Main takeaways from the TIA Conference. Plus, TQL expands into Freight Alley, the impact of the Baltimore bridge collapse on OTR freight, and Transport Topics names the Top 100 largest logistics companies of 2024.
Good Monday morning. The TIA Capital Ideas Conference is over, but we are still reminiscing about the last few days in Phoenix. From the various freight tech innovations to the networking events, we recorded a quick 25-minute recap episode to tell you more about our experience. On top of that, we provide you with the impact the Baltimore bridge disaster has had on OTR transportation in the United States.
🤔 Question of the Day: The largest logistics company in the US in 2024 is _________. Scroll to the What's Cookin' in Freight section to find out.
Today's Newsletter is Brought to You by Levity.ai.
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🐔 WHAT’S COOKIN’ IN FREIGHT
🚛 TIA 2024 Conference Recap. The Transportation Intermediaries Association (TIA) hosted another widely successful Capital Ideas Conference. Many new freight tech companies debuted their products, established companies announced new product developments, and all attendees were able to network and learn about the freight brokerage industry. We recorded a recap of what we learned and enjoyed the most about TIA this year. If you're in freight brokerage or freight tech, it's a conference you don't want to miss.
🤠 TQL Expands to Freight Alley. Total Quality Logistics (TQL) has expanded into Chattanooga. The Cincinnati-based company plans to hire 80 to 100 workers in Chattanooga, complementing its existing Tennessee offices in Nashville, Knoxville, and Memphis. This move enhances TQL's presence in what is locally known as "Freight Alley," a key hub for the logistics industry. We're wondering who would want to sign that strict non-compete when you have plenty of neighboring companies in Chattanooga offering work without non-competes.
🐐 Amazon Tops 2024 Logistics Rankings. Transport Topics has released its 2024 Top 100 Logistics Companies list, where Amazon debuted at the number one spot. Its $140 billion gross revenue dwarfs the competition. The former leader, C.H. Robinson, trails behind in second place with a gross revenue of $16 billion. Then comes J.B. Hunt, UPS Supply Chain Solutions, and GXO Logistics to round out the top five. The recent mergers, acquisitions, and closures have led plenty of reshuffling, like filling the gap left by Convoy, which shut down operations last October.
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Port of Baltimore Impact
Before the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge, the Port of Baltimore handled a significantly larger volume of freight moving to the West Coast and Florida. Since then, that freight has evaporated. Read more below. Source: GenLogs.io.
Today's featured story was contributed by Ryan Joyce, the CEO & Co-Founder of GenLogs. Ryan went from tracking terrorists in the Middle East to now tracking trucks.
After my post last week about uncovering a fraudulent carrier on the roads, many of you asked what else can GenLogs’ Freight Intelligence platform do? Honestly, the scope is so deep that it can’t be covered in a single post here – better covered in a demo. But I can give you a glimpse here today by looking at the impact of the Port of Baltimore shutdown on truck patterns.
GenLogs compared truck patterns for a period of a week before the Key Bridge collapse compared to a week after the collapse. Overall, we have witnessed a 5x reduction in truck volumeat the Port of Baltimore, but there is still plenty of drayage moves clearing out containers and transferring them to nearby ports or interchanges. FMCSA even lifted some restrictions to expedite this process.
The biggest changes have been the utter collapse of long-haul lanes originating from the Port of Baltimore. Before the Key Bridge collapse, we observed a large volume of trucks headed to California, Florida, and the Pacific Northwest. Those lanes from the Port of Baltimore have completely evaporated, and so have freight destinations along those routes, for example:
Destinations along I-40, such as Memphis, Nashville, and Knoxville. In fact, we are seeing most trucks from Baltimore going no further south on I-81 than Wytheville, VA.
Destinations along I-64 through West Virginia into Kentucky, and dropping down to meet I-40 in Oklahoma on the way to southern California.
Destinations along I-95 any further south than Raleigh, NC. Nothing is moving from the Port of Baltimore to Florida anymore.
Destinations along I-80 from Chicago to the west coast, such as Des Moines or Omaha. In fact, almost all Midwest cities, other than drayage moves transferring freight to Detroit and Chicago, have essentially dropped off completely.
The carriers previously taking loads from the Port of Baltimore are not going to sit idle – we likely will see excess capacity on some lanes, but many brokers/shippers are likely finding the pre-collapse backhaul lanes frozen too. No doubt there has been a scramble to find new capacity these past few weeks with many 3PLs risking it on thefraud-laden load boards.
GenLogs is here to help. Due to high demand the last few weeks, we have had to shift to a waitlist to ensure each new customer receives the attention they deserve. We are only onboarding 10 customers per month for the foreseeable future, so the sooner you join the waitlist, the sooner you can get access to this powerful platform.
Beyond the fraud and theft protection all our customers receive, we apply AI to sensors, commercial and open-source datasets in order to shine a light and unlock all ‘dark capacity’ across the country. GenLogs is the only platform that serves up endless real-time capacity with…
Every type of equipment.
Every carrier.
Every lane.
Every second.
It’s been our pleasure to serve the freight industry thus far, and we will continue to identify opportunities while combating crime with freight intelligence so that the honest hard-workers in the freight industry can Own the Roads.
Ryan Joyce is the CEO of GenLogs. He used to track terrorists, but now he tracks trucks.
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AROUND THE FREIGHT WEB
Truckload, compared to Intermodal and LTL, suffered the most in terms of gross margin percentage changes year-over-year.
🚚 Insights from the TIA 2024 Conference. Bob Kruz (@usa_transportation on Instagram) shared key insights for small carriers and observed crucial topics for brokers at the TIA 2024 Conference.
💸 MSC Fights Hefty FMC Fine. MSC, the world's largest container carrier, is contesting a substantial $63 million fine from the U.S. Federal Maritime Commission for alleged overcharging and billing violations during the pandemic shipping boom.
🚢 Iranian Forces Seize Israeli-linked Cargo Ship. Iranian forces seized a cargo ship linked to an Israeli billionaire in the Strait of Hormuz, amid escalating tensions after an airstrike on Iran's consulate in Damascus.
🤖 Amazon's Robotic Workforce Surges. Amazon has expanded its robotic workforce to over 750,000 units, reducing its human staff by over 100,000, as it continues to innovate and streamline operations in its fulfillment centers.
🌍 Freight's Green Shift. The freight industry is slowly moving from diesel to sustainable options like electric and hydrogen to meet climate goals.
🎣 FREIGHT CAVIAR CORNER
In this special 25-minute episode, we're recapping our experience at the TIA Capital Ideas Conference in Phoenix. From innovative companies like WireBee and FreightClaims.com to discussions on valuations in the brokerage industry, we cover it all. Hear about our networking chronicles, insights from industry experts, and the after-parties.
🎧 The FreightCaviar Podcast. Listen to this week's podcast on Spotify & Apple Podcasts.
🎧 The Bootstrapper's Guide to Logistics is a podcast that highlights and inspires supply chain entrepreneurs, sharing their stories and building a community from the ground up.
Want to get your brand noticed by freight brokers? FreightCaviar can help. Work with us to get your services featured in our newsletter, podcast, and more. Plus, we write great articles about what you do. Get in touch with Paul at pbj@freightcaviar.com to learn more.
I’m Adriana, a writer and editor at FreightCaviar. I’ve covered everything from freight tech to industry lawsuits and market shifts, helping scale us to almost 14K subscribers. My goal: to make logistics stories digestible, clear, and fun to read.
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