September/October 2025 digital edition

Energy ambitions meet harsh headwinds

This edition of HLPFI has a distinct North American flavour. Although geopolitical upheaval and tariffs have dominated the media narrative, project logistics activity remains robust with traditional power generation and transmission infrastructure projects, as well as oil and gas logistics, leading the way.

However, the present administration continues to undermine the offshore wind energy industry. For instance, as this issue was being finalised, the government withdrew USD679 million in funding for 12 project it deemed ‘wasteful’ including USD426 million for the Humboldt Bay offshore wind terminal project in California and USD47 million for Sparrows Point Steel Marshalling Port project in Maryland. That state was dealt an earlier blow at the end of August when the Department of the Interior signalled its intent to revoke the approved construction and operations plan for US Wind’s 2.2 GW Maryland offshore wind project.

Despite shifting federal priorities, North America’s economy has proven robust and its project logistics sector is showing resilience. Major power grid upgrades, transformer projects and large-scale manufacturing developments are keeping our sector busy. Rising energy demand from data centres, AI and domestic production is generating robust pipelines of work in the power and industrial sectors. Logistics providers are pivoting into new verticals such as fuel cells and advanced manufacturing, ensuring strong activity levels and future growth opportunities.

Still, it remains to be seen whether the continually shifting stance on tariffs and trade will have lasting repercussions, and what the potential fallout for projects might be in a USD50 Brent oil price environment in 2026 as recently forecast by the US Energy Information Administration.

All of the above are certain to be talking points at Breakbulk Americas (Houston, Sept 30-Oct 2) and transport logistic Americas (Miami, Nov 11-13). The HLPFI team will be out in force at both events, and we encourage you to attend our conference sessions at the latter.

Our attention has not been stateside exclusively. In Europe, we’ve drilled into the issues that have made the UK one of the most difficult and expensive markets to contract in (pp54-62). We have also cast our eye over Poland (pp64-69), where economic growth is on a tear and large-scale renewable energy and nuclear power projects are set to keep logisticians busy for years to come, should the political status quo hold true. In our Caspian and Central Asia report (pp106-113), we find that as volatility pressurises traditional supply lines, its role in linking Europe, the Middle East and Asia is as important as ever.

Alongside this issue, you will also find our annual Ports and Terminals supplement. With new disruptions affecting supply chains on a seemingly daily basis, ports are in a unique position to assess what’s happening on the ground in the here and now. They act as both barometers of global trade and catalysts for regional growth, and the supplement provides some pertinent insight into shifting cargo flows, investment priorities, and infrastructure development.

David Kershaw – editor