariff a supplier has absorbed so far, and factory moves scheduled well ahead.