Freight, Logistics & Shipping Podcast

Happy Thanksgiving!

It’s the Thanksgiving special episode of Supply Chain Squares, the game show where logistics and transportation industry professionals compete to win in a game of tic-tac-toe! How much will our experts know about the Thanksgiving holiday?

Thank you to all of our guests for making this such a fun episode!

HP Hood stops by the Stay In Your Lane podcast to discuss the increase in operational expenses for their private truck fleet. They are seeing record increases in expenses that allow them to run the fleet. Operational Expenses include things like insurance, driver wages, fuel costs, taxes and licensing/permits. This doesn’t even include the cost of equipment!

Across the country Private Trucking Fleets & Shippers are seeing skyrocketing operational expenses. Fuel, insurance, recruitment and fraud. These are a few of the expenses Litehouse foods have expertly navigated over the past two years through the pandemic and the recent economic uncertainty. Be Sure to tune in next week where we get HP Hood’s insight on their increased expenses.

Who is responsible for gas price gouging? Is it the big oil companies or the government? There are many factors including the diesel shortage. Dan North from Allianz Trade North America provides some insight and some interesting metrics to look at for the pricing of gas and diesel fuel in the United States.

Are we heading into an energy crisis? With diesel shortages on the horizon and OPEC cutting production, will there be any relief with gas and diesel prices? Dan North with Allianz Trade North America breaks down the current housing and energy markets.

Happy Halloween! Today our guests dressed up in their favorite Halloween costumes and compete to win a game of tic tac toe. When do shippers start to ship for Halloween? How much candy does the US consume for Halloween? What is the most popular Halloween candy? Find out today, on Supply Chain Squares!

Supply Chain Squares is a logistics-based game show for shippers, carriers and logistics professionals. Industry leaders from across the U.S.A. offer advice to contestants, who compete to win in a game of tic tac toe.

Special Thanks to our guests:

Joe Lombardo – Ege Avenue Associates

Jim Huber – Century Resources, Inc.

Pat Musser – HP Hood Matt Mahle – Triple T Transport

Amanda Dexter – Litehouse Foods

Thomas Kern – Kern Kendrick, LLC

Debbie Lombardo – Tarrier Foods

Wendy Workman – SK Food Group

Katie Devine – Triple T Transport

Ben Hong – Triple T Transport

And, our Mystery Guest – to be revealed on the Christmas Special!

Are we going into another energy crisis? The USA’s fuel reserves are now at a 50-year low as OPEC announces production cuts and the Russian Invasion is causing a gas and energy shortage across Europe and Great Britain. It’s also been decades since a new oil refinery has been built in the USA. All of these factors lead us to fear that an energy crisis with gas shortages and fuel lines could soon be looming. Bob Costello, chief economist with the American Trucking Associations, guides us through these widespread issues as we look at diesel prices into the fall and winter.

FourKites is a freight and shipping tracking software platform. Triple T Transport and Organic Valley sit down to honestly review FourKites, both companies use it every day. Learn about the benefits and disadvantages with integrating FourKites tracking software with your current freight management software.

Is the logistics and transportation industry over-saturated with 3PL brokers? Estimates on how many brokers in the industry vary wildly between 17,000 and 100,000. John Mahle with Triple T Transport estimates that there are at least 20,000 brokers operating in the United States. Many of which have been added in the last several years. Joe Lombardo with Ege Avenue Associates references a market research paper that estimates a huge increase of over 36% growth over the next 6 years.

Is there hidden capacity in the trucking industry? A recent survey by FleetOps shows that drivers are experiencing more and more unused hours over the course of the first half of this year. Will this trend continue or will we hit a breaking point? Joe Lombardo with Ege Avenue Associates helps us digest the meaning behind the data and where he sees the future of capacity in the industry.

How will market slow-down and high interest rates/inflation affect bids and requests for proposals (RFPs)? Moving forward, refrigerated freight is expected to decrease while new union issues and legislation is expected to put even more stress on the industry. During times like these it’s important to keep up to date on freight news and logistics updates. Thankfully, we have Joe Lombardo to advise us on the current market, offering his extensive experience to guide us through the storm.

What does the trucking & freight economy have in store for Q4 2022 and 2023? Bob Costello with the American Trucking Associations steps in to give us a glimpse into what we can expect for shippers, carriers and the whole supply chain over the next few months.

This month’s episode of Supply Chain Squares features some of the top experts in the logistics industry. Will they lead our competitors to a win, or will they trick them into saying the wrong answers? Whichever route they choose, there will be many laughs along the way! We would like to thank our guests and contestants:

• Melissa Davis – Triple T Transport
• Lucas McCarty – Triple T Transport
• Pat Musser – HP Hood
• Thomas Kern – Kern Kendrick, LLC
• Slate Kamp – Lighthouse Foods
• Wendy Workman – SK Food Group
• Matt Mahle – Triple T Transport
• Debbie Lombardo – Tarrier Foods Corp.
• Scott Oliver – HP Hood
• Todd Burk
• Joe Lombardo – Ege Avenue Associates

Assembly Bill 5 (AB5) is a piece of legislation that will directly reduce independent contractors from the transportation industry in California. This affects both truckers and port workers. Thomas Kern, attorney with Kern Kendrick, LLC. discusses the avenues that both local contractors and business owners can take to try and reduce the high costs required by this bill.

Wendy Workman, Senior Director of Supply Chain at SK Food Group offers her personal outlook on whether the government has overstepped into the transportation industry. John & Wendy discuss the ELD mandate and it’s impact on the industry.

Did the ELD mandate go too far? Did it have the impact that the lawmakers where anticipating? John and Wendy discuss where the law fell short on this particular instance of government intervention into the transportation & shipping industry. Wendy Workman is the Senior Director of Supply Chain at SK Food Group.

Joe Lombardo with Ege Avenue Associates has decades of experience in procurement across the transportation industry. He has worked for some major distributors and manufacturers through recessions and tough times. Joe walks us through some of the things to expect in shipping procurement as we head into a possible recession.

Shippers are feeling the compression in the market! The transportation business is under more stress than ever as the cost of everything is increasing. Scott Oliver with HP Hood discusses some of the major challenges that he sees everyday as a Senior Director of Logistics at HP Hood, a large distribution company.

Welcome to Supply Chain Squares! The show where the top experts in the Freight & Logistics industry compete to try and outsmart each other in a game of tic-tac-toe!

We would like to thank our guests and contestants:

• Melissa Davis – Triple T Transport
• Lucas McCarty – Triple T Transport
• Pat Musser – HP Hood
• Thomas Kern – Kern Kendrick, LLC
• Slate Kamp – Lighthouse Foods
• Wendy Workman – SK Food Group
• Matt Mahle – Triple T Transport
• Debbie Lombardo – Tarrier Foods Corp.
• Scott Oliver – HP Hood
• Todd Burk
• Joe Lombardo – Ege Avenue Associates

Are digital 3PL Brokerages able to handle every logistics challenge? John & Joe outline the pros and cons of digital brokerages in today’s market. Every day the average logistics company will need to resolve dozens of problems that require personal intervention. Triple T prides itself on being the high-value solution for their customers, but can a digital brokerage really automate the entire process of freight logistics better than a traditional brokerage?

Did the Fed mess up the economy? Dan North discusses the current state of the market, our chances of going into a recession and how the fed’s timing of the interest rates hikes ended up hurting our economy more than necessary. Dan North is the Senior Economist at Allianz Trade North America.

Is the freight market flooded with small trucking companies? Billy Barstow with Barstow Transportation thinks the line haul rates are lowering because of unsustainable competition from the increase of trucking companies over the last couple years. Now, larger retailers are taking temporary losses to expand their own fleets. Combine all of this with increasing diesel fuel and bad brokers trying to overreach, small carriers are feeling immense pressure in the market today.

Fuel Costs are rising while Line Haul rates are falling. Smaller carriers are feeling the compression in the freight industry. Billy Barstow with Barstow Transportation walks us through this year’s challenges as a small carrier. High diesel prices, low rates and bad brokers trying to undercut the small trucking companies. The current state of the freight market is not sustainable for smaller trucking companies. Billy states that if the compression continues through the 4th quarter without any mitigation, then there will be serious impacts on his business.

What affects Diesel cost? And how are the prices calculated? John and Joe dive into the reasons why diesel fuels cost more than gasoline and other fuel. Today the high diesel prices are a global issue. Declining number of refineries, higher operating costs, and much less demand than other fuel types. Diesel is still it’s a major driving factor in the total costs of the logistics industry.

As we move closer to recession and the market is continuing to be volatile, shippers in the spot market and owner operators are starting to feel the burn of skyrocketing fuel costs. Diesel prices, holiday seasons and consumer confidence all impact major players that can benefit from strengthened partnerships.

What types of partnerships do you need to run a successful shipping operation? And, how do you maintain those relationship to withstand market impacts? Todd Burk joins us again from Icon Foods! Todd speaks upon the value of having a variety of partnerships and how those partnerships can affect shippers in the spot market.

As the market continues to tighten in the logistics & freight shipping industry, more businesses are feeling the burn. Shipping claims and bankruptcy claims are increasing in parts of the market that are the most impacted by the volatility. Zachary Elrod with Allianz Trade North America discusses his experience with bankruptcy support and the overall trend of the market over the next several months.

When a food recall is announced, there is a significant amount of urgency that is needed by shippers, carriers and logistics companies to secure every lot of affected product and provide proof of disposal. John Mahle with Triple T Transport describes his experience with contacting affected retailers and warehouses, while Creg Fielding with Fusionware shares his digital solution to pinpointing every piece of contaminated food product across multiple storage facilities nationwide.

Creg Fielding with Fusionware shares his experience with food tracking and John describes how the importance of food storage during transport has changed over the last few decades. Now, food safety trackers can keep track of recalled food all the way down to the genealogy of the seeds and the lot shipments as they travel through multiple checkpoints.

The freight & transportation market has been very unpredictable over the last two years. Usually, the budgets for the year are already set by March, but many companies are struggling to make budget projections with the volatile diesel prices and fluctuating consumer demand as inflation hits the economy. Wendy Workman with SK Food Group discusses her experience with trying to navigate a budget during this uncertain time.

In this episode Dan North from Allianz Trade North America describes how we arrived at this point in the North American market and what we may expect for next year in the financial markets. Meanwhile, diesel fuel prices continue to remain high after a historic increase. Dan describes how freight, shipping and the cost of goods have all been affected by the high diesel fuel prices, and has made an impact on the total inflation that has been seen this year.

Inflation is the #1 topic this week in the logistics industry. John & Joe discuss last week’s economic update from Bob Costello and his forecasts on the freight economy. Joe Lombardo talks us through a deeper dive on inflation and it’s effects on diesel, OEM equipment, new trucks, parts and the price of goods. John talks about how E-commerce is slowing down from pandemic-highs.

John Mahle and Robert Costello with the ATA discuss the labor forecast and the diesel production for the logistics industry. Trucking equipment manufacturers are still struggling to catch up with demand but the larger carriers are not selling/offloading equipment as much as before, in preparation for future growth.

Bob Costello with the American Trucking Association shares his insights into what the major impacts are on the freight industry. Bob has seen economic growth increase dramatically over the last year, but slower growth into this year. We still see supply chain issues in getting new transportation equipment from the manufacturers. Drivers are still down from the pre-pandemic level but we are seeing an inflow of drivers as the demand increases and as the compensation rate matches inflation.

Why is the market changing so much? We’ve been seeing increases in fuel inflation and natural slowdowns in some areas of the industry, but John Mahle and Joe Lombardo both agree that the capacity for transportation demand can come back up quickly under the right conditions. In this episode we dive deeper into the  individual capacity issues, where they will continue to tighten up and when to start seeing some relief.

A common theme underlying the current strains in the transportation industry (on-time delivery, volatile pricing and high staff turnover) is the expectations of transportation managers, in the current environment, resulting in unrealistic expectations. John Mahle with Triple T Transport and Joe Lombardo with Ege Avenue Associates discuss the reality of the market and how to view the current issues plaguing the industry today.

Service is affected by market constraints in the logistics industry. On-time delivery becomes more and more difficult for shippers and carriers as the market moves into rough conditions. Joe Lombardo and John Mahle discuss the importance of monitoring good shipping/receiving data to get in front of the service issues before they happen. How to handle late fees and maintain a shipper/carrier relationship during the tough months.

Sometimes a shortcut can lead to higher long-term costs. John and Joe discuss the decisions that stakeholders in an organization have to navigate when determining the best business practices for freight shipments. Multiple stakeholders with clashing needs, brokers, consultants, deadlines and regional shipping routes, all of these factors can lead to an unsustainable pricing structure.

What is an unloading fee and what does it pay for? John asks Joe Lombardo from Ege Avenue Associates if he can see an end in sight for unloading fees and lumper charges. Do they even make sense from a budgeting and auditing perspective?

Now that we know what a “Shipper Of Choice” is, we must strive to become the best at maintaining our valuable carrier partnerships. The logistics industry is facing a critical level of challenges: supply chain disruptions, fuel price increases and a growing need for stronger partnerships to weather this storm. John walks us through the options with Scott Oliver of HP Hood and Slate Kamp of Litehouse Logistics, to see what shippers can do to become the best partners for the supply chain and for their clients.

What is a “Shipper Of Choice”? Scott Oliver of HP Hood and Slate Kamp of Litehouse Logistics dive into today’s challenges that shippers face when trying to manage their fleets and carriers. Being a shipper of choice means that the shippers and the carriers maintain a high value partnership through collaboration and problem mitigation. Learn about how John, Scott & Slate all strive to manage excellent shipping operations from their different roles by watching the podcast.

In this first episode of the Stay in Your Lane Podcast, Wendy Workman with SK Food Group and Todd Burk with Icon Foods discuss some of the largest challenges in the logistics industry today such as the high volatility of freight costs and the factors that have contributed to the supply chain issues that we now see. What can we do to help mitigate these issues, and how do they affect our industry partners? Find out both the carrier AND the supplier’s perspective here on the first episode of the Stay In Your Lane podcast by Triple T Transport.