AI vertical among those most exposed to Middle East conflict; After US airstrikes, Iran declares Hormuz "closed" to all vessel traffic; April 2026 Freight TSI rose 0.3% from March 2026

EU deploys new sanctions on Iran over Hormuz restrictions

The EU has approved sanctions against Iranian a regional command of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy and two Iranian individuals over Iran’s restrictions on freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.

The Hormozgan Provincial Command of the IRGC Navy have been sanctioned by the Council of the EU, along with the IRGC Navy’s deputy commander of political affairs, Mohammad Akbarzadeh, and Hamid Hosseini, a representative of Iran’s Oil, Gas and Petrochemical Products Exporters’ Union.

After US airstrikes, Iran declares Hormuz "closed" to all vessel traffic

Oil futures ticked up Thursday morning as Iran and the United States traded strikes and counterstrikes, with renewed threats of violence prompting energy traders to consider timing predictions for the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. 

The escalation cycle began Monday when an Iranian drone downed a U.S. Army helicopter in the Strait of Hormuz, forcing the U.S. Navy to launch an inventive and successful rescue operation. Both helicopter pilots survived and were delivered to shore in stable condition.

AI vertical among those most exposed to Middle East conflict

AI, which has become a key driver of air cargo demand, is among the verticals most exposed should the Middle East conflict continue into next year, according to a major study.

In its latest Economic Outlook, the Paris-headquartered Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), a global policy forum who membership totals almost 40 industrialized countries, lays out a ‘prolonged disruption scenario’.

This assumes that the current disruptions to energy production and exports in the Gulf economies persist well into 2027, with higher energy prices, intensifying risks of supply shortages and a tightening of global financial conditions, all of which carry broader and more long-lasting consequences for the global economy.

April 2026 Freight TSI rose 0.3% from March 2026 and rose 1.4% from April 2025

The Freight Transportation Services Index (TSI), rose 0.3% in April from March, rising for the third consecutive month, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS). From April 2025 to April 2026 the index rose 1.4%. The Freight TSI measures the amount of freight carried by the for-hire transportation industry.

The Freight TSI increased in April due to increases in air freight, rail carloads, trucking, and water while rail intermodal and pipeline volumes decreased.