Inland Distribution: A Three-Part Webcast Series (Part 1)

As 2022 approaches, US shippers — domestic logistics managers as well as importers and exporters — are wrestling with an unprecedented transportation market. The bullwhip effect of the US economic recovery is doing nearly as much to disrupt supply chains in 2021 as the COVID-19 pandemic initially did in 2020. Shippers are scrambling to find capacity on the road and rails to move goods from ports to distribution centers and to customers. They are absorbing shocking cost increases to deliver for their customers.

Rapid economic growth and the continued acceleration of e-commerce mean no return to pre-pandemic normality. Instead, shippers are being forced to rethink how they serve their companies and customers. We’ve entered an era of renewal and reinvention ignited by the strong US economic recovery and the significant disruption the COVID-19 pandemic spilled across the transportation landscape. It’s an era, unlike any typical economic recovery that logistics managers experienced in the past.

This three-part webcast series will help shippers prepare for the challenges of the year ahead and deal with the problems they face today when it comes to sourcing capacity, controlling transportation costs, and protecting their supply chains from near-constant volatility and disruption. They’ll receive a broad view of the outlook for the rest of the year and in 2022, and detailed insights on specific transportation and logistics questions. Together, we’ll write the playbook for logistics success in the 2020s.

Session Chair: William B. Cassidy, Senior Editor, Trucking and Domestic Transportation, JOC, Maritime & Trade, IHS Markit

Session Chair: William B. Cassidy, Senior Editor, Trucking and Domestic Transportation, JOC, Maritime & Trade, IHS Markit

Paul Bingham, Director, Transportation Consulting, IHS Markit

Jason Miller, Associate Professor, Logistics, Michigan State University

The US economic recovery is expected to continue in 2022, albeit with more moderate growth, but how will sectors that are crucial to generating US freight such as retail and manufacturing fare? What will happen with inventories, and what impact will that have on freight demand? Will the pricing cycle for trucking finally turn deflationary, giving shippers some relief from rate increases, and how much might rates drop? Has the pricing floor been permanently raised by the pandemic? After two disruptive years, should we expect more disruption? This panel will delve into these topics and more, with detailed analysis of the forces shaping the freight economy and a focus on what shippers can do to prepare for 2022.

Session Chair: William B. Cassidy, Senior Editor, Trucking and Domestic Transportation, JOC, Maritime & Trade, IHS Markit

3:05-3:35 PM ET Rethinking the RFP

Session Chair: Ari Ashe, Senior Editor, Southeast Ports, and Intermodal Rail, JOC, Maritime & Trade, IHS Markit

Drew Herpich, Chief Commercial Officer, Nolan Transportation Group

Sharon Regan, Director Supply Chain, The Bumble Bee Seafood Company

Pricing volatility in transportation during the past two years has led many shippers to rethink how they handle bidding and procurement. There has been a marked increase, for example, in the number of shippers asking carriers for mini-bids, whether shorter-term agreements or more focused business awards and other types of agreements and pricing mechanisms, some within the annual contract and some without. Some shippers question whether there should even be annual bids if current arrangements continue to work well. Is the annual “request for proposal” on the chopping block, here for good, or being transformed, and how can shippers and their transportation partners benefit from rethinking the RFP?

Session Chair: Ari Ashe, Senior Editor, Southeast Ports, and Intermodal Rail, JOC, Maritime & Trade, IHS Markit

*Check back soon for more information!

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