Cover Story Breakbulk & Project Cargo
Behind the times
Project cargo sector disadvantaged by lag in AI adoption
By Eric Johnson and Carly Fields
complexity off to forwarders , which exacerbates a lack of understanding of AI for many shippers .
“ Speaking to an [ engineering , procurement and construction ] client recently on this very topic , while they have major interest in the potential of AI — in the design and predictability space — there are major question marks in terms of security ,” said Tim Killen , head of growth for the project sector at forwarder Fracht . “ And this seems to be echoed with key stakeholders involved in the complex , proprietary technology-based capex project value chain . But tech moves fast , faster than us project guys do , so let ’ s see .”
Killen said “ it ’ s likely ” that AI will have little impact in project logistics execution in the short term .
“ But its potential functionality , benefit and development will be where we need to explore as an industry to understand how this could be utilized in the future ,” he said .
Colaco said e2log has long used AI on the development side , but it hasn ’ t focused on providing AI tools to customers because “ most are not asking about AI functionality in the platform as of now but want to know the AI roadmap .” e2log is working with a customer on narrowing down how AI could help identify exceptions across a high volume of shipments more effectively , or to query a database using an AI agent for a piece of information that would normally require a broader report to be run .
“ They want us to use AI to narrow down the focus , to understand what ’ s happening with shipments that could slow down a project schedule ,” Colaco said .
Shippers still on the fence
The project cargo industry has only just started to voyage down the path of uncovering how AI might help it become more efficient , stakeholders in the sector tell the Journal of Commerce .
While AI is taking hold of most categories of cargo movement — from AI agents powering domestic truckload brokers to pricing optimization tools for global forwarders — the project and breakbulk sectors are lagging .
One reason project logistics has been unable to adopt AI is that the industry still struggles to maintain clean and structured data , a prerequisite for most AI use cases .
“ One of the fundamental challenges is people look at AI as tools ,” said Adolph Colaco , CEO of e2log , a software vendor catering to industrial and project cargo shippers . “ But you need to have your master data cleaned , you need standard nomenclatures .”
And with different enterprise resource planning systems , trade compliance systems and systems added through mergers and acquisitions , “ you cannot accomplish what you want with AI unless you get the foundational data cleaned , structured [ and ] put on a digital platform ,” Colaco added . “ Only then will AI work .”
Two hurdles to technology adoption in the project cargo space are especially problematic when it comes to AI . First , cargo movement is not as consistent or repeatable as in other sectors , a problem of scale that has inhibited all but a handful of vendors from building management and execution tools for project shippers .
Secondly , shippers are generally happy to hand
Shippers continue to search for value from AI , whether solving problems or creating efficiencies , but can be hesitant to commit .
“ My indifference towards AI is that I often struggle to see how it really applies to the breakbulk industry and if it
“ You cannot accomplish what you want with AI unless you get the foundational data cleaned .”
really brings any value ,” an industry source who asked not to be identified told the Journal of Commerce . “ AI needs to be something that can be applied now and bring value , and I see early AI adoption as something that will not do our jobs for us , but rather tools that will make our jobs easier .”
The source said AI tools are already prevalent in the broader supply chain management environment via tools that help identify and evaluate supply chain resilience or forecast and plan inventory .
“ The challenge is how do we bring similar immediate value to the breakbulk industry ?” he said .
Ritesh Nair , vice president and global sales director at Rhenus Project Logistics USA , wrote in a blog in September that “ while AI is still in its infancy , the more it is used , the better it will get .” www . joc . com March 2025 | Journal of Commerce 13