GUEST: Curtis Garrett, co-founder and CEO, at Lateral 

Topics covered in this podcast included: how shippers and LTL carriers can work to improve collaboration efforts; the current state of the LTL market; how shippers should approach the market; the current state of LTL service; and LTL-focused technology, among others. 

Curtis Garrett has spent his entire career immersed in LTL. After eight years at ODFL in operations and yield management, he led LTL pricing and services across three managed transportation providers, sharpening his expertise in carrier strategy, managed LTL, and operational efficiency. He's the creator of Understand LTL (ULTL), the industry's first community dedicated to education, transparency, and real conversation. Now in its third year, ULTL has hosted 300+ LTL professionals in highly interactive events, courses, and mastermind sessions. He launched rateHero in 2024, an LTL-focused agency improving how shippers, brokers, and carriers handle pricing, RFPs, and reporting, and co-founded ShipTest, the first LTL routing verification tool. Today, Curtis is Co-founder and CEO of Lateral, an LTL routing-to-pricing coordination layer, after rolling rateHero's best practices and ShipTest's data into a single platform focused on automating RFP to Awards in the LTL market.

GUEST: Bart De Muynck, industry expert and thought leader and Head Thinker at Better Supply Chains.

Topics covered in this podcast were: the current state of logistics technology, in terms of how quickly AI has changed things over the last 12-to-18 months; what shippers need to do to better leverage technology, for things like sourcing, planning, strategy, and network optimization; a look at digital freight matching technnology; top logistics trends and themes; and things shippers need to be focusing on, both now and into the future.

Bart De Muynck is an Industry Expert and Thought Leader with over 30 years of Supply Chain and Logistics experience. Bart has worked for major international companies such as EY, GE Capital, Penske Logistics, PepsiCo as well as several Tech companies. Bart spent 8 years as a VP of Research at Gartner where he was also the chair of the Supply Chain Symposium. He later served as the Chief Industry Officer at project44. Bart is a sought-after speaker who is currently advising multiple companies and industry organizations in Supply Chain. He is an author and Head Thinker of the thought leadership website Better Supply Chains. Bart is also a member of SCLA, CSCMP and part of the leadership at CSCMP's Executive Inner Circle.

GUEST: Andrew Sibold, IANA Director of Economics and Freight Policy 

Topics covered in this podcast were: the current state of the intermodal market; volumes and services; the current state of demand for intermodal services; the impact of tariffs and trade policy on intermodal; the proposed Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern merger; and how the Iran conflict is affecting the sector, among others. 

Andrew Sibold is Director of Economics & Freight Policy at the Intermodal Association of North America, where he serves as the industry's economist and leads IANA's market intelligence program. He is the architect of BEACON, IANA's proprietary freight data platform, and creator of the Intermodal Volume Index (IVI), the industry's seasonally adjusted headline measure of North American intermodal activity, alongside a growing suite of fluidity, port, and leading indicators. His analysis appears in IANA's monthly Intermodal Market Monitor and weekly Flash Update, and his commentary on freight markets has been featured in national logistics media. Before joining IANA, Andrew spent five years as a financial and economic analyst at the Federal Highway Administration and served as a U.S. Army captain. He holds graduate degrees in economics, public policy, econometrics, and international relations.

GUEST: Luke Martin, Global Logistics Lead, Corporate Global Supply Chain Operations, at Lockheed Martin. 

Topics covered in this podcast were: Lockheed's approach to LTL planning and operations; the company's approach to managing transportation costs; truckload procurement, and trade and tariffs, among others. 

Lucas “Luke” Martin is the Enterprise Logistics Lead for Lockheed Martin’s Global Supply Chain  Operation. In this capacity, he is responsible for leading the Corporation’s Global Logistics Program. This includes the strategic, operational, and financial platforms of corporate transportation agreements across all modes and geographies, supply chain security, global freight payment and program freight charging. Mr. Martin is also responsible for Lockheed’s Supply Chain Security Program. His team manages a global spend of $400M in logistics activity for the world’s largest defense contractor.

Previously, Mr. Martin was a Distribution Analyst, Corporate Global Supply Chain Operations for Lockheed Martin Corporate. In that role, he was responsible for all aspects of freight payment, freight analytics, and special projects.

Throughout his career, Mr. Martin has led several critical initiatives for Lockheed Martin Corporation, including the corporation’s Tier III CTPAT accreditation, Value Accelerator (transportation) indirect category, Corporate 3PL implementation, centralized freight payment and metrics, delivering all reported transportation savings dollars, and serving as an embedded subject matter expert for logistics, transportation, and freight accounting at the enterprise level.

Mr. Martin has a Master of Science in Enterprise Information Systems from Colorado Technical University, a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Embry-Riddle University and is a Lockheed Martin certified Six Sigma Black Belt.  

GUEST: Luke Martin, Global Logistics Lead, Corporate Global Supply Chain Operations, at Lockheed Martin

Topics covered in this podcast were: Lockheed's approach to LTL planning and operations; the company's apprpach to managinh transportation costs; truckload procurement, and trade and tariffs, among others. 

Lucas “Luke” Martin is the Enterprise Logistics Lead for Lockheed Martin’s Global Supply Chain  Operation. In this capacity, he is responsible for leading the Corporation’s Global Logistics Program. This includes the strategic, operational, and financial platforms of corporate transportation agreements across all modes and geographies, supply chain security, global freight payment and program freight charging. Mr. Martin is also responsible for Lockheed’s Supply Chain Security Program. His team manages a global spend of $400M in logistics activity for the world’s largest defense contractor.

Previously, Mr. Martin was a Distribution Analyst, Corporate Global Supply Chain Operations for Lockheed Martin Corporate. In that role, he was responsible for all aspects of freight payment, freight analytics, and special projects.

Throughout his career, Mr. Martin has led several critical initiatives for Lockheed Martin Corporation, including the corporation’s Tier III CTPAT accreditation, Value Accelerator (transportation) indirect category, Corporate 3PL implementation, centralized freight payment and metrics, delivering all reported transportation savings dollars, and serving as an embedded subject matter expert for logistics, transportation, and freight accounting at the enterprise level.

Mr. Martin has a Master of Science in Enterprise Information Systems from Colorado Technical University, a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Embry-Riddle University and is a Lockheed Martin certified Six Sigma Black Belt.  

GUEST: Rick LaGore, CEO InTek Intermodal Logistics

Topics covered in this podcast included: the current state of the intermodal market, in terms of volumes, service, and rates; the impact of the Iran conflict on intermodal; the intersection of key economic indicators and intermodal; the proposed Union Pacific-Norfolk Southern merger; trade and tariffs, and modal shifts, among others. 

Rick LaGore is CEO of InTek Logistics, an Indianapolis-based logistics company specializing in door-to-door intermodal transportation throughout North America. With more than 37 years of transportation and logistics experience, Rick has spent the past two decades focused almost exclusively on intermodal transportation, helping shippers develop long-term strategies that improve service, reduce costs, and create more sustainable supply chains.

Under his leadership, InTek has grown into a leading privately held door-to-door intermodal provider in the U.S., serving customers across a wide range of industries. Rick is a recognized voice in the transportation industry, known for his analysis of freight market trends, transportation economics, and the relationship between truckload and intermodal markets. He is a frequent contributor to industry discussions on capacity, pricing, and supply chain strategy.

Throughout his career, Rick has worked with shippers, railroads, trucking companies, and logistics providers across North America, giving him a broad perspective on the challenges and opportunities shaping today's supply chains.

GUEST: Dean Croke, Principal Analyst, DAT Freight & Analytics

Topics covered in this podcast included: the current state of the spot and contract truckload markets, including rates and pricing and capacity; how key economic indicators are impacting the market; federal government impact on capacity reduction initiatives; trade and tariffs; and Peak Season, among other topics.

Dean Croke is DAT Freight & Analytics’ principal industry analyst, with more than 35 years in commercial transportation, data science, and risk management. A CDL holder and DAT analyst since 2020, Dean is one of the industry’s leading voices and shares market updates weekly at dat.com and on DAT’s YouTube channel.

GUEST: Chris Wyndham, President and CEO, Revenova

In this podcast, which was recorded in an on-stage session at the SMC3 Connections conference in Palm Beach, Fla., Chris Wyndham, President and CEO, at Chicago-based Revenova, a cloud application provider of transportation management solutions for freight brokers, third-party logistics (3PL) companies, carriers, and shippers, provided a detailed overview of ways in which AI can serve as a competitive advantage and what steps companies need to take to differentiate themselves from the competition. 

Topics covered in this podecast included: AI supply chain and logistics best practices; things to consider when starting to implement AI into your logistics and supply chain decision-making processes; and real-world examples of AI at work in freight transportation, among others. 

Wyndham joined Revenova in February. He has extensive leadership experience across vertical SaaS organizations, including the retail sectors of automotive, powersports, marine, heavy equipment, and recreation. He has built a reputation for scaling high-growth technology companies while maintaining strong operational discipline and customer focus.

GUEST: Randy Mullett, transportation lobbyist

Topics covered in this podcast included: the current state of transportation infrastructure at the national and federal level; the United States Department of Transportation's 2026 National Freight Strategic Plan; the BUILD America 250 Act; and the ASCE's 2025 infrastructure report card, among others. 

Randy Mullett is a retired member of Con-way’s executive leadership team and long-time D.C.-based transportation lobbyist. His time inside the Beltway included: testifying several times before Congress and the White House Council of Economic Advisors; being named a member of the National Freight Advisory Committee; and serving as Vice-Chair of National Cooperative Freight Research Program of the National Academies of Science. After leaving Con-way, he had his own lobby practice in D.C,, representing Clients ranging from Fortune 50 Transportation Companies to Tech start-ups. Today, Randy is a Senior Partner at Venture 53, a venture fund focused on early stage supply chain tech companies. He also advises several tech start-ups and serves on several company boards. He and his wife now live in Charlottesville, VA.

GUEST: Cassandra Gaines, Founder & CEO, Carrier Assure

In this podcast, LM Group News Editor Jeff Berman interviewed Cassandra Gaines, Founder & CEO of Carrier Assure, a transportation risk management platform she built to help brokers and shippers identify carriers that may meet modern industry vetting standards, using safety, fraud, and operational data. Topics covered included: the recent Supreme Court on broker liability, regarding whether freight brokers can be under state negligence law for hiring unsafe trucking companies and its impact on carriers, shippers, and brokers; lessons learned from the ruling; and how the ruling could impact carrier selection.

Cassandra Gaines is the Founder & CEO of Carrier Assure, a transportation risk management platform she built to help brokers and shippers identify carriers that may meet modern industry vetting standards using safety, fraud, and operational data. She is also a nationally recognized transportation attorney and expert witness specializing in broker liability, carrier vetting, and transportation risk management. She advises brokers, shippers, insurers, and law firms on negligent selection exposure, FMCSA safety data, cargo theft prevention, and defensible carrier selection practices. Gaines previously held legal and leadership roles at large brokerages and trucking companies and has become a leading voice on transportation safety analytics and broker standard of care issues. She has spoken at more than 100 industry conferences nationwide and was named one of Business Insider’s “100 People Transforming Business in North America.”