Explore every episode of the podcast The Freight Buyers' Club
| Title | Pub. Date | Duration | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Europe’s New Customs Clock Is Already Running: Stephen Tracey, WiseTech Global | 04 nov. 2026 | 00:09:50 | |
Stephen Tracey of WiseTech Global lays out what European importers and exporters need to be planning for over the next decade: a mandatory new data requirement that came into force on 1 November, and a complete rebuild of EU customs systems by the mid-2030s. He explains why Europe’s new parcel duty can apply more than once to a single parcel depending on what’s inside it, how AI is already being used in customs to catch errors rather than just speed things up, and why most businesses can see their supplier’s risk but not their supplier’s supplier’s. This was recorded before the 1 November deadline Steve refers to, which has now passed. The direction he describes, and the longer-term EU Customs Data Hub timeline, still holds. This is an extended clip from a longer conversation also featuring Cindy Allen, CEO of Trade Force Multiplier, and Roel Gevaers, supply chain expert at the University of Antwerp. Full episode: https://youtu.be/4s1XNmd5p6A | |||
| Cindy Allen (CEO, Trade Force Multiplier) on Why Customs Now Wants to Know Your Supplier’s Supplier | 30 oct. 2026 | 00:11:27 | |
In this clip from The Freight Buyers’ Club, host Mike King speaks with Cindy Allen, CEO of Trade Force Multiplier and a former Executive Director at US Customs and Border Protection, about the shift in US trade policy from national security to what she says CBP and the administration are now calling economic security. Allen explains why CBP wants importers of record to trace goods back through every supplier and every border they have crossed, not just the last point of origin, and why she describes trade policy right now as “a team sport,” with the US on one side and most of its trading partners on the other. She also walks through the four legal authorities she says the administration is using to assess tariffs after the Supreme Court struck down its use of IEEPA, including forced labour tariffs she says now apply to more than 60 countries, and the use of a rarely invoked authority against Canada. Watch the full episode: https://youtu.be/4s1XNmd5p6A #FreightBuyersClub #Customs #Tariffs #USTradePolicy #SupplyChain #ImporterOfRecord #TradeCompliance #CBP #GlobalTrade #Logistics | |||
| Shipping to the US? Why inland freight costs are soaring, with Dean Croke, Principal Analyst at DAT iQ, and Bill Cassidy, Senior Editor, Trucking at the Journal of Commerce | 28 oct. 2026 | 00:50:59 | |
What happens to your freight once the container is off the ship in America, and why is it costing so much more to move? In this episode of The Freight Buyers’ Club, host Mike King is joined by Dean Croke, Principal Analyst at DAT iQ, and Bill Cassidy, Senior Editor, Trucking at the Journal of Commerce, to explain what’s going on in the US inland market and what it means for importers and exporters around the world. US truck rates are up by around a third on last year, but as Dean explains, it isn’t because there’s more freight. He says the market has been repriced by a mass exodus of trucking capacity, driven by tougher enforcement on driver licensing, immigration status and English proficiency, and he describes his own encounter with ICE officers checking drivers at a truck stop fuel island. Dean also explains why national averages hide what’s happening on the busiest import lanes out of Los Angeles, and why diesel prices that vary by state are changing where carriers are willing to run. Bill sets out what shippers are actually paying, and why he sees a “K-shaped” economy shaping US freight demand. The pair also look at how the AI data centre boom has been holding up parts of the trucking market, and why Dean thinks that could be a bubble, as well as C.H. Robinson’s $5.8 billion acquisition of RXO, the $604 million verdict against C.H. Robinson and what it means for carrier vetting, the US midterms, the shift from road to rail, the proposed Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern merger, and what to expect in 2027. The video version on YouTube and Spotify includes on-screen charts from DAT iQ, the Journal of Commerce and the Drayrates-JOC port drayage index, which are worth a look alongside the audio. Thanks to Dimerco Express Group (https://dimerco.com/), our sponsor and your best partner on the transpacific. In this episode Related episodes Cargo Theft, Double-Brokering and Chameleon Carriers: Nancy O’Liddy on the Fraud Hitting US Freight, with Nancy O’Liddy, Executive Director of the National Industrial Transportation League | |||
| Suez Traffic Is Back, So Why Are War Risk Premiums Still High? With David McKie, Preston Turnbull | 23 oct. 2026 | 00:05:47 | |
More container ships are heading back through the Red Sea and the Suez Canal, but does that mean the waters are any safer? Not according to the London insurance market. Freight Buyers’ Club host Mike King caught up with David McKie, partner at Preston Turnbull LLP and a specialist in shipping and maritime insurance law, at the Cyprus Shipping News event in London on 13 October 2026. They discussed how war risk insurers actually assess danger, and what that means for the costs that end up being passed down the supply chain to cargo owners. David explains the difference between hull and machinery cover and war risk insurance, and how the Joint War Committee in London decides which waters count as high risk. That covers the Black Sea, the Strait of Hormuz and Bab el-Mandeb, along with what happened to premiums once the Hormuz crisis kicked off in early 2026. He also sets out what would need to change before shipowners, and ultimately their customers, start paying less. For context, at the time of recording the Joint War Committee had not relaxed its view of the Red Sea at all. In July 2026 it pushed its high-risk zone further north along the Saudi coast, and in September 2026 it extended its Black Sea listing to cover almost the entire basin. So more transits through Suez reflected carriers choosing to pay the premium, not insurers deciding the risk had gone away. The Freight Buyers’ Club, hosted by award-winning freight journalist Mike King, brings together the people shaping freight procurement and supply chains. Subscribe for more conversations like this one. | |||
| Air Cargo Unpacked: Peak Season, Wartime Costs | 20 oct. 2026 | 00:37:03 | |
Peak season has arrived with wartime costs attached. In this month’s Air Cargo Unpacked, Mike King and Neel Jones Shah ask whether there is still such a thing as a traditional peak season. They look at how soaring jet fuel prices are hitting airlines and shippers, and what the conflict in the Middle East means for air cargo, from the attacks on Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport to container ships sunk in the Strait of Hormuz. Neil Wilson, editor of TAC Index, calculating agent for the Baltic Air Freight Indices, takes us through the latest rates. Global rates are up 24.3% year on year, Hong Kong to US is far outpacing Hong Kong to Europe, and jet fuel is up 111% year on year. Plus the outlook for peak season and 2027 from Elaine Low (Maersk), Peter Kerins (Magna Aviation), Henk Venema (DHL Global Forwarding), Simon Milne (Solent Freight Services), Peter Scholten (Air One) and Steven Polmans (Swissport). We also discuss the US midterms, and finish on the first flight of the Airbus A350F and the FAA exemption that lets Boeing keep building the 777F. Also mentioned: Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, Spirit Airlines, airBaltic, Lufthansa, IAG, Air France-KLM, Qatar Airways, Singapore Airlines, Atlas Air, FedEx, Kalitta Air, the FAA, WorldACD, BIMCO, Air Cargo News, CNN and the Baltic Exchange. Next week on the Freight Buyers’ Club: Bill Cassidy (Journal of Commerce) and Dean Croke (DAT Freight & Analytics) on the US domestic trucking market. Next month on Air Cargo Unpacked: David Shepherd, Managing Director, IAG Cargo. Watch: Is Global Trade Fragmenting for Good? Customs, Tariffs and the New Rules of Importing: https://youtu.be/4s1XNmd5p6A Read: Mike King in the latest issue of Cargo Airports & Airline Services (CAAS), on the Asia Pacific market (pages 4-10) and interviewing Robert van de Weg, CEO of Mexican carrier mas (pages 14-16): https://caasint.com/latest-issue/ Rates data courtesy of TAC Index and the Baltic Exchange. Produced by Karen Ball. #AirCargo #PeakSeason #FreightRates #JetFuel #TACIndex #BalticExchange #FreightBuyersClub | |||
| Is Global Trade Fragmenting for Good? Customs, Tariffs and the New Rules of Importing: What Freight Buyers Need To Know | 15 oct. 2026 | 00:58:17 | |
A year ago, we asked whether global trade was entering an era of chaos. A year on, it looks less like chaos and more like a new, fragmented normal: the US has built a new, stacked tariff regime out of four separate legal authorities, the EU has ended its duty-free threshold for cheap parcels, and customs authorities on both sides of the Atlantic are quietly redefining what it means to import something legally. In this episode:
Is this a genuinely new global trading order, or the same old protectionism with a new label on it? Featuring: Chapters: #GlobalTrade #Customs #Tariffs #ForcedLabour #SupplyChain #Logistics #FreightBuyersClub | |||
| Advantage Carrier: John McCown, Nick Bailey and Jimmy Suroto on $6bn Carrier Profits, 49.9% Reliability and a 2027 Overcapacity Warning | 13 oct. 2026 | 00:59:17 | |
Container shipping has become "advantage carrier", according to John McCown of The McCown Report. US demand on the transpacific has been flat for a second year, yet spot rates have soared, and by John's count carriers made around $6bn in net income in the second quarter, seven times the first. So what can shippers actually do about it? In this container shipping special, produced with the support of Dimerco Express Group, Mike King is joined by three people who track this market more closely than most: John McCown, publisher of The McCown Report and author of Giants of the Sea Nick Bailey, co-founder of The Signal House and former lead analyst for logistics and services at A.P. Moller-Maersk Jimmy Suroto, founder of Nava Analytics & Research and a PSA veteran
We cover: Why rates have climbed so sharply while US demand stays flat, and what John calls "gotcha surcharges" Schedule reliability falling to 49.9% in August, the lowest since 2022 according to Sea-Intelligence, and why Nick says a global average hides your real exposure Port congestion in Asia, a typhoon season John calls the worst in a decade, the Middle East war, and why he believes carriers have learned to profit from disruption Why Asia-Europe and transpacific spot rates have gone in opposite directions Nick's argument that supply chains are now constrained by architecture, not capacity, and how to separate customer, defensive and distortion demand The long shift from West Coast to East and Gulf Coast ports, Jones Act waivers and US maritime policy COSCO, the FMC and the 9 November deadline for US port fees on China-linked ships Jimmy's 2027 forecast of 2% to 5% trade growth against BIMCO's forecast of 9% fleet growth, and what that wave of new ships could mean for rates Mentioned in this episode: ▶️ EXCLUSIVE: FMC Chair Laura DiBella on Trump's Maritime Dominance & Global Enforcement Powers https://youtu.be/GlZPTBKUzA4 Produced with the support of Dimerco Express Group (https://dimerco.com/), your trading partner connecting Asia with the US and beyond. If you enjoy the show, please like, subscribe and leave a comment telling us what you'd like us to cover next. We're working towards 10,000 YouTube subscribers this year, and every subscribe helps. Chapters: 00:00 Coming up 00:49 Welcome: Jimmy Suroto, Nick Bailey and John McCown 05:03 John McCown: flat US demand, soaring rates and "gotcha surcharges" 08:06 Nick Bailey: connected, cascading and compounding risk 11:04 Jimmy Suroto: what most container forecasters miss 12:10 Reliability falls to 49.9%: who is on time and who isn't 15:34 Port congestion hotspots and how carriers profit from disruption 18:40 Why transpacific and Asia-Europe spot rates split 21:27 Nick Bailey: architecture, not capacity, and why a bigger fleet won't save you 24:13 Customer, defensive and distortion demand on the transpacific 27:11 Efficiency or protection, and the headline rate trap 31:50 John McCown: advantage carrier, and the long shift to East Coast ports 34:27 Peak season, tariffs and chaos from the White House 37:30 Will container lines ever lose money again? 39:13 Jones Act waivers and the gap in US maritime policy 43:58 COSCO, the FMC and shots across the bow 47:30 Jimmy Suroto: back to baseline on the transpacific 49:25 Asia-Europe's new growth path 50:28 The Gulf and a 2% to 5% forecast for 2027 51:18 Why listen to Jimmy? His forecasting track record 51:58 A 9% bigger fleet: when does overcapacity bite? 53:35 John McCown on the 9 November port fee deadline 57:55 Nick Bailey: resilience versus efficiency in 2027 1:00:00 Thanks and goodbye #ContainerShipping #FreightBuyersClub #OceanFreight #Suppl... | |||
| Brandon Fried: 45 Years in Air Cargo, the Pan Am 103 Legacy, and Retiring as 'VP of Lunch' | 08 oct. 2026 | 00:05:24 | |
In this extended interview from Air Cargo Unpacked, retiring Airforwarders Association Executive Director Brandon Fried looks back on a career that started almost by accident: a relative in the forwarding business, warehouse work, fine art logistics, legal document delivery, and eventually his own operation in Washington DC before joining AfA. Brandon reflects on what he's most proud of: helping build the modern cargo security framework in the wake of the Pan Am 103 bombing, working with the TSA and Customs and Border Protection to create the Known Shipper Program and canine screening. Neel Jones Shah, who worked alongside Brandon from both the airline and forwarder side, pays tribute to his impact on the industry. Brandon also shares his biggest concern for the future of air freight forwarding (uncertainty and poorly informed regulation, "you're either at the table or you're on the menu"), and his message to whoever succeeds him: stay engaged with companies of every size, not just the big ones. And yes, he confirms his next title: Vice President of Lunch. From The Freight Buyers' Club Podcast. #AirCargo #FreightForwarding #AviationSecurity #Logistics #SupplyChain | |||
| Intra-Asia Container Trades, Port Congestion and Rising Rates, with Elaine Low, Area Managing Director, Southeast Asia, Maersk | 06 oct. 2026 | 00:15:24 | |
Mike King travels to Maersk's Southeast Asia head office in Singapore to talk with Elaine Low, Area Managing Director for Southeast Asia at A.P. Moller-Maersk, about the intra-Asia container trades. It's the world's biggest container trade, and one that rarely gets the attention it deserves, even with Drewry's Intra-Asia Container Index at three-year highs. Elaine explains how manufacturers expanding across the region and fast-growing Asian consumer markets are driving demand. She highlights automotive and EVs, electronics and the semiconductor ecosystem as key industries. She also argues that the real constraint is landside infrastructure at Southeast Asia's many smaller ports, and says every port in the region is effectively full. The conversation also covers how Maersk's Gemini hub-and-spoke network has helped it deal with typhoons and geopolitical disruption, the balance between contract and spot demand, how surcharges have been passed on, and what Maersk's integrator strategy offers shippers in Asia. #Maersk #IntraAsia #ContainerShipping #PortCongestion #SoutheastAsia #FreightBuyersClub #Logistics | |||
| Reimagine Your Supply Chain First, Then Add the Technology, with e2open's Pawan Joshi | 01 oct. 2026 | 00:18:53 | |
In this extended clip from The Freight Buyers' Club, Pawan Joshi, Chief Strategy Officer at e2open, digs into how far AI has actually taken supply chains, and where the real opportunity still sits. Pawan explains that a lot of supply chain processes and company structures were designed decades ago, in a world before the internet, before cell phones, when even desktop computing was limited. Technology has moved on dramatically since then. His point is that the real opportunity isn't just adding AI on top of existing processes. It's rethinking them with today's connectivity and compute in mind. He walks through a real example: monitoring temperature in real time on a refrigerated shipping container. Catching a broken cold chain early gives a business weeks of lead time to plan around a shortage, rather than finding out only when the container arrives. He calls this closing the loop, a concept borrowed from control systems. His argument is that closing the loop matters more than which specific technology, AI included, does the work. Pawan also explains the logic behind e2open and WiseTech's CargoWise coming together. He breaks the supply chain into three groups: the people who make products, the people who sell them, and the people who move them. CargoWise was built for the movers, e2open for the makers and sellers, and bringing them together aims to connect the whole chain rather than stopping at the handoff points. Finally, he addresses what actually blocks companies from sharing supply chain data across their networks. His answer: not a lack of standards, but a lack of trust. | |||
| Can Dubai's Ports Ever Recover From the Hormuz Crisis? | 29 sept. 2026 | 00:09:15 | |
an Dubai's ports ever recover from the Hormuz closure? Mike King and Drewry port specialist Eleanor Hadland analyse the region's shifting maritime landscape. The closure of the Strait of Hormuz has forced a rethink of logistics across the Middle East. With global trade routes under constant pressure, this episode examines how Middle Eastern logistics are adapting to new geopolitical realities. Eleanor Hadland joins the show to break down the massive capital expenditure currently flooding into the region, including the new 434 million dollar terminal in Jeddah and the wider scramble for infrastructure investment. Beyond the Gulf, we look at the feasibility of alternative overland routes and the long-term outlook for Dubai's port sector. If you are tracking the future of global supply chain capacity and regional port investment, this analysis provides the expert perspective you need on where the money is going and why. This is a clip from the full episode of The Freight Buyers' Club. Check us out on YouTube and all podcast platforms. Thanks to Dimerco Express Group (https://dimerco.com/) for sponsoring the show. Can Dubai's ports ever recover from the Hormuz closure? Mike King and port specialist Eleanor Hadland analyse the region's shifting maritime landscape. The closure of the Strait of Hormuz has forced a rethink of logistics across the Middle East. With global trade routes under constant pressure, this episode examines how Middle Eastern logistics are adapting to new geopolitical realities. Eleanor Hadland joins the show to break down the massive capital expenditure currently flooding into the region, including the new 434 million dollar terminal in Jeddah and the wider scramble for infrastructure investment. Beyond the Gulf, we look at the feasibility of alternative overland routes and the long-term outlook for Dubai's port sector. If you are tracking the future of global supply chain capacity and regional port investment, this analysis provides the expert perspective you need on where the money is going and why. This is a clip from the full episode of The Freight Buyers' Club. Check us out on YouTube and all podcast platforms. Thanks to Dimerco Express Group (https://dimerco.com/) for sponsoring the show. #StraitOfHormuz #PortInvestment #ContainerShipping #SupplyChain #FreightBuyersClub | |||
| The Professor Exposing What AI Vendors Won't Tell You | 21 sept. 2026 | 00:13:51 | |
Nada Sanders, Distinguished Professor at Northeastern University and author of The Human/Machine, has spent decades studying how businesses forecast risk, and years serving as an expert witness in cases involving AI vendors. In this clip she explains what that experience has taught her, and it isn't flattering to the industry. Her clearest warning is about hidden costs. She says she can "almost guarantee" that any company buying an AI package will hit costs it didn't see coming, sometimes for things as basic as querying the algorithm a different way. Before that, she lays out concrete practices for moving from reacting to risk to actually anticipating it. That means looking past transactional data like past orders and shipments, which only tell you what already happened, and tracking external signals instead, supplier behaviour, port congestion, weather, geopolitical events. It means building a handful of plausible future scenarios rather than betting on one forecast. And it means predefining trigger points in advance, so that when lead times jump or a supplier's reliability drops past a set threshold, the response is automatic rather than argued over after the fact. She also walks through what her book's central argument, that this was never a contest between humans and machines, looks like in practice. At Unilever, AI handles high volume, early stage hiring screens while humans keep the final call. At Maersk and Amazon, AI tracks far more shipments, demand shifts and supplier issues than any person could process, flags anomalies and possible bottlenecks, then hands the decision, reroute or don't, to the human who understands the customer relationship. The harder question, she says, is what changes with agentic AI, where the system doesn't just recommend, it acts. That means deciding in advance where humans still need to check in, what level of uncertainty is acceptable before escalating to a person, and just as importantly, when the AI should stop acting altogether. Watch the full episode of The Freight Buyers' Club for more from Nada Sanders, alongside Andre Simha (former digital transformation chief at MSC) and Pawan Joshi (Chief Strategy Officer, e2open), on forecasting, resilience and the future of human and AI collaboration in supply chains. | |||
| Container Shipping's Real Problem Is Trust - Andre Simha (ex-MSC) | 19 sept. 2026 | 00:09:14 | |
In this clip from The Freight Buyers' Club, Andre Simha, who chaired the Digital Container Shipping Association for seven years, explains why container shipping's real problem isn't technology. It's trust. Andre explains that getting fiercely competitive shipping lines to agree on basic data standards was hard, but achievable. Getting the industry to actually adopt those standards afterward has been much harder. He calls it a vicious circle. Everyone wants visibility, but sharing information means trusting other companies with it. He also compares today's AI evangelists to the blockchain evangelists who pitched him the same ideas a decade ago, in some cases the same people. His test for any new technology is simple. Does it remove a real, specific manual task. If not, he's not interested. Andre closes with the electronic bill of lading as proof of the problem. Years after the pandemic pushed hard for it, adoption still sits at only 10 to 20 percent. Andre Simha spent nearly 39 years at MSC, the world's largest container shipping line, the last five and a half as its digital transformation chief, before stepping down this spring. #ContainerShipping #ShippingIndustry #Logistics | |||
| Air Cargo Unpacked: Liege E-commerce Forum Takeaways, Miami Disaster, Freighter Orders, Oman Air's Mike Duggan | 15 sept. 2026 | 00:40:57 | |
Reporting live from the EU Cross-Border E-commerce Forum in Liège this month, Mike King and Neel Jones Shah break down why EU e-commerce demand has stalled following new de minimis rules, drawing on conversations with regulators and industry figures at the forum, plus fresh data from Rotate. They also cover a new US Customs and Border Protection disclosure proposal and a companion trade crimes bill working through Congress, a fresh wave of freighter orders from Ethiopian Airlines, Afcom and MSC Air Cargo, and the runway accident involving an Amazon Prime Air flight at Miami International. Neil Wilson of TAC Index, calculating agent for the Baltic Air Freight Indices, joins with his monthly rates analysis and peak season outlook. In the second half, Mike Duggan, Head of Cargo at Oman Air, joins to talk through rebuilding Oman Air's cargo business after a turbulent year in the Gulf, Muscat's rise as a logistics hub, and his read on where the market goes next. Comes packed with new graphics, maps and animations to help make sense of it all. #SupplyChain #Logistics #AirCargo #AirFreight #OmanAir | |||
| Agentic AI and Supply Chain Resilience, with e2open's Pawan Joshi, Northeastern's Nada Sanders and Andre Simha (ex-MSC) | 09 sept. 2026 | 01:19:11 | |
Disruption is now the baseline for global trade, not the exception. This episode looks at what real resilience takes on the ground, how technology fits in as decision infrastructure, and covers agentic AI, including who's accountable when it gets the call wrong. Mike King speaks with three guests who bring experience and insight from different perspectives across the industry. Guests 0:00 Why Disruption Is Now the Baseline for Trade #SupplyChain #Resilience #Logistics #GlobalTrade #Disruption #SupplyChainManagement #DigitalTransformation #FreightBuyersClub #AgenticAI #ArtificialIntelligence #ContainerShipping | |||
| Who's Really to Blame for Port Congestion? Drewry's Eleanor Hadland on Capacity, Carriers and the Hormuz Scramble | 02 sept. 2026 | 00:37:58 | |
Maersk CEO Vincent Clerc says ports are to blame for the congestion hitting shippers this year. But ocean carriers now control nearly half the world's marine terminals, so how much of this is really down to a lack of port investment, and how much comes back to the carriers themselves? Mike is joined by Eleanor Hadland, who leads Drewry's ports and terminals research and runs her own advisory practice, Hadland Maritime. They get into whether Vincent Clerc's numbers on port underinvestment stack up, why carrier terminal ownership is only going to grow, and why congestion is arguably a supply chain problem, not just a port one. They then take a tour of the world's most disrupted trades: chronic congestion in Shanghai and Ningbo, low water and strikes hitting Europe's biggest hubs, the $15 billion scramble to build ports around the Strait of Hormuz after the closure that took Jebel Ali out of the world's top 30 ports, the Panama Canal's own water problems, and West Africa's paradox of huge investment alongside rising delays. Guest: Eleanor Hadland, Senior Analyst, Ports and Terminals, Drewry Maritime Research, and Director, Hadland Maritime. Thanks to Dimerco Express Group for supporting this episode. They are the best partner if you need a shipping or air cargo solution on the transpacific trades and beyond. Topics covered: 0:00 Maersk's Vincent Clerc blames ports for the shipping delays and congestion #FreightBuyersClub #SupplyChain #Shipping #Ports #Maersk #Drewry #Logistics #ContainerShipping #Hormuz #OceanFreight | |||
| Air Cargo Unpacked: EU De Minimis, Cargo Theft, Tariffs, and Brandon Fried on Leaving the Airforwarders Association | 25 août 2026 | 00:43:18 | |
Mike King and Neel Jones Shah are joined for the whole episode by Brandon Fried, Executive Director of the Airforwarders Association, who has announced his retirement after two decades leading the organisation. This month: how the AI data centre build-out is reshaping air cargo demand, and the fallout from the EU's de minimis change on volumes through Liège. Cargo theft losses hit $725 million last year across US and Canadian freight, and an Airforwarders Association survey found 83% of forwarders reporting reduced shipping volumes due to tariffs. We also dig into the fight over IATA's revised Direct Air Waybill framework, the rules governing who's liable when cargo is misdeclared or mishandled, which forwarders say could shift liability onto them. Plus the best rates analysis in the business from Neil Wilson at TAC Index, a tribute to Jan Krems as he steps down as President of United Cargo, and a look back at Brandon Fried's nearly 25 years leading the Airforwarders Association as he hands over the reins. Many thanks to Brandon Fried for joining us for the whole episode, to Neil Wilson for his rates analysis, and to TAC Index and the Baltic Exchange for their continued support of Air Cargo Unpacked. For more from the Freight Buyers' Club, subscribe wherever you get your podcasts and follow us on LinkedIn and YouTube. | |||
| Container Shipping Now: Carrier Profits, Reliability & the Weather Threatening Peak Season, with Nils Roche (Solvens Advisory) and Mark Chadwick (Global Shippers' Association) | 19 août 2026 | 00:51:46 | |
Container carriers are pulling sailings on purpose, missing their own reliability targets, and posting some of their strongest profits in years. Mike King is joined by Nils Roche, Founder of Solvens Advisory and a former liner executive with senior roles at CMA CGM, Maersk and PIL, and Mark Chadwick, President of the Global Shippers' Association, representing some of the world's biggest cargo owners. He's one of the largest buyers in the industry, purchasing shipping capacity from both forwarders and carriers on behalf of his members. Topics include: carrier Q2 results, the gap between carrier reliability data and what shippers are actually experiencing, a 215% rise in blank sailings on some Asia lanes, the latest on Hormuz and Red Sea routing, a forecast "Godzilla" El Niño, record-low Rhine water levels, Panama Canal draft restrictions, and the current US tariff picture. This episode is sponsored by Dimerco Express Group (https://dimerco.com/), your trading partner connecting Asia with the US and beyond. Big thanks to Xeneta for sharing their exclusive reliability data.
Notes Links to Nils Roche, 2025 prediction on The Freight Buyers’ Club: https://youtube.com/shorts/-xxM1JS3mOU Link Hapag-Lloyd Vs US Retailers: Container Rates, Tariffs, ZIM And What Happens Next featuring Torsten Hartmann from Hapag-Lloyd and Jon Gold is VP for Supply Chain and Customs Policy at the National Retail Federation. Articles: Asian port congestion forcing container lines back to the Red Sea Rhine cut in two as European drought cripples inland shipping https://splash247.com/rhine-cut-in-two-as-european-drought-cripples-inland-shipping/
#ContainerShipping #SupplyChain #FreightBuyersClub #OceanFreight #Logistics #PeakSeason #Reliability #RedSea #ElNino #Tariffs | |||
| The Critical Window: Why Aerion is Moving Now | 12 août 2026 | 00:11:58 | |
Mike King speaks with Adrien Thominet, Chairman and Founder of AERION, about why the GSSA model at the heart of air cargo is being reinvented from the ground up. Thominet explains how AERION has moved beyond the classic GSSA structure, building out dedicated arms for pharma (Healthcare), e-commerce (Mail & More), total cargo management (TCE) and digital transformation (CargoTech), all under one corporate umbrella. He makes the case that airlines are increasingly comfortable outsourcing more of their commercial and operational activity, and why AERION believes there's a limited window to lead that shift before the air cargo industry consolidates around a smaller number of players. The conversation covers:
This episode is brought to you by Dimerco Express Group, connecting Asia with the world: https://www.dimerco.com/ Guest: Adrien Thominet, Chairman & Founder, AERION
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| Global GSA Group CEO Aytekin Saray on Consolidation, the Amazon Question, and Expansion into Africa, India and the Gulf | 06 août 2026 | 00:15:08 | |
Aytekin Saray, CEO of Global GSA Group, joins The Freight Buyers Club at Air Cargo China in Shanghai to explain where he sees air cargo's next growth, and why much of it sits in markets the GSA sector has underserved. Saray describes Africa as a major gap, with the Indian subcontinent, South America and the Middle East close behind, and says even competitors are thin on the ground in some of these regions. He talks through the group's moves into Egypt and Pakistan, an imminent Pakistan announcement, and his interest in Saudi Arabia. He argues that political tension, which he sees as more US and Western in origin, keeps re-engineering trade routes, and that the cargo industry feels the impact first. The conversation also covers the case for consolidation among GSAs, Saray's warning that too many unregulated players are undercutting rates, the shift from selling capacity to total corridor management, the role of CargoTech and automation in a more integrated GSA model, and what Amazon, UPS and e-commerce mean for the business. Saray predicts most of the market will still rely on GSAs. Guest: Aytekin Saray, CEO, Global GSA Group. Recorded at Air Cargo China, Shanghai. This episode is brought to you by Dimerco Express Group, your freight forwarder for connections from Asia to the rest of the world: https://dimerco.com/ #AirCargo #AirFreight #GSA #Logistics #SupplyChain #FreightForwarding #Cargo #AirCargoChina #GlobalGSAGroup #CargoTech #Ecommerce #Africa #India #MiddleEast #TheFreightBuyersClub #Dimerco | |||
| Air Cargo Unpacked: Anchorage sizzles as Asia-Europe cools | 29 juil. 2026 | 00:40:18 | |
Anchorage keeps growing while air cargo from Asia to Europe falls away. Same freight, opposite directions. Mike King and Neel Jones Shah unpack a freight market pulling apart, with Sean Dolan of NorthLink Aviation on why Ted Stevens Anchorage is booming, and Neil Wilson of TAC Index, calculating agent for the Baltic Air Freight Indices, on rates and jet fuel. Also this month: war and tariffs reshaping the map, the end of EU de minimis, the AI and semiconductor boom filling Asian carriers, Farnborough's order book, Dimerco's survey of 57 Asia-Pacific shippers, and Glyn Hughes handing over the top job at TIACA to Mammen Tharakan. Produced with the support of Dimerco Express Group, your partner for Asia sourcing, manufacturing and China-plus-one supply chains. https://dimerco.com/ 00:00 Welcome and coming up this month #AirCargo #Logistics #SupplyChain #Freight #AirCargoUnpacked | |||
| Rates, tariffs, ZIM and what happens next, with Hapag-Lloyd and US retailers | 23 juil. 2026 | 00:43:08 | |
US container imports are heading for a record month, and then four months of decline. Mike King puts that to both sides of the transpacific: Torsten Hartmann, who runs the trade for Hapag-Lloyd, and Jon Gold of the National Retail Federation, representing America's retailers. They discuss where contract rates landed, why Hapag-Lloyd's long term rates are barely breaking even, what the ZIM deal would mean for the transpacific, and what happens to importers as one tariff expires and several more line up behind it. Produced with the support of Dimerco Express Group. https://dimerco.com/ 00:00 Welcome | |||
| Lufthansa Cargo's Carolin Gerstenmaier on Semiconductors, Pharma and Ten Flights Per Chip | 13 juil. 2026 | 00:14:56 | |
Carolin Gerstenmaier, Head of Industry Development at Lufthansa Cargo, joins the Freight Buyers Club at Air Cargo China in Shanghai to talk through the two highest value, fastest growing industries in air freight: semiconductors and pharma. She walks through why a single chip can involve up to ten separate air freight movements, how semiconductor manufacturing has shifted from the US and Europe to Asia over the last 30 years, and why radioactive cancer treatments are now flight critical logistics, needing to reach a patient within 24 hours. The conversation also covers sustainability pressure from customers, AI and real time tracking, and how Lufthansa Cargo's network adapts to geopolitical disruption. This episode is sponsored by Dimerco Express Group, connecting Asia to the rest of the world. Find out more at https://dimerco.com/ Chapters: | |||
| CargoTech's President on Consolidating Air Cargo's Software | Exclusive | 06 juil. 2026 | 00:23:14 | |
Recorded at Air Cargo China in Shanghai, Mike sits down with Cédric Millet, President of CargoTech, for an exclusive look at how one company is pulling air cargo's software under a single roof. CargoTech is a holding company, backed by the same owner as ECS Group, the world's largest cargo GSA. It brings together specialist software companies, each focused on its own domain. Millet's pitch is a simple one: "we know cargo." He argues that because the portfolio's leaders came out of airlines, forwarders and GSAs, their software is built to solve cargo's real pain points, a claim he draws in contrast to the wave of generic tech newcomers now entering the space. What Mike and Cédric get into:
This episode of The Freight Buyers Club is brought to you by Dimerco Express Group, your forwarding partner for transport from Asia to the rest of the world. Big thanks to Dimerco for supporting independent journalism. Find out more at https://dimerco.com/ Guest: Cédric Millet, President of CargoTech, and Chief Strategy & Digital Officer, ECS Group | |||
| Straight From Shanghai: China's Shipping and Air Cargo Read | 02 juil. 2026 | 00:18:53 | |
Mike King is in Shanghai for Air Cargo China, and he sat down with Kathy Liu, VP global sales and marketing at Dimerco Express Group, for a fast read on what is really moving across ocean and air. Container rates have climbed since March, and Kathy explains the mix behind it: vessels tied up by Middle East disruption, a shortage of empty boxes at key Asian origins, and shippers front-loading ahead of tariff deadlines. Peak season has arrived early on the transpacific, though underlying demand is flat, so it may fade early too. She maps where congestion has moved, from an automated Shanghai that is coping to multi-day berth waits at Nhava Sheva, Colombo and Singapore. On air cargo, the AI and data centre boom is rewriting the map. Taiwan to US capacity is tight and rates are high, a run Kathy expects to last three to five years. Components are being pulled towards AI builds ahead of laptops and PCs, which points to a consumer electronics squeeze later in the year. She closes on the sourcing shift into Mexico, Vietnam and West Africa, and why Chinese companies still hold most of the freight decisions. Her advice for shippers: stay agile, and watch the market daily. #Shipping #AirCargo #SupplyChain #Freight #ContainerShipping Timestamped show notes 00:00 Live from Dimerco's Shanghai office, ahead of Air Cargo China | |||
| How Companies Win Trade Wars: Chad Bown, Petersen Institute (Ex-State Dept) | 29 juin 2026 | 00:36:24 | |
Trade wars used to be something economists told you to avoid. Nobody wins one, so you don't fight. That argument is over. In this episode of The Freight Buyers' Club, Mike King talks to trade economist Chad Bown about why the old rules-based system has gone, and what that means for anyone who sources, ships or moves cargo for a living. Chad Bown is the Reginald Jones Senior Fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, host of the Trade Talks podcast, and a former chief economist at the US State Department. With Soumaya Keynes he has written How to Win a Trade War: An Optimistic Guide to an Anxious Global Economy. We get into China's drive for one-way dependence, the weaponising of rare earths, the squeeze on developing economies, and why Europe is suddenly on the front line. Then we bring it back to the people listening. Where do you source when the map keeps changing? How do you find the hidden risk in your own supply chain? And what did companies like Apple do early that the rest are now scrambling to copy? If you buy freight, run a supply chain or decide where the factories go, this one is about the decade ahead. Produced with the support of Ontegos Cloud, the freight forwarder profitability specialists. Trade wars used to be something economists told you to avoid. Nobody wins one, so you don't fight. That argument is over. In this episode of The Freight Buyers' Club, Mike King talks to trade economist Chad Bown about why the old rules-based system has gone, and what that means for anyone who sources, ships or moves cargo for a living. Chad Bown is the Reginald Jones Senior Fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, host of the Trade Talks podcast, and a former chief economist at the US State Department. With Soumaya Keynes he has written How to Win a Trade War: An Optimistic Guide to an Anxious Global Economy. We get into China's drive for one-way dependence, the weaponising of rare earths, the squeeze on developing economies, and why Europe is suddenly on the front line. Then we bring it back to the people listening. Where do you source when the map keeps changing? How do you find the hidden risk in your own supply chain? And what did companies like Apple do early that the rest are now scrambling to copy? If you buy freight, run a supply chain or decide where the factories go, this one is about the decade ahead. Produced with the support of Ontegos Cloud, the freight forwarder profitability specialists. Notes: Shoumitro Chatterjee and Arvind Subramanian, “China’s mercantilist squeeze on developing countries,” PIIE Working Paper, May 2026. Arvind Subramanian talks to Chad Bown. https://tradetalkspodcast.com/podcast/215-how-chinas-trade-is-holding-back-developing-countries/
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| Air Cargo Unpacked | Rates Soaring, Volumes Flat and Atlas Air's Big Fleet Bet — with Richard Broekman | 17 juin 2026 | 00:45:29 | |
Richard Broekman, Chief Commercial Officer and Head of Sustainability at Atlas Air, joins Mike King and Neel Jones Shah for the June episode of Air Cargo Unpacked. Atlas flies 113 widebody freighters, around 13% of the world's widebody freighter fleet, so few people have a better view of where this market is heading. Richard gives a first-hand account of how Atlas managed the US de minimis shock in 2025 - which came on top of ‘Liberation Day’ tariffs - by redeploying capacity to Latin America almost overnight, and what it tells us about the EU's de minimis deadline coming on July 1. We also dig into why freight rates are soaring even as IATA cuts its 2026 demand forecast to 0.7%; the hyperscaler data centre boom reshaping the transpacific; the charter surge through the war in Iran; Atlas Air's record Airbus A350 freighter order and the lingering Boeing 777X question; the Air Atlanta investment; and an honest take on sustainable aviation fuel. Rates analysis from Neil Wilson, editor of TAC Index, calculating agent for the Baltic Air Freight Indices. A Freight Buyers' Club production, brought to you by Ontegos Cloud, the freight forwarder profitability specialists. | |||
| China's Cargo Pivot: Africa, India and South America | 11 juin 2026 | 00:05:47 | |
China's exports to the US have fallen, but China hasn't slowed down. It has redirected. In this clip from the latest episode of The Freight Buyers' Club, Nigel Pusey, CEO of Container Trades Statistics, walks through where the cargo is going now: Sub-Saharan Africa up 33% in Q1 2026, South and Central America up 17%, India up 17%. He explains why this started before the latest round of tariffs, and how a logistics revolution in West Africa, with 20,000 TEU ships now calling Lagos, is making it possible. Watch or listen to the full episode for the complete picture, including the European trade imbalance, the Strait of Hormuz, and Nigel's predictions for the rest of the year. Links on the channel. Produced with the support of Dimerco Express Group. #ContainerShipping #GlobalTrade #SupplyChain #ChinaTrade #Logistics | |||
| Container Shipping's Nash Endgame: The Equilibrium That Won't Last | 08 juin 2026 | 00:07:49 | |
The first episode of FBC Opinion, a new series from The Freight Buyers' Club. One expert, one argument, straight to camera, no host. In 2019, Akhil Nair wrote that container shipping would consolidate from 22 carriers to 12 within four years. Not through mergers. Through game theory. Seven years later, the count is exactly twelve. In this opinion piece, Akhil audits his own 2019 thesis. What he got right, what he got wrong, and why the equilibrium that has held container shipping together for seven years is now starting to break. His argument is that the equilibrium rested on five load-bearing conditions, and all five are under pressure at the same time. Ownership consolidation is back, with Hapag-Lloyd's acquisition of ZIM. Geopolitical risk is biting, with Iran's controlled zone over the UAE gateway ports. The Red Sea remains diverted. The EU's Consortia Block Exemption Regulation has expired. And MSC's independence, which has quietly stabilised the whole system, might no longer be guaranteed. Take any one away and the system holds. All five at once is a different story. If you are a BCO, shipper or freight buyer structuring contracts for 2026 to 2028, the closing section sets out three things you should be doing now. Akhil Nair is Operating Officer and Global Head of Freight Forwarding at LOGISTEED, which operates across 27 countries with 474 locations and handles 400,000 TEU annually. FBC Opinion brings leading freight buyers, BCOs and supply chain figures to camera to make one strong argument on the issues shaping container shipping, air cargo and global trade. Subscribe for new episodes. This episode is produced with the support of freight forwarder profitability specialist Ontegos Cloud. https://www.ontegos.cloud/ #containershipping #supplychain #freight #oceancarriers #logistics | |||
| Where Container Shipping Is Heading Next, With Nigel Pusey, CTS | 02 juin 2026 | 00:45:41 | |
Forget Trump's tariffs. The biggest story in container shipping isn't what's happening at America's ports. It's what's happening everywhere else. In the first quarter of 2026, the global container market grew 4.4% despite the Strait of Hormuz being shut, fresh war in the Middle East, and Cape of Good Hope sailings now stretching east-west trade to breaking point. But underneath the headlines, the trade map is being redrawn. Greater China's container exports to the United States fell 1.8 million TEU in 2025, and Container Trades Statistics is forecasting a similar net loss this year. Southeast Asia has picked up around a million TEU of that lost volume, but a net 800,000 boxes a year are now simply not going to America. China hasn't slowed down. It has redirected. In Q1 2026, Sub-Saharan Africa imports were up 33% on the same quarter a year earlier. South and Central America up 17%. India up 17%. These are the trades that will define container shipping for the rest of the decade. To make sense of where the container market is actually heading, Mike King is joined by Nigel Pusey, CEO of Container Trades Statistics (CTS) and a 30-year veteran of Maersk Line and P&O Nedlloyd. CTS produces the most comprehensive dataset in container shipping, drawing about 75% of its data direct from the lines' own manifests and invoices. In this episode, produced with the support of Dimerco Express Group, Mike and Nigel cover:
If you buy, sell, plan or move freight, this is one of the clearest reads on where the container market is actually heading. Special thanks to Dimerco Express Group for supporting this episode of The Freight Buyers' Club. Find out more about their transpacific, Asia logistics and tariff compliance services at https://dimerco.com/ Notes: The Good, The Bad, and the ANC: South Africa’s Logistics on the Brink Watch here: https://youtu.be/POyM0kHGMeg #FreightBuyersClub #ContainerShipping #SupplyChain #GlobalTrade #Logistics #ChinaTrade #TrumpTariffs #VietnamManufacturing #ChinaPlusOne #Dimerco #CTS #ContainerTradesStatistics #MaritimeLogistics #FreightMarket #OceanFreight #StraitOfHormuz #CapeOfGoodHope | |||
| Platforms, Ecosystems or Agents: Who Wins in Freight Tech? | 25 mai 2026 | 00:04:07 | |
In this clip from The Freight Buyers' Club, three of the sharpest minds in logistics technology give three very different answers to the same question: in three years, which type of company wins? Zubin Appoo, CEO of WiseTech Global, says integrated platforms with AI at the core displace everything else. Wolfgang Lehmacher, former Head of Supply Chain at the World Economic Forum, backs the ecosystem orchestrators. Eric Johnson, Senior Technology Editor at the Journal of Commerce, thinks the industry stays fragmented, just in a new way. No consensus. No easy answers. Worth checking out. Watch the full episode here: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NX9C1d4HwNA Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/7xPnfH2JgjCmIjhGiV1w7F Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/who-wins-the-ai-race-in-logistics-and-who-gets-left-behind/id1668766055?i=1000766413060
#AI #Logistics #FreightTech #SupplyChain #FreightForwarding #CargoWise #WiseTechGlobal #LogisticsTech #FreightBuyersClub #SupplyChainTech | |||
| Air Cargo Unpacked | Amazon's Freight Play, the Jet Fuel Shock and Why the MD-11 Returned | 20 mai 2026 | 00:42:24 | |
Is Amazon replacing the 3PL? In this episode of Air Cargo Unpacked, Mike King and co-host Neel Jones Shah dig into Amazon Supply Chain Services and what it really means for third party logistics providers, freight forwarders and the air cargo market. Is this a genuine supply chain management revolution or just a repackaging of existing services? Also in this May episode: the Middle East capacity recovery -- Rotate's latest data on the Gulf region and what 74% recovery actually means for shippers. Neil Wilson, Editor of TAC Index and calculating agent for the Baltic Air Freight indices, unpacks the rates picture -- including the extraordinary Europe-Dubai lane, up 140% year on year as Emirates capacity collapsed. Shantanu Gangakhedkar of Frost & Sullivan Asia Pacific on air cargo demand in the region and the scenarios that frame what happens next, from the Strait of Hormuz to growing e-commerce volumes. Jet fuel up almost 100% -- what the supply chain logistics implications are for carriers and shippers paying surcharges. ULD market disruption. And the FedEx MD-11 -- back in the skies despite all predictions. Produced with the support of Ontegos Cloud, the freight forwarder profitability specialists. https://www.ontegos.cloud/ Co-host: Neel Jones Shah (ex-Delta, United, Flexport) Neil Wilson -- Editor, TAC Index Shantanu Gangakhedkar -- Principal Consultant and Aviation Lead, Frost & Sullivan Asia Pacific Produced by Karen Ball and Tom Matthews #airfreight #3PL #supplychain #logistics #aviation #FedEx #MD11 #straitofhormuz #supplychainmanagement #aircargounpacked | |||
| Death by a thousand paper cuts: US tariffs, freight fraud and the cost of war | 14 mai 2026 | 00:50:04 | |
The Trump administration’s tariff programme has suffered another legal defeat. The US Court of International Trade ruled 2-1 against the 10% Section 122 global surcharge, the replacement for the IEEPA reciprocal tariffs struck down by the Supreme Court in February. So which tariffs are actually still standing, and what comes next? Mike King is joined by Karen Kenney, founder and president of K2 Trade Solutions and Dimerco Express Group Trade Compliance Strategist, and Nancy O’Liddy, Executive Director of the National Industrial Transportation League, to map out the current tariff landscape, explain how the four remaining pillars stack, and look at what the $166 billion CAPE refund process means in practice for importers. They also get into tariff fraud, including transshipment evasion, the growing risk of refund interception through the CAPE portal, and double-brokering in US domestic freight. Plus: diesel prices up 60% year on year, carrier surcharges, the Federal Maritime Commission’s pushback, and what the war in the Middle East actually means for shipping costs. And Nancy O’Liddy on why the NITL is calling for the Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern merger to be denied. A wide-ranging, practical episode for anyone managing freight costs or supply chain risk in 2026. Produced with the support of Dimerco Express Group: https://dimerco.com Contents 0:03:00 The Section 122 ruling: another legal defeat for Trump tariffs 0:06:00 Which tariffs are actually still standing? 0:08:00 The global tariff map: what it means by country and product 0:11:00 Tariff stacking explained: how 80% ends up on a tin can 0:15:00 The $166 billion refund: how the CAPE process is working in practice 0:23:00 Transshipment fraud: the $107 billion evasion problem 0:30:00 Refund fraud and the risk building around the CAPE portal 0:34:00 Double-brokering and domestic freight fraud 0:37:00 Fuel costs: diesel up 60% and what it means for shippers 0:47:00 Rail consolidation: why NITL is calling for the UP/NS merger to be denied
Related episode Carrier consolidation, AI & freight fraud: Gebrüder Weiss North America CEO Mark McCullough https://youtu.be/N7kVfrHfAAo
Data and press credits Data and graphics: TPC Tariff Rules Engine v1.6 | American Automobile Association Press coverage cited: The Guardian | The New York Times | Dow Jones Risk Journal (Liz Young, 28 April 2026) | The Washington Post (Linda Miller, 23 April 2026) | Journal of Commerce Research cited: Gaia Dynamics, “The Refund Trap: Why IEEPA Recovery Can Trigger Hidden Compliance Exposure”, 21 April 2026 | Altana AI, tariff evasion report, April 2026
Follow the Freight Buyers’ Club Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1mjDlZfKPFAnZwZeTNsiej?si=465c7c68316e4a0c Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-freight-buyers-club/id1668766055 Website: thefreightbuyersclub.com #TrumpTariffs #TradeWar #SupplyChain #FreightBuying #Logistics | |||
| The Questions Every Freight Buyer Should Ask AI Vendors: JOC's Eric Johnson | 11 mai 2026 | 00:06:18 | |
In this clip from The Freight Buyers' Club's latest AI and logtech special, Eric Johnson, Senior Technology Editor at the Journal of Commerce, gives freight buyers and logistics operators a practical framework for cutting through the AI vendor noise. He covers how he evaluates vendor claims as a journalist, why the compulsion to understand how AI works is the wrong instinct, what blockchain taught us about technology hype, and the specific questions every buyer should be putting to vendors before they commit. #AI #Logistics #FreightTech #SupplyChain #FreightBuying #LogisticsTech #ArtificialIntelligence #FreightForwarding #FreightBuyersClub #SupplyChainTech | |||
| Who wins the AI race in logistics, and who gets left behind? | 06 mai 2026 | 01:02:56 | |
On April 7th this year, Anthropic released an AI model called Claude Mythos. It was so capable at finding vulnerabilities in software that the company restricted access to around fifty organisations. The US Treasury summoned the biggest banks. The Pentagon had already stepped in. The Economist called it a watershed moment. In this episode of The Freight Buyers' Club, Mike King uses the Mythos moment as the way in to a much bigger conversation about AI and the future of logistics technology. Who controls the most powerful tools? What happens inside a company when AI actually lands? What does it mean for jobs, for compliance risk, for tribal knowledge, and for the competitive structure of the freight industry itself? Joining Mike are:
In this episode:
00:00 - Cold Open: The Mythos Moment #AI #Logistics #FreightTech #SupplyChain #CargoWise #FreightBuyersClub #WiseTechGlobal #ArtificialIntelligence #FreightForwarding #SupplyChainTech | |||
| Crisis = Opportunity? Why Forwarders Make More When Markets Break | 27 avr. 2026 | 00:20:49 | |
When markets break, most industries struggle. In this episode of the Freight Buyers’ Club, Oliver Gritz (former CFO of DHL Express and Founder & CEO of Ontegos Cloud) explains why crisis creates opportunity in freight—and why some forwarders thrive while others fall behind. From war-driven disruption and supply chain chaos to liquidity stress and missed revenue, we break down what’s really happening inside freight forwarding in 2026. If you’re in freight, logistics, or global trade—this is what separates the winners from everyone else. What you’ll learn:
About the guest: Listen / follow Freight Buyers’ Club: #FreightForwarding #Logistics #SupplyChain | |||
| Emirates Legend Ram Menen on Gulf War III and the Future of Gulf Air Cargo Hubs | 23 avr. 2026 | 00:22:07 | |
Gulf air cargo hubs have taken a serious hit since the Middle East war began. The world's most strategically positioned freight network is under pressure - and the industry wants to know if it comes back. In this segment from the latest Air Cargo Unpacked, Mike King and Neel Jones Shah sit down with Ram Menen - the man who spent nearly 28 years building Emirates SkyCargo and helped make Dubai one of the great global freight hubs - to ask the question the whole industry is asking: do the Gulf hubs come back, and how long does it take? Together they cover the hub geography, the belly cargo and passenger confidence question, how this crisis ranks against Gulf War I, 9/11, SARS and COVID, whether forwarders building alternative routes creates a permanent market shift, and why Ram believes air cargo recovers faster than ocean shipping. Ram's verdict: Gulf War III. Temporary setback, not existential crisis. The full episode also features exclusive air cargo rate analysis from TAC Index, calculating agent for the Baltic Exchange Baltic Air Freight Indices, plus Bachi Spiga from DHL Express Middle East and North Africa on how DHL kept every country in the region served from day two of the conflict. Full episode: ▶️ YouTube: https://youtu.be/YQROEd_DSAc Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/5OW32v9r8ZVejCWJ5oiB8r?si=beb29a01eeaf414b Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/air-cargo-unpacked-middle-east-war-fuel-crisis-capacity/id1668766055?i=1000761786379 thefreightbuyersclub.com: https://www.thefreightbuyersclub.com/podcast/air-cargo-unpacked-middle-east-war-fuel-crisis-capacity-disruption-and-global-fallout/ Produced with the support of Ontegos Cloud, freight forwarder profitability specialists: https://www.ontegos.cloud/ #AirCargo #AirFreight #MiddleEast #GulfAirCargo #Emirates #AirCargoUnpacked #FreightBuyersClub #OntegosCloud #BalticAirFreightIndex #TACIndex
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| Air Cargo Unpacked | Middle East War: Fuel Crisis, Capacity Disruption and Global Fallout | 16 avr. 2026 | 00:49:40 | |
The Middle East war that began on February 28th has sent shockwaves through global air cargo. Jet fuel has nearly doubled. Gulf hub capacity is still less than 60% of normal. And a fragile ceasefire has done little to restore confidence in the region's critical air corridors. In this episode of Air Cargo Unpacked, Mike King and Neel Jones Shah are joined by air cargo legend Ram Menen, who spent nearly 28 years building Emirates SkyCargo and helped make Dubai one of the great global freight hubs. Ram gives his verdict on what this crisis means for the region, how it compares to Gulf War I, 9/11 and COVID, and whether the Gulf's geographic advantage can survive the damage. We also have Bachi Spiga, VP Network Operations at DHL Express Middle East and North Africa, on how DHL rewired its entire regional operation to keep trade moving, and Neil Wilson and Peyton Burnett from TAC Index, calculating agent for the Baltic Air Freight Indices, on what the rate data is telling us right now. And we walk through exclusive capacity and fuel analysis from Rotate, giving a granular picture of what has actually happened to the global network since February 28th. Produced with the support of Ontegos Cloud, the freight forwarder profitability specialists. https://www.ontegos.cloud/ In this episode we cover:
Journalism featured in this episode:
Data: TAC Index / Baltic Air Freight Indices. Rotate. #AirCargo #AirFreight #MiddleEast #GulfAirCargo #FreightRates #JetFuel #SupplyChain #Logistics #FreightBuyersClub #AirCargoUnpacked #OntegosCloud #BalticAirFreightIndex #TACIndex #DHL #Emirates | |||
| Middle East Conflict 2026: Global Shipping and Trade Crisis ft. Lars Jensen and Greg Knowler | 02 avr. 2026 | 00:34:54 | |
The Strait of Hormuz has been closed to commercial shipping since the end of February. One month on, the world is still counting the cost. Freight rates are rising, bunkers and jet fuel are running short, and the risk of escalation into the Red Sea and beyond is growing. In this episode of The Freight Buyers' Club, Mike King is joined by two of the most respected voices in the industry: Lars Jensen, CEO, Vespucci Maritime Greg Knowler, Europe Editor, Journal of Commerce Together they cover: ✅ Is the Middle East conflict actually a global shipping crisis — or a regional one? ✅ Container shipping rates: are we heading for a Red Sea-style spike or not? ✅ Bunker fuel shortages in Asia — why availability is becoming a bigger problem than price ✅ Jet fuel shortages and the collapse of air cargo capacity through Gulf hubs ✅ The intermodal alternatives: Saudi Red Sea ports, Khorfakkan, Salalah — and their limits ✅ The danger of escalation: Houthis, Red Sea, Bab-el-Mandeb and the eastern Mediterranean ✅ What US importers are facing on top of the existing tariff chaos ✅ Why supply chain resilience always loses out to efficiency — and what shippers can do about it ✅ Lars Jensen's forecast for container shipping rates in the weeks ahead Produced with the support of Dimerco Express Group, leading Asia-Pacific freight forwarder and logistics provider. https://dimerco.com #MiddleEastConflict #ContainerShipping #GlobalTrade #SupplyChain #Freight #ShippingCrisis #Hormuz #AirCargo #BunkerFuel #FreightRates #SupplyChainResilience #FreightBuyersClub #LarsJensen #GregKnowler #Dimerco #OceanFreight #Logistics #Intermodal #RedSea #TradeDisruption | |||
| LATAM Cargo CEO: Perishables, Trade Wars and Growing a 19-Freighter Fleet | 30 mars 2026 | 00:10:55 | |
Recorded live at the IATA World Cargo Symposium in Lima, Peru, Mike King sits down with Andres Bianchi, CEO of LATAM Cargo, the cargo arm of the largest airline group in South America. Andres breaks down LATAM Cargo's network across North America, Europe and intra-South America, their fleet of 19 Boeing 767 freighters, and why 65% of their cargo is special cargo, dominated by perishables like Chilean salmon, Ecuadorian flowers and Peruvian fruit. We cover the structural changes hitting e-commerce and de minimis exemptions across Latin America, how LATAM Cargo planned for multiple tariff scenarios without having to implement most of them, and how the Middle East conflict is sending shockwaves through supply chains. Andres also explains how LATAM Cargo handles fuel surcharge transparency with customers in a volatile pricing environment, and outlines plans for 5 to 7% belly capacity growth in 2026, with a focus on cargo-heavy European routes including Amsterdam and Brussels. Topics covered:
This content is brought to you by Dimerco Express Group. Learn more at dimerco.com. #AirCargo #AirFreight #LATAMCargo #IATAWorldCargoSymposium #FreightBuyersClub #SouthAmericaFreight #Perishables #ColdChain #LogisticsPodcast #FreightPodcast #SupplyChain #Ecommerce #DeMinimis #Tariffs #TradeWar #FuelSurcharge #CargoFleet #FreightMarket #AirCargoIndustry #Dimerco
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| Logistics Tech Procurement: The Questions Every Freight Buyer Should Ask Vendors | 26 mars 2026 | 00:09:18 | |
Logistics technology promises a lot. But how do you know if a vendor is selling you reality or a roadmap? In this Freight Buyers' Club interview from TPM26 in Long Beach, Mike King sits down with independent logistics technology consultant Mike DeAngelis, who has worked across Maersk, INTTRA, WiseTech Global, project44 and FourKites, to get the questions every freight buyer and shipper should be asking before they commit. From clean versus dirty data to the risks of automating AI workflows on unreliable sources, Mike DeAngelis cuts through the sales pitch to give shippers a practical framework for evaluating any logistics tech platform. LogTech Industry veteran, ex - Maersk, INTTRA, WiseTech Global, p44, FourKites In this interview:
Whether you are assessing a visibility platform, a TMS, or an AI-driven workflow tool, the framework here applies across the board. This content was brought to you by Ontegos Cloud, freight forwarder profitability specialists. #FreightBuyers #LogisticsTech #SupplyChain #FreightProcurement #AI #ShippingTech #FreightBuyersClub | |||
| Before You Add AI to Your Freight Systems, Fix This First | Peter Creeden, MPC International | 23 mars 2026 | 00:11:36 | |
Everyone's talking about AI. Peter Creeden thinks we're building on sand. Peter Creeden, MD of MPC International and advisor to the IMO's Port Call Optimization task force, joined Mike King at TPM26 in Long Beach to make the case that shipping's data foundations need to come before any AI investment. From the IMO's new PCO Guide to e-bills of lading, smart contracts, and scope three emissions reporting in Australia, Peter maps out the digital layer cake that has to exist before AI can actually deliver. If you're a freight buyer evaluating visibility platforms, digital tools, or AI-powered freight systems, this one is required viewing. Guest: Peter Creeden, MD, MPC International This content is brought to you by Dimerco Express Group [https://dimerco.com/] #FreightBuyersClub #TPM26 #SupplyChain #ArtificialIntelligence #DigitalTransformation #Shipping #FreightTech #PortCallOptimization #IMO #LogisticsTech #EBillOfLading #Decarbonization #OceanFreight #FreightBuyers #SmartContracts | |||
| United Cargo's Jan Krems: No Freighters, No Problem - War, Disruption and Why Cargo Is Still Sexy | 17 mars 2026 | 00:15:46 | |
Air cargo doesn't stop for war. It reroutes. Jan Krems, President of United Cargo, joins Mike King at the IATA World Cargo Symposium in Lima, Peru, for one of the most candid conversations in recent air freight memory. With Middle East airspace closed, fuel prices up sixty to seventy percent, and tariff policy shifting overnight, Jan explains how United keeps cargo moving when the world keeps throwing curveballs. His model is built on belly capacity, smart partnerships, and access to freighter space rather than ownership of it - a position he defends with characteristic Dutch directness. On the growth side, Jan talks through United's pharmaceutical business in India, new Southeast Asia services into Vietnam and Thailand, and where he sees opportunity in a market disrupted by both conflict and trade policy chaos. He also breaks down how United thinks about automation, AI, and the one thing technology still cannot replace: people with a cargo heart. Thirty-nine years in the industry. Twelve with United. And cargo, he says, is still sexy. Recorded live at WCS Lima, March 2026. This episode of the Freight Buyers Club is supported by Dimerco Express Group. https://dimerco.com/ CHAPTERS 00:00 Welcome from WCS Lima 01:00 Five years of disruption: COVID, Ukraine and the Middle East 03:00 Middle East airspace closure: impact, fuel costs and workarounds 05:00 Tariffs: coping when policy changes overnight 07:00 India, pharma and new Southeast Asia routes 09:00 South America: how United serves the region 10:00 The freighter question: why Jan will never own one 11:30 Fleet investment, specialty products and the cool chain 13:00 AI, automation and the 50/25/25 booking model 14:30 Thirty-nine years in the industry and why cargo is still sexy #AirCargo #FreightBuyers #UnitedCargo #SupplyChain #Logistics #AirFreight #GlobalTrade #FreightMarket #Shipping #CargoIsSexy | |||
| Air Cargo: Capacity Shocks, War and What Comes Next | Ray Zedov, Rotate | 12 mars 2026 | 00:14:12 | |
The Middle East war sent shockwaves through global air cargo markets almost overnight. 18% of global capacity disappeared within 48 hours. Mike King sits down with Ray Zedov, Commercial Director at Rotate, at IATA World Cargo Symposium in Lima to break down what the data actually shows - from grounded Gulf carriers and rerouted integrators to Vietnam's supply chain surge and what shippers should be watching for in the months ahead. This content is proudly supported by Dimerco Express Group, your ideal freight forwarding partner for Transpacific Asia and beyond. Learn more at https://dimerco.com/ #AirCargo #MiddleEastWar #FreightBuyersClub #Rotate #Dimerco #AirCargoNews #SupplyChain #Freight #IATAWCS #Lima2026 | |||
| Air Cargo Unpacked l Middle East War Analysis | 11 mars 2026 | 00:25:30 | |
Recorded live at the IATA World Cargo Symposium in Lima, Air Cargo Unpacked brings together host Mike King, United Cargo President Jan Krems, TAC Index Founder Peyton Burnett and co-host Neel Jones Shah for the definitive air cargo briefing on the Middle East war. Capacity on the Asia-Europe corridor has collapsed by more than 40% on some routes. Charter prices have tripled. Jet fuel has hit levels not seen in years. And ocean shipping is in simultaneous chaos. This episode covers what's happening, why it matters, what freight buyers should do right now, and where this goes next. Sponsored by Ontegos Cloud — freight forwarder profitability specialists.
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| Exclusive: Hapag-Lloyd CEO Rolf Habben Jansen on Iran, Suez & Zim | 04 mars 2026 | 00:06:06 | |
In this exclusive interview at TPM26 in Long Beach, Mike King is talking to Rolf Habben Jansen, CEO of Hapag-Lloyd, to discuss three of the biggest stories shaping container shipping right now. Rolf gives his take on the proposed Zim acquisition and what it means for freight buyers, the impact of US and Israeli strikes on Iran and what that means for ships currently stuck in the Persian Gulf, and whether a return to the Suez Canal is now further away than ever. He also shares his view on the container shipping supply and demand balance, why he sees underlying demand as still strong, and how shippers should think about US inventory levels and the transpacific market heading into the rest of 2026. This content is supported by Dimerco, a global freight forwarding and logistics network that believes in the value of independent journalism in the freight industry. Find out more at https://dimerco.com/ #TPM26 #ZimDeal #SuezCanal #IranStrikes #ContainerShipping #FreightMarket #HapagLloyd #LogisticsNews #SupplyChain #FreightBuyers | |||
| The Rules Just Changed: Tariffs, Iran & What Freight Buyers Do Next | Paul Bingham, S&P Global | 03 mars 2026 | 00:14:26 | |
The US and Israel have struck Iran. The Supreme Court has struck down the IEEPA tariffs. And every freight buyer is asking the same question: what do we actually plan for now? Mike King sits down with Paul Bingham, Director of Transportation Consulting, Economics and Country Risk at S&P Global Market Intelligence, at TPM26 in Long Beach to make sense of it all. They cover:
This episode is produced with the support of Dimerco Express, a leading freight forwarder and supply chain solutions provider across Asia and beyond. https://dimerco.com/ | |||
| Carrier Consolidation, AI & Freight Fraud: Gebrüder Weiss North America CEO Mark McCullough | 23 févr. 2026 | 00:25:01 | |
Freight buying strategy is being tested like never before. Tariff whiplash, carrier consolidation, AI adoption and nobody quite knows what comes next. Mark McCullough, CEO of Gebrüder Weiss North America, joins Mike King for a frank conversation about how one of the world's leading freight forwarders is navigating the uncertainty and what it means for shippers. They cover the proposed Hapag-Lloyd/ZIM merger and what less competition really means for freight buyers, why shippers are firmly in the driving seat on the Trans-Pacific right now, and how tariff uncertainty is forcing companies into three-tiered contingency strategies rather than long-term capital deployment. Mark also opens up about freight fraud costing Gebrüder Weiss hundreds of thousands of dollars a year, how sophisticated double-brokering scams are targeting freight forwarders, and what the industry needs to do about it. Plus an honest account of GW's automation journey, what's working, what's been expensive, and why bad data will kill your AI investment before it starts. And how a funeral, a few too many drinks, and a South African aunt launched one of North America's most senior freight executives into a career in logistics. Sponsored by OntegosCloud, the freight forwarder profitability specialist. Featured: Hapag-Lloyd Buys ZIM Explained: Why Freight Buyers Should Care https://youtu.be/4u6wCfwUvc0 Why Great Freight Forwarders Thrive in Chaos | #44 | Freight Buyers Club The Good, The Bad, and the ANC: South Africa’s Logistics on the Brink https://youtu.be/POyM0kHGMeg Topics covered: 0:00 Introduction — Mike King welcomes Gebrüder Weiss North America CEO Mark McCullough and previews the episode 01:45 Hapag-Lloyd/ZIM Merger — Is carrier consolidation good for freight buyers or just less competition dressed up as efficiency? 03:00 Trans-Pacific Outlook — Excess capacity, blank sailings, depressed rates and what the next 12 to 18 months looks like 05:00 Shippers in the Driver's Seat — Why forwarders like GW actually prefer higher freight rates and what that means for contract season 07:00 Tariffs and Capital Deployment — Why uncertainty is stopping shippers from committing to long-term strategy and the three-tiered contingency approach 11:00 Freight Fraud Revealed — How double-brokering scams cost Gebrüder Weiss $600,000 in a single year and how they work in practice 16:00 Automation and AI at GW — Bots, document splitting, carrier vetting tech and how offshore teams are being upskilled 19:00 The Data Problem — Why bad data killed their AI investment early and what they had to do to fix it 21:30 Clean Data Advice — Mark's blunt advice to any company thinking about AI investment right now 22:00 How Mark Got Into Freight — A funeral, a few white wines and a South African aunt who changed everything | |||
| Hapag-Lloyd Buys ZIM Explained: Why Freight Buyers Should Care | 18 févr. 2026 | 00:16:56 | |
Hapag-Lloyd has agreed to acquire ZIM for $4.2 billion, creating a combined fleet of 400+ vessels. In this mini Freight Buyers' Club, Nils Roche (ex-CMA CGM, Maersk, PIL) breaks down what this deal means for the liner industry, for the Gemini Cooperation, for MSC, and crucially, for freight buyers. We cover:
This mini Freight Buyers' Club is brought to you by Ontegos Cloud, the freight forwarder profitability specialist: https://www.ontegoscloud.com Guest: Nils Roche, Founder of Solvens Advisory Host: Mike King | |||
| Air Cargo Unpacked | MD-11 Retirement, Capacity Crunch, E-Commerce & TAC Rates | 16 févr. 2026 | 00:28:13 | |
The freighter capacity crunch is real. In this episode of Air Cargo Unpacked, Mike King and Neel Jones Shah break down UPS retiring its MD-11 fleet, why the aircraft backlog won't normalise until the 2030s, and what it means for air cargo rates. Plus: Dimerco's Kathy Liu on Chinese New Year from Shanghai, exclusive rate analysis from TAC Index's Neil Wilson, and how de minimis policy changes are reshaping e-commerce flows out of China - with North America down 33% and Europe up 22%. We also cover Maersk dumping its 767s for 777s on trans-Pacific, and what the new US-India trade deal could mean for air freight demand. Featuring:
Air Cargo Unpacked is a monthly Freight Buyers' Club production, brought to you by OntegosCloud, the freight forwarder profitability specialist. https://www.ontegos.cloud/ Subscribe for monthly air freight market analysis. #AirCargoUnpacked #FreightBuyersClub #Logistics #AirFreight #Shipping #CargoCapacity #DeMinimis #ChineseNewYear #TACIndex #Ecommerce #GlobalTrade 00:00 Welcome to Air Cargo Unpacked 01:00 UPS Retires MD-11 Fleet 02:30 10% of Widebody Freighter Capacity at Risk 04:30 Aircraft Backlog Hits 17,000 06:00 Conversion Costs Soaring: $80m for a 777 08:00 Chinese New Year: Kathy Liu from Shanghai 10:00 China Plus One: Southeast Asia Booming 12:00 Neel on CNY: Why This Year Is Different 15:30 TAC Index Rate Analysis with Neil Wilson 17:00 Shanghai Rates Up 9% Year on Year 18:00 Spot vs Contract Rates Explained 21:00 De Minimis: US Down 33%, Europe Up 22% 23:00 E-Commerce Is Like a Raging River 24:30 Maersk Sells 767 Freighters to Amazon 27:00 US-India Trade Deal: Stability Returns | |||