This week’s guest is Ben Steffes, Vice President, Solutions & Strategy, Managed Transportation, at RXO.  Ben was last on the Freightvine 3 years ago when he had just published a white paper on Logistics KPIs for Coyote.  RXO acquired Coyote in the fall of 2024, so this time we talk about the RXO white paper on Logistics KPIs that Ben recently authored as a follow-up to and expansion of the 2022 study.   In our conversation, we discuss changes in how logistics performance was measured during the pandemic and now post-pandemic, how shippers, carriers, and brokers have aligned on important metrics, and the impact of the increasing use of technology like AI and control towers.  We also touch upon strategies for shippers to become "shippers of choice," and on the evolving role of brokers and the dynamics of consolidation in the logistics industry.  It was a pretty wide ranging conversation covering different aspects of freight transportation. 

This week’s guest is Dr. Josue Velazquez Martinez.  Josue is a Research Scientist at MIT’s Center for Transportation & Logistics and is also the Director of MIT's Sustainable Supply Chain Lab.  In our conversation, we discuss his lab's focus on environmental and social sustainability within supply chains.  Josue describes the lab's work on the sustainability of freight transportation, emphasizing the need for diverse decarbonization strategies and better measurement of scope three emissions. Also, we discuss the annual State of Supply Chain Sustainability report, co-published with the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP), that tracks trends in corporate sustainability efforts.  

Additionally, Josue introduces the Low Income Firms Transformation (or LIFT) Lab that he also leads.  The LIFT Lab empowers Latin American and Caribbean micro-retailers and micro-restaurants (also known as nanostores) by enhancing their supply chain management skills and developing and deploying AI driven technology to improve their business operations.  The ultimate objective of the LIFT Lab is to alleviate poverty in these regions. 

This week’s guest is Kary Jablonski, VP & GM, Broker Growth & Trucker Tools at DAT Freight & Analytics.  As her title implies, Kary previously led Trucker Tools before its acquisition by DAT at the end of 2024. Our conversation centers on her path to the freight industry, her experiences transforming Trucker Tools into a leading visibility and tracking solution for freight brokerages, and the company's subsequent acquisition by DAT. Kary shares insights on the evolution of Trucker Tools as well as the dynamics of the freight technology market including consolidation and the role of technology like AI.  Finally, the conversation touches on broader industry trends such as the relationship between brokers, carriers, and shippers, and the balance between contract and spot freight.

This week’s guest is Mike Roeth, Executive Director of the North American Council for Freight Efficiency or NACFE.  NACFE has been around for over 15 years - originating from a workshop run by the Rocky Mountain Institute in 2009.  Their objective is to drive the development and adoption of efficiency enhancing, environmentally beneficial, and cost-effective technologies, services, and operational practices in the movement of goods across North America.  Mike has been leading NACFE in these efforts pretty much since its inception.  In the conversation, Mike discusses the concept of the “Messy MIddle” - a term that NACFE introduced to the industry.  The Messy Middle is the period between the trucking industry transitioning from a well established and known technology (that would be diesel internal combustion engines) to a future technology (zero emission battery electric vehicles).  Major technology transitions are never simple or clean, and NACFE recognizes this and analyzes how different powertrain technologies (to include Renewable diesel, Biodiesel, Natural Gas, Green Hydrogen, and battery electric) can be employed to bridge this middle ground.   In the podcast, Mike discusses how different trucking operations (payload, duty cycle, required range) are better suited to different powertrain technologies, highlights the challenges and hurdles to the adoption of these powertrain technologies, and outlines the roles that the various stakeholders play.

This week’s guest is Bobby Holland,  Vice President and Director, Freight Business Analytics, at US Bank.  US Bank has been around since 1863 and is currently the 5th largest bank in the United States.  They also process over $40B in freight payments each year.   In our conversation, Bobby explains his unexpected entry into the trucking industry and the incredible reliance everyone has on it.  He also discusses how US Bank’s Freight Payment Index provides data-driven insights into freight trends at the national and regional levels and utilizes a "same-source sales" type algorithm to ensure data accuracy.  The conversation also touches on challenges and importance of data integration, quality, and governance.  Finally, Bobby discusses future plans for the index, including incorporating more transportation modes and using AI for predictive analytics.

This week’s guest is Jerrod Mounce, Vice President of Energy & Sustainability at JB Hunt.  Our conversation focuses on JB Hunt’s sustainability initiatives and the broader landscape of alternative fuels in trucking.  Jerrod discusses his 26-year career at JB Hunt, detailing his shift from operations to a focus on fuel efficiency and sustainability. He highlights the complexities of fuel surcharge programs and JB Hunt's commitment to reducing greenhouse gas emissions intensity by 32% by 2034. The conversation explores the challenges and opportunities in transitioning to alternative energy platforms, such as electric and natural gas, and the importance of a "polyfuel" approach. Jerrod emphasizes the need for technological advancements in battery technology, considering economic factors, and achieving carbon reduction targets. Finally we discuss the role drivers and technology play in fuel efficiency.

This week’s guest is Matt McLelland, VP of Sustainability and Innovation at Covenant Logistics Group.  

In our conversation today we discuss the connection between sustainability and innovation, the potential impact of emerging technologies, and the paroles of overly prescriptive regulations. We also talk about the pros and cons for alternative fuels. Matt makes a strong case for having regulations that encourage innovation in a variety of different energy platforms, rather than dictating a single one. All shippers, carries, and brokers can learn from this conversation. 

This week’s guest is Ian Jefferies, President and CEO, Association of American Railroads.  

Ian has been with the AAR for over 10 years taking over as President in 2019.  Ian was last on the Freightvine in February 2023 and obviously a lot has happened since then.  In the conversation, Ian talks about the long term effect of the 2022 Railroad Labor Dispute, how the rail industry is currently evolving, and where it is heading over the long-term.  He discusses the challenges of adopting new technologies that improve both safety and efficiency in a highly unionized and regulated industry and finishes up discussing cybersecurity noting the critical role that railroads play in the national infrastructure.    

This week’s guest is Andrew Petrisin, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Multimodal Freight in the U.S. Department of Transportation and the creator of the USDOT’s Freight Logistics Optimization Works or FLOW. FLOW is a public private partnership whereby different players in the global supply chain share previously unshared commercial data to better understand changes in international freight flows.  These data are securely anonymized and harmonized within the platform and the results are available for the members to use in their analysis.  Created and launched by Andrew just over three years ago during the depths of the massive containership backlogs in West Coast ports, FLOW is  now a well-established source of freight flow data as well as a consortium of almost 100 supply chain partners ranging from port operators, ocean carriers, trucking companies, railroads, freight brokers as well as manufacturers, retailers, and distributors.  In our conversation we discuss the importance of being a neutral trusted party and how trust is earned (hint - consistency over time), how different companies are using FLOW both strategically and tactically, and the challenges of getting so many private sector organizations (to include competitors) to contribute detailed data.  

This week’s guests are my two DAT iQ colleagues: Ken Adamo, Chief of Analytics, and Dean Croke, Principal Analyst. This is our annual end of the year podcast where we revisit our predictions from last year, discuss the major issues of the current year, and take our best guesses as to what will happen next year.   As always our conversation ranged wide - to include the continued soft market of 2024, challenges of current air travel, predictions of a rising market in 2025, the impact of the election, and the misery of being an Ohio football fan.  Our predictions from 2023 for the spot market were pretty much dead on - while our contract forecasts were slightly off the mark.