Freightvine

This week’s guest is Dr. Alex Leslie, Senior Research Associate at the American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI), a not-for-profit research arm for the trucking industry. 

Alex is the lead author on ATRI’s latest research publication “Analysis of the Operational Costs of Trucking: 2025 Update”.  Using detailed polling and data analysis, Alex is able to reveal not only the current average per mile costs, but also changes in the individual cost components, the impact of carrier size on costs and underlying trends in trucking activities.  In our conversation, we discuss the report in detail and try to understand changes year over year - as well as what to expect going forward.   In the conversation, we discuss the deceleration of overall operational costs due to falling fuel prices, contrasted with rising non-fuel costs like truck and trailer payments, which are nearing the cost of fuel. The conversation also addresses driver wages and benefits, the shrinking of fleet sizes by carriers in response to a prolonged freight recession, and the challenges of forecasting market shifts given current economic and geopolitical uncertainties.

Following my conversation with Alex, I will provide the truckload market update.  So let’s get started . . .

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This week’s guest is Vishal Jadhav, Product Director at Blue Yonder. Everyone listening to this podcast knows of Blue Yonder. It is a company with a long history, from I2 to JDA, that has consistently been on the cutting edge of supply chain management software. Vishal has spent almost 20 years at Blue Yonder. His recent work and writings have delved into the evolution of Large Language Models (LLMs) and how they are being incorporated into supply chain solutions. Our conversation explores the differences between traditional Operations Research (OR) techniques and modern AI. Vishal highlights how these technologies can enhance optimization and decision-making by mimicking human reasoning and learning from experience. We also address the challenges of explainability in AI and the emerging concept of agentic AI, which suggests a future of more proactive and autonomous systems within the supply chain.

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This week’s guest is Andres Mendoza Pena, Partner at Kearney.  Andres is here to discuss Kearney and CSCMP's annual State of Logistics report, aptly titled "Navigating Through the Fog." This title reflects the high uncertainty in the macro context impacting supply chain executives, like driving through dense fog.  In our conversation, we discuss the "fragile optimism" in the economy and the "certainty of uncertainty" that supply chain executives need to embrace.  Andres also talks about the shifting dynamics in different transportation markets to include the reduction in size of the FTL market, the expansion of dedicated/private, and the LTL segment’s strong pricing discipline and high barriers to entry, leading to stable rates.  Finally, we talk about the future growth and adoption of autonomous trucking in the middle mile. 

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This week’s guest is Chadd Olesen, CEO of AVRL.  Founded in 2017 as Advanced Voice Research Labs, AVRL brought voice technology to business applications such as predictive maintenance.   They shifted however to dynamic pricing models after meeting with pricing analysts at some larger carriers and brokers.  Today, AVRL automates over 25 million spot transactions monthly and provides pricing engines for two thirds of the top 100 3PLs.  In our conversation, Chadd explains AVRL's approach to dynamic pricing, focusing on understanding client strategy (high volume/low margin or vice-versa) and utilizing custom market definitions rather than solely lane-based or standard zip code data. Olesen emphasizes the importance of analytics and data scientists in successful dynamic pricing, advocating for a human-in-the-loop approach where brokers and analysts collaborate. He also touches on the challenges of change management and the future of AVRL as a strategic partner for increasing yield and identifying market opportunities.

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This week’s guest is Matt Menner, Head of Transportation Management Sales at Uber Freight.  In our conversation, we discuss how the managed transportation sector has evolved, notably regarding the adoption of technology like AI and the increased use of spot or dynamic markets.  Matt also talks about the acquisition and integration of Transplace into Uber Freight, highlighting investments in technology and the blending of the cultures and businesses.  Finally, we touch upon the current market volatility and the increasing prominence of supply chain as a field of study.

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This week’s guest is Professor Michael Hicks, George & Frances Ball Distinguished Professor of Economics at Ball State University.  Mike brings an economist’s perspective on the recent introduction of tariffs as well their sudden modification or removal in many cases.  Being located in Indiana, Mike is keen on the impact that different policies have on manufacturing and agricultural firms and communities.  In our conversation we discuss the idea and objectives of tariffs in general as well as the specific impacts that the most recent tariffs have caused.  Mike notes that the effects will not be evenly distributed and that, in fact, Red States which have more manufacturing will be negatively impacted more than the Blue State areas which feature more knowledge workers in the services.  

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This week’s guest is Kristian ‘KO’ O’Meara, SVP Strategic Initiatives for Jaggaer.  KO has been with Jaggaer for just shy of 25 years filling a number of senior roles.  Currently, he works with the larger enterprise customers for the procurement of direct and indirect materials and services.  In our conversation, we zoom in primarily to freight transportation procurement - mainly TL.  We discuss the challenges of TL transportation procurement to include the breadth, scope, and complexities involved - as well as some of the more creative approaches that Jaggaer uses, such as expressive bidding and incorporating non-financial factors (such as sustainability or incumbency) into the vendor selection process.

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This week’s guest is Jason Haith, Vice President Commercial Forwarding US & Mexico, for DP World.  With 20+ years experience in Import/Export operations, Jason is the perfect person to discuss global trade in general and trade with Mexico in particular.  In our conversation, we discuss how trade between the US and Mexico has changed over the years, the impact of recent tariffs being enacted and then almost immediately modified or removed, and how Near or Friend shoring might evolve. 

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This week’s guest is Dr. Jason Miller, Professor and Head of the Supply Chain Management Department at Michigan State University's Eli Broad College of Business.  This is Jason’s 4th time on the Freightvine podcast -  we last had him on the podcast about two years ago when we were one year into what is now called the rate trough.  Jason discusses this and how the market was expected to have rebounded by now, but the spate of tariffs has definitely had an impact.   In our conversation we discuss tariffs both conceptually and in practice.  We also look back at the past several truckload business cycles and discuss what the next cycle might look like.  

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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. 

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