Has been a while since I had access to this great group at SKOOL. Cannot express how excited I am to get to learn from you all again. Did see quickly there is a lot of reading to catch up on. Glad to be back, thanks Mr. Tittle AKA Mr. D.O.T for getting me back on this platform.

Believe all have read enough about tariffs and understand how they work. The challenge when reading comments on LINKEDIN, many do not understand that the tariff uncertainty resulted in 44% less vessels from shipping to the USA. This creates what I refer to as PENT up freight, shippers just put orders on hold and did not ship. Pent up freight is a negative and a positive. The biggest negative is carriers and brokers did see drops in volumes and rates. 1- positive it will create more inland freight when it arrives. 2- Carriers should be seeing increased freight volumes now and for the next 90 days-120 days based on sailing times. 3- Cross border rates are up 30% -50% - lack of capacity due to tariffs- this I understand is also a negative for shippers. This also results in lack of inbound to Canada, opportunity for brokers and carriers with the right networks 4- confusion, congestion, will all create opportunities 1- negative the SSLs have levied GRIs- in addition to a tariff of 30% or more- shippers now have a $2000-$5000 GRI to add to each container. One NVOCC stated we may see GRIs similar to COVID as much as $15,000 per container to the USA. 2- Ocean is about selling capacity not rates with 90 day window to ship - shippers have had contracts negated, they will all pay GRIs. 3- Wal-Mart is only one retailer amongst many that will not absorb the increases- prices will go up and affect consumer confidence and spending. 4- Many retailers we work with like Home Depot will not raise prices based on CEO comment- he did also comment if tariff raises rate too high they will not stock the item. I did go this weekend, HD prices for my deck VS last year quote are 30% higher. NO they will not match the quote I did not use last year. 😎 The next 90 days with freight flowing from China will create volumes and opportunity. The EU, India imports are also flowing at higher volumes. Higher prices or not, volumes will increase, carriers and brokers should benefit with higher rates which our industry has needed for 2.5 years.

Recently I started to flip the “script” when it comes to my cold calling. Once I have the decision maker on the phone I have always tried to be different telling them my why, how, and what I do. However recently I typically go through that portion quickly and ask them for a few minutes to ask them important questions. A number of questions as if I’m interviewing them for a job. Questions like the following 1. How long have they worked for the company 2. What is their turnover like? Have most people worked there for awhile with promotions usually coming from internally. 3. How long have they been with their current partners not just freight but all of their business relationships? 4. Do they enjoy the career or do they hope to land in a different part of the company someday? 5. Are they valued and treated well by their superiors and owners of the company? 6. Do they always buy from their suppliers based on lowest prices? 7. Are the sales people involved with the suppliers? I finish with “I appreciate your time and the reason for asking all of these questions is before we go any further I also need to ensure you will be a good fit with my company. I have already done my homework and know you move XYZ but it’s important to me that you also checked the boxes correctly above. With my own personal experience I have come to understand that if those boxes aren’t checked then typically a partnership will ultimately not end up working out….” Although this works as a pitch I’m 1000% being truthful. I will explain and it’s not always a perfect recipe in which I decide if the box gets checked but you can navigate that yourself. 1. Are new - can be a red flag resulting into the question number 2 being answered. If they have been there for too long say 15+ years then it often means they are either going to be set in their partnership but also they probably aren’t being valued and promoted for a reason which can cause an employee who often just doesn’t care anymore, it’s just a job and that can come with a whole set of problems. 2. High turnover usually means that they will not respect relationships, the employees will be treated poorly by upper management, lack of care, fear…. Promotions coming all externally will also cause disappointment and dissatisfaction within the company.

Anybody have a prediction of the largest challenges the Freight/Supply Chain will face this year?

My dear FreightSkool friends, what conferences do you plan to attend? We will have presence at: SMC3 - an LTL conference Manifest Food Shippers TCA - Truckload Carriers Association NPTC - National Private Truck Conference Probably an FW event or two and some others. Where will I see you?