📦 Fuel. Food Dye. Fallout.
Start your engines (and maybe double-check your receipts), because today’s Dash is coming in hot.
🚗 Crude oil is creeping back up—Brent at $69.20, WTI at $67.57—thanks to Fourth of July traffic jams and sky-high travel demand. If you move freight, fuel surcharges just got a little spicier.
🌈 Health Secretary RFK Jr. is coming for your rainbow snacks. From Jell-O to Kool-Aid, synthetic dyes are on the chopping block—and candy makers like Mars are digging in their artificially-colored heels.
📢 And in the "oh no, not again" category: Costco just dropped a massive product recall including tires, AC units, dumbbells, power banks, and sandwiches (yes, sandwiches). It’s a reverse logistics party—and you’re invited.
Let’s dash. 👇
“Customer service is the new marketing, it’s what differentiates one business from another.”
⛽️📈 Oil Prices Are Climbing—And So Are Your Logistics Costs
Crude is back on the rise—up 1% Monday—with Brent at $69.20 and WTI at $67.57, fueled (pun intended) by surging travel demand and a little Fourth of July road trip chaos.
Meanwhile, OPEC+ just announced a 548K bpd boost for August, bringing back nearly 80% of previously cut production. But not every member can deliver, and Saudi Arabia’s price hike to Asia shows they’re still bullish on demand.
📍 Why logistics professionals should care:
Oil doesn’t just move the world—it moves your numbers. Diesel, jet fuel, ocean freight costs—it’s all on the line. Toss in U.S. tariff uncertainty, Red Sea ship attacks, and global diplomacy roulette, and yeah... you’ve got a supply chain on edge.
🔥 Hot Take:
OPEC’s pumping. The world’s panicking. If you’re not hedging your fuel risk, you’re not just moving freight—you’re driving blindfolded on a cliffside.
🍭 RFK Jr. vs. the Rainbow: Synthetic Dye Showdown Heats Up
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is putting the pressure on America’s biggest food brands to ditch synthetic dyes. Kraft Heinz, PepsiCo, Nestlé, and General Mills are on board to phase them out by 2027. But candy makers? Still clinging to Red 40 like it's 1999. Mars (yep, the M&M’s people) says it’s complicated—natural dyes cost more, fade faster, and make candy taste weird (nobody wants beet-flavored Skittles).
While the feds are keeping it voluntary, states like Texas and West Virginia are stepping in with bans and warning labels. RFK’s “Make America Healthy Again” push may not have full industry compliance yet—but it's gaining ground.
📦 Why logistics should care:
Ingredient changes = SKU updates, packaging redesigns, and region-specific inventory headaches. Expect shifts in reefer freight demand, new vendor sourcing, and rerouted supply lanes.
🔥 Hot Take:
Candy’s clinging to synthetic dyes, but logistics will be the one stuck cleaning up the spill. Hope your warehouse loves surprise SKU swaps.
🚨 Costco Recall Mayhem: Mold, Meltdowns & Missed Deliveries 🚛
If you move consumer goods, you might want to sit down for this one.
Costco just issued a major recall on a laundry list of products—including Danby & Midea U-shaped window A/C units (hello, mold issues), Anker power banks (think overheating and potential fire hazards), and a slew of other items like Michelin & Bridgestone tires, BowFlex dumbbells, Ninja Foodi appliances, Segway scooters, and even pre-packaged sandwiches.
Yup, it’s a full-blown recall rodeo.
📦 Why Logistics Professionals Should Care:
This isn’t just a product safety thing—it’s a reverse logistics nightmare. When big-box recalls hit, we’re talking warehouse disruptions, freight reroutes, repackaging chaos, return surges, and SLA stress. If you're in last-mile delivery, fulfillment, or 3PL operations—you will feel this one.
🔥 Hot Take:
It’s not the moldy A/C or fire-risk power bank that’ll burn you—it’s the unprepared supply chain. Recalls don't just test products, they test your flexibility, routing strategy, and how well your return infrastructure holds up under pressure.
The Workday Dash is an aggregation of articles regarding the transportation logistics, trucking, and supply chain industries for July 15, 2025, from iLevel Logistics Inc.