There are transportation hubs everywhere, but the population hubs are really what the supply chains in transportation is all about. Places like Atlanta, Texas, California and particularly in the South East, some of the fastest growing pockets of population are developing transportation hubs. Although we have sound infrastructure in place in the US, as it moves billions of tons of cargo, now is the time to increase investment in infrastructure in roads and rail. We should double down investments in our ports because if you look at the freight flow movement in the US, that those trucks move daily, they come from logistics hubs that originate from our ports whether it’s air, sea or rail, there needs to be better connectivity.

This is a very complex issue, but if companies (and this varies from company to company) start looking at their customers. As odd as it sounds, sometimes you have to fire customers, by this I mean, if you can’t service those customers the way they need to be serviced, given the driver shortage, touch economy, you have to let them go. You need to look at which customers are cost competitive. If your company is short of drivers, you need to look at other customers, other markets and products to haul. Focusing on what you can afford to do and remain competitive, this should help you to generate more revenue and in the long run help you hire more drivers and increase other assets for your supply chain.

Trucks will always play a critical role, 70% of cargo moves by truck. As truckers look to make longer hauls more cost competitive so they can make more of a profit, intermodal is certainly a viable option. You have to remember, there will always be railroads, but you have to keep in mind, they don’t back up to our grocery store, so trucks will always deliver that last mile.