Freightvine

Dr. Chris Caplice and Marc Boyle discuss the differences between hauling normal freight and high-risk, high-value freight like pharmaceuticals. Marc shares his experience of growing up in a family trucking business. They discuss the impact that new technologies are having on transportation, and what it takes to operate in such a niche market.

To wrap up, Dr. Inam Iyoob joins Dr. Chris Caplice for the latest North American truckload market rate trends and forecast, powered by DAT iQ.

The 50th annual Earth Day celebration is quickly approaching on April 22! To celebrate this milestone, we sat down with Alexis Bateman and Suzanne Greene from MIT’s Sustainable Supply Chains initiative to discuss the importance of freight transportation in making a positive impact on sustainability as well as the current state of the transportation sector. From measuring your GHG footprint to creating some new and innovative carbon offset programs, the duo offers pragmatic advice for improving your company’s transportation sustainability efforts. Plus, they address the pros and cons of pandemics like COVID-19 on green supply chain initiatives. To wrap things up, Inam Iyoob joins Chris Caplice for the latest North American truckload market rate trends and forecast powered by FMIC.

[2:07] To learn more about how the Brundtland Commission defines sustainability, click here: https://www.iisd.org/topic/sustainable-development

[7:38] Download a copy of the Mission Possible: Reaching net-zero carbon emissions from harder-to-abate sectors by mid-century report from the Energy Transitions Commission website: http://www.energy-transitions.org/mission-possible

[14:54] Learn more about Josué Velázquez Martínez’ “Green Button Project” here: https://sustainablelogistics.mit.edu/green-button-project-consumer-preference-for-green-last-mile-home-delivery/

[15:47] Take a look at the Walmart study “The Emissions Implications of Modern Retailing: Omnichannel vs. Stores and Online Pure-Plays” here: https://cdn.corporate.walmart.com/00/5a/3c20743a4f0db2d00c452aebea95/omni-channel-emissions-modeling-whitepaperfinal04182017.pdf

[16:28] To learn more about the Global Logistics Emissions Council (GLEC) framework for measuring your GHG footprint, visit their website: https://www.smartfreightcentre.org/en/how-to-implement-items/what-is-glec-framework/58/

[27:51] Get a preview of Suzanne Greene’s “Carbon offsets for freight transport decarbonization” article in Nature Sustainability here: https://www.suzanne.mit.edu/transport-carbon-offsets

This week’s guest is Matt Waller from New Roads Capital Partners and the University of Arkansas. He has held various positions, including Dean, and taught for 30 years at the University of Arkansas, where he currently holds the William Dillard II Leadership Chair at the Sam M. Walton College of Business. He is also a Strategic Advisor at NewRoad Capital Partners. In our conversation, we talk mainly about the always evolving Retail Value Chain - how it has changed over the last 30 years and where we might expect it to go. Matt also gives some examples of new start-ups in this space that bear watching.

This week’s guest is Professor Yossi Sheffi, Director of MIT’s Center for Transportation & Logistics and author of the recent book, The Magic Conveyor Belt: Supply Chains, AI, and the Future of Work. Written mainly in response to the general public’s newly awakened awareness of and interest in supply chains during the pandemic, the book explains in great clarity how supply chains work, why they are complex, and where the challenges are. Additionally, he addresses and explores the impact of future trends including robotics, automation, shifting labor patterns, and the need for continuous education. The conversation touched upon the influence of the pandemic on supply chains, the impact of technology implementation on labor, and, of course, the challenges and opportunities that AI brings.

This week’s guest is Dr. Erika Voss, Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) at DAT. Erika joined DAT earlier in 2024 as our first CISO coming from a long career in security and risk at companies such as MicroSoft, Salesforce, Oracle, and CapitalOne. In her role, she is really changing the game in cybersecurity for the entire trucking transportation industry. Erika explains that the types of fraud and theft that occur in our industry are all essentially cybersecurity issues. Interestingly, the introduction of greater digitalization of operations, while greatly increasing efficiency, has a dark side in that it opens the door for potential cybersecurity breaches. In our conversation, we discuss the concepts of each person’s ‘identify fabric,’ how the ‘attack landscape’ for companies has expanded dramatically over the past several years, what ‘zero-trust’ transportation with continuous authentication might look like, and exactly what a ‘script kiddy’ is. Finally, we talk about how a shipper should include cybersecurity capabilities as part of their carrier and broker vetting for any RFPs. As shippers, carriers, and brokers continue to automate and digitize various functions, the importance of cybersecurity is only going to increase.