Logistics Matters with DC VELOCITY
The editors of DC VELOCITY magazine bring you weekly updates on logistics, material handling, and supply chain news.
Episodes
321 episodes
Guest: Clarie Li of Moody’s Ratings on vulnerable critical minerals; Cargo thefts intensify; Who pays for warehouse fires?
Our guest on this week's episode is Claire Li, vice president of Credit Strategy at Moody's Ratings. Critical minerals and rare earth minerals are needed in most electronics and tech devices, yet the United States does not produce...
Guest: Peter Larsen of Amazon Supply Chain Services on its 3PL offerings; A global network for battery handling; It's wreath season for truckers
Our guest on this week's episode is Peter Larsen is a Vice President at Amazon, where he leads Amazon Supply Chain Services. Amazon may have started in 1994 as an online book seller, but today they are arguably the most successful of all...
Guest: Tommy Slaymaker of The Pete Store on the effects of rising diesel prices; How AI can transform warehouse operations; Amazon invents new packaging
Our guest on this week's episode is Tommy Slaymaker, Director of Fleet Services at The Pete Store (one of the largest Peterbilt dealer groups in North America). Diesel fuel is the driving force behind our supply chains, powering everythi...
Guest: Roberto Canevari of Estée Lauder on managing a beautiful supply chain; What factors help businesses grow; Beating the heat
Our guest on this week's episode is Roberto Canevari, executive vice president, chief value chain officer at international beauty suppler Estée Lauder. Managing an international supply chain is not an easy job in this age of global disru...
Guest: Mark Burstein of Inspectorio on fallout from new Canadian tariffs; Taking the temperature of the logistics industry; New investments boost manufacturing
Our guest on this week's episode is Mark Burstein, senior vice president of Americas at Inspectorio. Canada and the United States are battling again over tariffs following the announcement that the U.S. would be placing tariffs of as muc...
Guest: Tucker Perkins of the Propane Education & Research Council on powering forklifts; Who pays the price for supply chain shocks?; Changing ocean freight patterns
Our guest on this week's episode is Tucker Perkins, President and CEO of the Propane Education & Reseach Council (PERC). Propane has been used for decades as a consistent source of powering industrial trucks, such as the forklifts an...
Guest: Marc Held, CEO of Hoptek, on today’s biggest freight challenges, Eliminating excess packaging; Rising robotic use
Our guest on this week's episode is Marc Held, CEO of Hoptek. While it appears that the freight recession that the industry has endured the past couple of years might be ending, yet other challenges remain in a very competitive market wi...
Guest: Abdil Tunca of Gartner on new restrictions for importing robots; Recognizing elite truck drivers; Hedging supply chain uncertainty
Our guest on this week's episode is Abdil Tunca, a Senior Principal Analyst in the Logistics and Customer Fulfillment team in Gartner's Supply Chain practice. The U.S. government through the FCC recently issued new restrictions on robots...
Guest: Jo Marini of Mothership Materials on using agricultural waste for new products; The latest health of the logistics industry; Expanding manufacturing capacity of forklifts
Our guest on this week's episode is Jo Marini, CEO of Mothership Materials. Many companies have struggled with how to produce products that are well-made and also friendly to our environment. That is where a company like Mothership ...
Guest: Maxime Darmet of Allianz Trade on new tariffs; Taking to the skies; Finding the right fit
Our guest on this week's episode is Maxime Darmet, senior economist at Allianz Trade. One week ago here in the U.S., we saw former trade tariffs expiring and a host of new tariffs being slapped on most of our trading partners. These...
A national robotics strategy; Rising grocery prices; A data health check
Our guest on this week's episode is Zach Tomkinson, chief commercial officer at Standard Bots. The U.S. government has been wrestling with a developing a national strategy for artificial intelligence – but another area that could us...
Curtis Spencer of Bloodhound Tracking Device on the rise of cargo thefts; The impacts high fuel prices have on trucking; Effective supply chain planning
Our guest on this week's episode is Curtis Spencer, CEO of Bloodhound Tracking Device and also CEO of ISM Worldwide. We have been reporting for a couple of years now about the ongoing problem of cargo theft in our supply chains. But now ...
Guest: Victor Thomas of Odyssey Logistics on coming Scope 3 requirements; The trucking industry grapples with artificial intelligence; Peak season comes early in 2026
Our guest on this week's episode is Victor Thomas, VP of Health, Safety, Security, and Environment at Odyssey Logistics. For some time now, companies have measured the environmental impacts of their operations. Soon, new requirements wil...
Guest: Kathy Fulton of ALAN on disaster response; The market heats up for humanoid robots; Containers lost at sea
Our guest on this week's episode is Kathy Fulton, executive director at the American Logistics Aid Network (ALAN). It is officially the beginning of hurricane season – a period where these storms, as well as tornados and other natural di...
Guest: Eric Fullerton of project44 on plastic shortages due to oil restrictions; The logistics behind the World Cup; Getting the most from robots and their humans
Our guest on this week's episode is Eric Fullerton, Vice President of Data Insights and Product Marketing at project44. There is now an agreement in place to end the fighting between the United States and Iran – and we hope it will be a ...
Guest: Andrei Quinn-Barabanov of Moody’s on inflation risks; Growth drives new demands for cobots; A shift in robotic final mile delivery
Our guest on this week's episode is Andrei Quinn-Barabanov, supply chain practice lead at Moody’s. New inflation reports came out this week showing that last month we reached the highest inflation rates of the past three years. Inflation...
Guest: Jim Mozer of Crown and ITA on forklift safety; Venture capital invests in warehouses; Strengthening global disaster response
Our guest on this week's episode is Jim Mozer, Senior Vice President at Crown Equipment Corporation. He is representing the Industrial Truck Association, the industry association for the lift truck industry. This coming Tuesday, the supp...
Guest: Matt Lekstutis of Efficio on China and world trade; The upbeat forklift market; Automation comes to the high seas
Our guest on this week's episode is Matt Lekstutis, director at Efficio, a supply chain and consulting firm. Two weeks ago, President Trump had an historic meeting with China’s President Xi. It was a highly anticipated gathering, as ther...
Guest Hannah Hurckes of Boss Lady Logistics on fallout from the Supreme Court’s broker decision; Gaining “Momentum” with Agentic AI; A robotics acquisition
Our guest on this week's episode is Hannah Hurckes, Founder and CEO, Boss Lady Logistics. Last week the U.S. Supreme Court ruled unanimously on a case that could end up changing the freight industry as we know it, especially the bro...
Guest: Patrick Van den Bossche of Kearney on the 2026 Reshoring Index; Will AI take away jobs? Safety in trucking fleets
Our guest on this week's episode is Patrick Van den Bossche, partner at Kearney, a global management consulting firm. There has been a huge effort in recent years to return manufacturing to the United States, as much of this produ...
Guest: Omar Qari of Logicbroker on how retailers and brands respond to shifting geopolitical uncertainty; Carton diversity drives sortation designs; China doubles down on robotics
Our guest on this week's episode is Omar Qari, CEO of Logicbroker. Every industry has had to adjust to the ongoing geopolitical uncertainty – the Iran war, high fuel prices, volatile tariff policy – the list goes on. So, how are retailer...
Guest: Lisa Dyer of the GPS Innovation Alliance on vulnerabilities of GPS systems; Growing technology gaps; The clever ways thieves steal cargo
Our guest on this week's episode is Lisa Dyer, Executive Director of the GPS Innovation Alliance. Many of us rely on GPS satellite technology every day. But what we may not realize is that these important systems are vulnerable to...
Guest: Helaine Rich of ePost Global on rising fuel costs; Truck stops work to accommodate women drivers; Changing shopping patterns
Our guest on this week's episode is Helaine Rich, Vice President of Strategic Sales and Administration at ePost Global. As the war against Iran is in its seventh week, fuel prices continue to rise. And it is getting to the point whe...
Guest: Disney Petit on a better way for customer returns; Managing a variety of robots successfully; Autonomous fulfillment advances
Our guest on this week's episode is Disney Petit – founder and CEO of LiquiDonate, a company that provides software for companies to donate unwanted returned items. As any retailer can tell you, returns can be the most difficult part of ...
Guest: Christelle Keefer of A3 on gaps in automation skills; Robot density is growing; Fleets flex in AI
Our guest on this week's episode is Christelle Keefer, director of training and certifications at The Association for Advancing Automation (A3). As labor becomes harder to find for our distribution and manufacturing facilities, com...