The Intermodal Logistics Podcast

The team from the University of Arkansas is top hog at the 2026 Academic Challenge case competition at IANA's Intermodal EXPO, and its members take a few minutes to share their experiences of the challenge and the event with The Intermodal Logistics Podcast, live from Long Beach, California.

Abbie Hutto, Drew Pierce, Stone Sawyer and Natalie Olinger (and their trophy), join Kevin Baxter and Shelli Austin (also a judge) to discuss ho...

Fresh off a presentation from Union Pacific CEO Jim Vena at IANA's 2026 Intermodal EXPO, UP's Kari Kirchhoefer joins The Intermodal Logistics Podcast at the event to share what the proposed merger with Norfolk Southern could mean for shippers and providers - and the importance of reaching out directly to stakeholders throughout the process.  

Kari, Senior VP of Premium for Union Pacific, is the guest on the first of our six epi...

Trains travel thousands of miles across North America, and for many lengthy stretches, they move on tracks out of sight to all but a select few. RailState is changing that with their camera-equipped sensors setup along a growing percentage of railroad tracks. VP of Sales and Marketing Dan Devoe joins us on The Intermodal Logistics Podcast to discuss what RailState is, what it does, and the network intelligence it gathers.

Da...

Thanks largely to shippers recognizing its value proposition due to truckload tightness, intermodal volume has surged in recent months. And it's with increased attention on the mode that IANA's Intermodal EXPO 2026 is set to take place. IANA President & CEO Anne Reinke joins The Intermodal Logistics Podcast to discuss how EXPO brings the intermodal ecosystem together, while tackling major logistics issues of the day during what...

Just three months ago, the Supreme Court handed down a ruling in a case that changed the broker liability equation. On a new episode of The Intermodal Logistics Podcast, Marc Blubaugh, Partner and Co-Lead of the Transportation & Logistics Practice at Benesch Law, returns to discuss exactly what the 9-0 ruling in favor of Montgomery v. C.H. Robinson means - and what it might not mean.

Marc takes us through the facts of the case, ...

Drayage is what makes or breaks most intermodal shipments. And as truckload conversions continue to mount, so does stress on short-haul trucking capacity. Drayage.com and Loadmatch President and Founder Jason Hilsenbeck checks in to The Intermodal Logistics Podcast to tell us what the numbers show in terms of drayage pressure points, driver availability and the outlook.

Jason discusses the markets that are handling increased...

With rates consistently up in 2026, many consider a freight recovery well underway. But Michigan State University Professor of Logistics Dr. Jason Miller says freight volume is largely dependent on one thing - the AI boom (and the data center construction to support it). 

On this episode of The Intermodal Logistics Podcast, Dr. Miller returns to discuss just how AI is helping shipping demand, and how long he sees that continuin...

One factor that has many shippers shying away from using intermodal is a worry about protecting their cargo from damage. But proper blocking and bracing - along with packing - helps thousands of loads arrive intact every day. Kelsey Even, Manager - Closed Car Loading Rules with MxV Rail joins The Intermodal Logistics Podcast to go over the considerations for safely securing containerized freight: from the ocean, to the road and of ...

It's an interesting time to be a 3PL (third party logistics provider), and an interesting time to cover the industry. Marina Mayer, IronMarkets Content Director and Editor in Chief of Food Logistics and Supply & Demand Chain Executive magazines joins us on The Intermodal Logistics Podcast to discuss how she came to cover the industry and how it's evolved - and take us through her recent series on The State of 3PLs.

Marina tells ...

Ports are vital links in the global supply chain, but those responsible for running key U.S. trade hubs say they need an equipment upgrade.

National Association of Waterfront Employers (NAWE) President Carl Bentzel joins The Intermodal Logistics Podcast to discuss a survey of 25 port executives NAWE released in May. Carl tells us how those member executives agreed on a need for $6.7 billion in new equipment across the countr...

The concept of autonomous vehicles has been around for years, but just as taxis are beginning to take off, a new entrant in trucking is ready to hit the ground running - the Humble Hauler. Humble Robotics Founder/CEO Eyal Cohen joins us on The Intermodal Logistics Podcast to discuss his young company and why, after several years in the space, he chose to focus on freight.

Eyal explains how the Humble Hauler can help with drayage cap...

Robust homebuilding offers a tremendous lift to freight volumes, so on this episode, we put new home starts (and the general housing market) in focus with Kevin Oakley, Managing Partner with Do You Convert.

Kevin takes us through the positives and negatives of the marketplace, where public and private builders diverge in terms of inventory and flexibility, how much building is taking place now - and how much buyer interest exists (n...

They say everything is bigger in Texas, and that may be true of the freight environment, which includes vast swathes of land, a wide variety of goods and commodities, the Gulf Coast, and the U.S.-Mexico border. But keeping it all moving isn't just reserved for big carriers, short-line railroads and shallow water ports like those operated by TNW Corporation also play a vital role. 

TNW Director of Business Support & Developm...

Just a couple of weeks after a gathering of industry pros at the Transportation Intermediaries Association (TIA) Capital Ideas Conference, President & CEO Chris Burroughs joins us again on The Intermodal Logistics Podcast to share a recap of the Phoenix gathering, the hot topics covered there (and still percolating), and the general mood he's seeing in the freight world today.

Atop the list is an issue TIA has long focused on, c...

Plenty is happening in (and to) the trucking market of late, so we welcome back an old friend to The Intermodal Logistics Podcast to check on where it stands. ACT Research VP and Senior Analyst Tim Denoyer joins us as our first ever in-studio guest, to go over truck production and the state of the fleet, and what that signals for capacity and activity going forward.

Plus, we address FMCSA enforcement measures and their effects on th...

Whether it's domestic, import or export, shipping agricultural products involves unique challenges - challenges that the co-founder and Executive Director of the Agriculture Transportation Coalition (AgTC) Peter Friedmann has been tackling on behalf of membership for many years.

Peter joins us on this edition of The Intermodal Logistics Podcast to offer an overview of the organization, what goods and products fall under the...

The spike in diesel prices is starting to show up in the trucking market - with implications for intermodal as well. That's according to DAT iQ Principal Analyst Dean Croke, our guest on this episode of The Intermodal Logistics Podcast.

In a wide-ranging conversation, Dean goes over how the sudden increase in fuel related to the Iran conflict has changed the equation for trucking carriers, essentially eliminating margin especially f...

Less than three months into 2026, the ocean cargo outlook for the year has been thrown a major curveball with the U.S. and Israeli actions against Iran.

Xeneta Chief Analyst Peter Sand returns to The Intermodal Logistics Podcast to go over both what was expected and what's changed in the ocean freight space now and for the next several months because of the Iranian situation.

We go over the status of the Suez Canal and Red Sea shippi...

When it comes to sustainability, there's long been a thought that in the corporate arena it was all for show. However, the 2026 State of Transportation Report by Breakthrough paints a different picture - at least when it comes to the freight industry.

On this edition of The Intermodal Logistics Podcast, Breakthrough COO Jenny Vander Zanden joins us to go over the report, which shows a strong majority of shippers and carriers report ...