Shipping industry urged to boost AI adoption for growth

The global shipping industry has been urged to increase its adoption of artificial intelligence in order to capitalise on opportunities for increased productivity and growth.

Brian Hack, Managing Director of freight forwarding business EES Shipping, has highlighted that the sector risks missing out on innovation, efficiency, and recruitment gains if it fails to accelerate its embrace of AI technology. Hack's comments follow the release of the 2025 MHI Annual Industry Report, which surveyed more than 700 supply chain leaders worldwide and found that only 28% are currently utilising AI, with principal barriers cited including lack of understanding, unclear business cases, and insufficient budgets.

Hack said: "One of the major challenges I believe comes from within the industry itself. We're trying to implement relatively new technology into what is arguably one of the oldest industries in the world. The global supply chain hasn't changed all that much over several decades, so how does AI fit into what might be antiquated ways of operating?"

He added: "We need to be prepared to rethink how we do things as an industry to potentially make better use of new technology."

Discussing issues around data and documentation standards, Hack noted that the international shipping sector commonly works with similar data sets but that slight differences pose challenges for the deployment of AI programs. He stated: "While the global industry operates under largely the same data and document sets, the slight variations currently make it difficult for AI programs to accommodate."

Hack continued: "I don't think the industry currently is making the most of what AI can do, especially around data entry and document reading. There's an opportunity there to create efficiencies, if we're prepared to implement greater standardisation of data."

He also identified the ageing workforce as another hurdle for technology adoption within the sector. "Shipping and logistics is an older industry in terms of the average age of the workforce, which can be a barrier when it comes to adopting new technology," he explained.

Hack stressed the importance of training and education to overcome reluctance to adopt AI. "We need to make sure we're offering adequate training and education so employees can see the potential benefits and opportunities technology presents, rather than being fearful or concerned."

He outlined several key opportunities that greater AI adoption could offer the shipping sector. In terms of efficiency, Hack said AI can streamline processes including data entry, cross-checking, and document reading, which could accelerate approvals and reduce the likelihood of errors. On the subject of innovation, he identified possibilities for AI to contribute through data analysis and trend prediction, supporting sustainability goals, providing better tracking, and creating more tailored customer experiences. "I'm sure there are ways we can implement AI to our advantage that we haven't even considered yet," he said.

Hack also linked the adoption of new technologies to the challenge of attracting younger talent to the industry. "Younger workers have grown up with technology embedded in their everyday lives. How can we encourage them into our industry if the technology isn't up to the standard they already know exists?" he asked.

While acknowledging likely concerns about job losses due to automation, Hack expressed confidence that new opportunities would arise as technology changes the nature of work. "It's about working smarter and thinking of different ways of operating. As an example, we used to employ 'runners' to physically take documents from one place to another. That role doesn't exist anymore, but what we do have is dedicated staff in IT – those positions didn't exist 20 years ago."

Hack issued a warning about the ramifications of inaction in adopting AI within the shipping sector. "Sectors that are embracing AI technology are moving ahead and making significant progress. Some may say that if the supply chain doesn't take meaningful steps to implement AI the industry will be left behind, however I would argue that we're already behind now, and we need to catch up sooner rather than later."