U.S. Logistics & Ports At A Breaking Point With Kent Gourdin

In this deep-dive episode of The Real Finds Podcast, host Gordon Lamphere welcomes Kent Gourdin, professor and director of global logistics and transportation at the College of Charleston, to explore how global trade, port infrastructure, and transportation policy are rewriting the rules of real estate investment and logistics strategy.

Together, they examine how the aftershocks of pandemic-era disruptions, U.S. trade policy, and labor negotiations are reshaping everything from inventory management to automation in America’s ports. With decades of experience, Kent offers rare insight into the unseen forces moving our goods, determining industrial site selection, and influencing national economic competitiveness.

🔍 Key Topics Covered:

- The hidden role of ports in shaping regional real estate markets

- Why America no longer has a robust blue-water shipping fleet

- The real-world effects of the Jones Act on logistics costs and trade efficiency

- What World War II cake deliveries say about U.S. logistics dominance

- How U.S. policy stifled the domestic shipping industry despite a naval tradition

- The difference between Charleston and Savannah’s real estate supply chain strategies

- Why the “just-in-time” supply chain model is being replaced by resilience

- The rise of warehousing near ports and what it means for investors

- Why electrification at ports is still more theory than practice in the Southeast

- Real risks and limits of automation in long-haul trucking and terminal operations

- What trade volatility means for five- to ten-year CRE planning horizons

- The future of U.S. supply chains: lean vs. resilient models

- Why global trade isn’t going away, no matter how many tariffs get introduced

- How logistics is no longer an invisible industry, but a strategic advantage

📈 Whether you’re a commercial real estate investor, developer, industrial tenant, or global logistics strategist, this episode offers a blueprint for understanding how policy, ports, and product movement will shape location value, tenant demand, and investment timelines for the next decade.

📚 Books Recommended by Kent Gourdin: Door to Door by Edward Humes – An accessible, narrative-driven book that unveils the invisible machinery behind global transportation. Required reading in Kent’s classroom and loved by students.

Kent also offers a powerful piece of advice for young professionals: find a career you’re passionate about, remain flexible in your path, and let your curiosity, not a rigid plan, guide you through the twists and turns of your working life.

📬 Want to reach out to Kent Gourdin or learn more about his work?

📧 Email: [e-mail]

🏛️ Institution: College of Charleston – Global Logistics Program

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