---
title: "#48 - Ships back at Suez, inflation at 5.4% and the EUDR at year end"
url: "https://www.compri.ai/en/blog/48-navi-di-nuovo-a-suez-inflazione-al-5-4-e-l-eudr-a-fine-anno"
language: "en-US"
category: "Blog"
subcategory: "Compri Bene Newsletter"
published: "2026-11-09"
updated: "2026-11-09T13:30:01+0000"
---

# #48 - Ships back at Suez, inflation at 5.4% and the EUDR at year end

> The compri.ai newsletter that gives Procurement teams superpowers, with the latest news in the world of purchasing, from regulatory changes to industry best practices.

Today we look at container ships returning to the Suez Canal, procurement leaders betting on AI without yet having clarity on roles, Italian inflation driven by energy, and the EUDR regulation ready to apply from 30 December.

## 🌎 Global outlook

#### 60% of Asia-Europe capacity is returning to Suez

After almost three years of detours around the Cape of Good Hope, container ships are returning to the Red Sea. According to Drewry's Red Sea Diversion Tracker, Drewry being a maritime shipping research firm, **53** container ships crossed the Suez Canal in both directions in the last week of October, **130%** more than in the same week of 2025. **60%** of capacity on the Asia-Europe route is passing through Suez again, and transits have stayed above 50 for **five** weeks.

Freight rates, meaning shipping tariffs, remain high though. Drewry's World Container Index of **5 November**, the weekly index of the cost of shipping a 40-foot container, shows:

- Shanghai-Genoa: **$4,166**, flat on the week
- Shanghai-Rotterdam: **$3,615**, down **2%**
- world average: **$4,389**, down **1%** and **124%** higher than a year ago

![Chart: 60% of Asia-Europe capacity is back via Suez, 53 transits in a week (+130% on a year). Freight rates: Shanghai-Genoa $4,166, Shanghai-Rotterdam $3,615, world average $4,389.](https://images.prismic.io/compri/gGasL06ZXEvGhv2e_image-1794215583333.png?auto=format,compress)

According to Drewry, the return via Suez shortens transit times and frees up capacity, while carriers try to apply base rate increases in mid-November. The short-term risk concerns European ports: ships arriving at the same time from both routes can create congestion and unloading delays.

The return coincides with negotiations on 2027 transport contracts. More capacity in circulation and shorter voyage times can push freight rates down, while today's prices still reflect almost three years of long routes: those who buy components and semi-finished goods in Asia have room to negotiate.

In the 2027 negotiations with freight forwarders and carriers, compare fixed rates with clauses tied to a public index such as the World Container Index, assessing duration and review conditions. Ask for the new transit times on your routes and, for November and December, allow a few days of margin on arrivals at European ports.

🔗 Sources

Drewry, World Container Index, 5 November 2026

Drewry, Red Sea Diversion Tracker, 3 November 2026

## 💻 Procurement & Tech

#### 63% of procurement leaders are betting on AI, only 25% have reorganised roles and tasks

On **8 October** Gartner, a technology research and advisory firm, published the results of two surveys concluded in **April 2026**: the 2026 Gartner Chief Procurement Officer Survey, of **213** senior procurement leaders, and the 2026 Gartner C-Suite AI Survey, of **1,303** executives from different functions, including **134** from Procurement.

What came out of them? **63%** of procurement leaders expect AI to significantly improve Procurement performance over the next three years, but only **25%** have already reorganised tasks and roles as a direct consequence of adopting AI.

![Chart: 63% of procurement leaders expect AI to benefit Procurement within three years, 25% have already redesigned roles; Gartner's three recommendations: redesign roles, protect skills, create a space to experiment.](https://images.prismic.io/compri/77wMfBeimU4oMrrv_image-1794215589725.png?auto=format,compress)

For Fareen Mehrzai, senior director analyst at Gartner, bringing AI into a function is "_fundamentally a role redesign challenge_". According to Gartner, the most exposed tasks are standardised, mid-skill ones, and those who postpone the reorganisation risk leaving people without a clear path. There are three recommendations:

- review roles together with employees, deciding which responsibilities belong to people and which should be delegated to AI
- regularly assess technical and personal skills, strengthening creativity, influence, flexibility and ethical judgement before they weaken
- create a protected space where the team can try out tools and workflows, treating failed experiments as part of learning

In our reading, the most affected figure is the operational buyer, who today spends a good part of the day on standard activities. When AI enters those processes, the practical question is about who does the buyer's job: which decisions stay with the person, which skills they need to strengthen and practise, and who explains to them how their work is changing. Clarifying this as early as possible makes adoption faster and reduces resistance.

🔗 Source

Gartner, survey on CPOs and role redesign with AI

## 📊 ProcureStat

#### ⚡ Inflation at 5.4%: the push comes mostly from energy

On **30 October** ISTAT (the Italian National Institute of Statistics) published the preliminary estimate of consumer prices for October. The NIC index (the national consumer price index for the whole population) grew **5.4%** year on year, from **4.2%** in September, and is back at the level of **August 2023**. The harmonised European index HICP rises to **5.6%**.

![Bar chart: Italian inflation in October 2026, regulated energy +59.5%, non-regulated energy +29.4%, goods +7.5%, general index +5.4%, core inflation +2.0%.](https://images.prismic.io/compri/xxf5kPQOGRMCZoJH_image-1794215593555.png?auto=format,compress)

The breakdown shows where the push comes from. Regulated energy grows **59.5%** (from **+25.8%** in September), non-regulated energy **29.4%** (from **+22.5%**), goods overall **7.5%**. Core inflation, excluding energy and fresh food, stays at **2.0%**. The index measures prices paid by households, and companies point in the same direction: in the S&P Global manufacturing PMI for October, down to **49.4**, input costs are growing at the fastest pace in four months, with energy among the items cited.

For those who buy, an inflation rate concentrated on energy has a precise consequence: in the coming months many increase requests will be justified by this cost item, and once they enter the base price they tend to stay there even when the cost of energy falls.

When a supplier asks for an energy-related increase, ask how much energy weighs on their production cost and accept the increase only on that share. Have it shown as a separate, temporary line on the invoice, with a review date or a reference to a public index that determines its reduction.

🔗 Sources

ISTAT, Consumer prices, provisional data October 2026

S&P Global, Italy Manufacturing PMI, October 2026

## ⚖️ Compliance Focus

#### EUDR: from 30 December it is the turn of large and medium companies

According to official sources, the EUDR (EU Deforestation Regulation) applies from **30 December 2026**. Those who first place on the European market (or export) products derived from cattle, cocoa, coffee, palm oil, rubber, soy and wood must demonstrate that they are deforestation-free, meaning they do not come from land deforested after **31 December 2020**, that they are produced in accordance with the laws of the country of origin and that they are covered by a due diligence statement, with information such as the geolocation of the plot of land of production.

![EUDR deadline calendar: 30 December 2026 large and medium companies, 30 June 2027 other micro and small companies, 30 December 2027 added products, with the commodities covered.](https://images.prismic.io/compri/kWu9csvyc9fzSl4v_image-1794215597022.png?auto=format,compress)

The timeline confirmed by the European Commission:

- **30 December 2026:** large and medium companies, plus micro and small companies in the wood sector
- **30 June 2027:** all other micro and small companies, meaning those with fewer than **50** employees and annual turnover linked to the products concerned below **10 million euros**
- **30 December 2027:** products added to the list by Delegated Regulation (EU) **2026/2102**, in force since **18 September**

Under the revision approved in December 2025, the statement is due only from whoever first places the product on the market; those who buy it and resell or process it afterwards do not have to submit it. According to the Commission's estimate (May 2026), the simplifications introduced since 2023, including the latest measures, will reduce annual compliance costs by about **75%** compared with the original text.

The same Delegated Regulation also narrowed the list of covered products: bovine leather, conveyor belts and other vulcanised rubber articles drop out, while for retreaded tyres only the new tread remains covered. Packaging used to support, protect or carry another product, samples, used products and waste remain excluded. From **30 December 2027**, instant coffee, frozen bovine tongue and some palm oil derivatives come in instead.

The EUDR therefore reaches purchases of wood and derivatives (including wooden furniture and seating), paper and cardboard, natural rubber and tyres. Those who import directly from a non-EU supplier are the first to place the product on the market and must submit the statement. Those who buy from a European supplier receive the reference numbers of the statements: companies that are not SMEs must verify them if a well-founded doubt arises, before reselling or exporting.

By December, cross-check the master data of the items you purchase with the updated Annex I codes and identify the covered products. For direct purchases from outside the EU, ask suppliers right away for the geolocation data of the production sites. For purchases from European suppliers, ask for the statement reference numbers and file them together with the orders, so you can verify them immediately in case of doubt.

🔗 Sources

European Commission, EUDR

European Parliament, changes to the EUDR, December 2025

European Commission, EUDR simplification review (IP/26/941)

Regulation (EU) 2025/2650, EUR-Lex

Delegated Regulation (EU) 2026/2102, EUR-Lex

European Commission, due diligence obligations

## And speaking of which:

Compri moves Procurement in manufacturing companies from operational work to work that creates value: negotiation, supplier management, spend analysis.

[Want to know more?](https://www.compri.ai/en)

## 🤔 In Short

November and December are the months in which the conditions for 2027 are set. On transport from Asia it pays to stay flexible while the Suez Canal sees container ships transit again. On energy-related increases it pays to accept only the justified share and keep it separate from the base price. On AI it pays to clarify early who does what in the team, and on the EUDR there is little more than a month and a half left to map the covered products.

Do you have feedback to share?

Write to us 📨 at [compribene@compri.ai](mailto:compribene@compri.ai) and let us know what you think! We are here to listen and make **Compri Bene** ever more useful and interesting.

**The Compri Bene team**