The West Coast Bottleneck with Brian Rice
The Logistics of Logistics Podcast
Release Date: 08/16/2021
The Logistics of Logistics Podcast
and discuss beyond the tracks: the next frontier of American rail. Martin is CEO at , a tech-enabled rail logistics provider with a team of experienced rail professionals, an extensive network of partners, and a best-in-class technology platform that simplifies the movement of freight and creates a competitive advantage. About Martin Lew is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Commtrex, the largest tech-enabled logistics platform in North America (US, Canada, and Mexico) for shippers to directly connect with railroads, transloaders, storage facilities,...
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and discuss avoiding logistics FUD. Steve is the Founder and Managing Director of Partners, a boutique leadership, business strategy and turnaround consulting firm. Summary: Avoiding Logistics FUD In this episode, Joe Lynch and guest Steve Elwell tackle the pervasive issue of Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt (FUD) and its impact on various aspects of business, particularly in logistics. Joe and Steve provide valuable insights into overcoming FUD by establishing trust and eliminating disruptive elements within business relationships, and leadership. The...
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In “Supply Chain Reset: Overcoming Pharma & Healthcare Supply Chain Challenges”, and , a Principal at Efficio, discuss how to build resilient supply chains using data-driven strategies and a hands-on consulting approach to achieve both cost savings and operational resilience in the complex pharma and healthcare sectors. About Michael Needham is a Principal Consultant at Efficio, the leading global consultancy, dedicated to helping clients achieve their supply chain and procurement goals. Michaël has 20+ years of experience working across the pharmaceutical manufacturing,...
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and discuss the revenue engine. Kara is the Founder and CRO of , the premier B2B marketing and PR firm dedicated to helping logistics companies increase lead generation through targeted marketing strategies and media coverage. About Kara Brown A prominent thought leader in B2B go-to-market strategy, is CEO of LeadCoverage, the pioneering consultancy transforming approaches to PR, demand generation and marketing across the supply chain, heavy industrial, and tech sectors. Her successful corporate career started at Echo Global Logistics where she played a key...
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In “Beyond LTL & Truckload: The Expedite All Approach to Smaller Truck Solutions”, and , the President of Expedite All, discuss how specialized small truck solutions, spearheaded by networks like Expedite All, deliver efficient, on-demand transportation for time-critical shipments, leveraging cargo vans, box trucks, and straight trucks to bypass the limitations of traditional LTL and Truckload. About Mike Ernst , President of Expedite All, brings over 25 years of experience in the logistics industry to the company. He has held leadership roles such as Vice President of...
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In “U.S. Maritime Modernization: Policy Driven Changes in Ocean Shipping”, and , the Founder of Squall Strategies and The Maritime Professor, discuss how recent U.S. policies, like OSRA 2022 and strategic efforts to move supply chains from China, are significantly reshaping the ocean shipping industry. About Lauren Beagen is a seasoned maritime attorney and the founder of and . Ms. Beagen is often called on for her industry expertise by notable trade networks, including features on CNBC and FreightWaves. has extensive experience in oceanborne commerce...
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In “2025's Top 100 3PLs: How Logistics Giants are Confronting Uncertainty”, and , Managing Editor of Features and Multimedia at Transport Topics, discuss the Top 100 logistics companies, 2024 performance, changes to the list, and the trends impacting the industry. About Seth Clevenger Seth Clevenger is managing editor of features and multimedia at Transport Topics. He plans, writes and edits news features for Transport Topics’ weekly newspaper, supplemental publications and . He also creates video and audio content for Transport Topics’ webcasts, podcasts and radio...
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and discuss a decade of Loadsmart: a look back to move forward. Felipe is Co-founder and CEO of , where they provide logistics solutions powered by industry experts and next-gen technology that lower costs, increase efficiency, and digitize transportation. About Felipe Capella Co-founder and CEO of , a leading digital freight technology company. Previously advised companies on corporate strategy and M&A in Brazil and New York for 8 years. Joined the Inter-American Development Bank in Washington to advise on sovereign guaranteed development...
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and discuss beyond the yard - how Velostics streamlines scheduling. Gaurav is the Founder and CEO of , a company on a mission to revolutionize the logistics landscape. Summary: Beyond the Yard: How Velostics Streamlines Scheduling In this podcast, Gaurav Khandelwal, CEO of Velostics, discusses how their cloud-based logistics software automates scheduling and streamlines processes for shippers, carriers, and logistics providers. Velostics aims to eliminate manual scheduling, reduce friction in the handoff process, and provide user-friendly tools for better...
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In “The 5 Failures of Final Mile,” and , Host of Last2First Podcast and Insurance Producer at CUI Agency, discuss the common mistakes that final mile companies make. About Jason Burns is a native of New Orleans and a passionate business leader in the final mile transportation industry. He is a 2006 graduate of Vanderbilt University where he was a SEC Academic Honor Roll student-athlete in football and selected as the recipient of the Head Coach’s Dedication Award. After beginning his professional career in the parking industry, Jason returned to his hometown to assume a...
info_outlineThe West Coast Bottleneck with Brian Rice
Brian Rice and Joe Lynch discuss the west coast bottleneck. Brian is the CEO of Dray Depot, a 3PL out of Chicago area that focuses on the drayage market.
About Brian Rice
Brian is the President and CEO of Dray Depot, a 3PL out of Chicago focusing on the drayage market. He has been in the logistics industry for over 10 years and has learned and experienced the ups, downs, and changes in the industry during that time. He started on the ground level as a carrier representative and made his way through the carrier, customer, and leadership sides of the business. He brings a great wealth of knowledge and experience having been in the trenches. Given this extensive knowledge, Brian has put his plans into play and seeing success in drayage. Brian and his team at Dray Depot are taking the industry by storm with some very exciting moves and further plans for a $36 million project to expand into cold storage in the southeast. Brian is a born and raised Chicagoan and loves Chicago sports. He is married with a 5 year old son, 4 year old daughter, and his fur babies that keep him on to go!
About Dray Depot
Dray Depot is an employee owned and operated third party logistics company that specializes in drayage and transloading services. The growing congestion and the resulting demurrage at the ports was a call to arms for our team, so we meticulously built a bullet-proof network of carrier partners and transloading facilities at every port and rail in the United States, consisting of 5k partners in our network and growing. Our mission is to keep the demurrage money in our customers pockets and away from the ports, our motto is “DON’T LET THE PORTS WIN!”. We have been accomplishing this at an astounding rate by monitoring our partner carrier’s ever-changing loading schedules for available drivers and assigning them to our customer's containers to ensure they are being pulled prior to LFD, even on short notice.
Key Takeaways: The West Coast Bottleneck
- Brian Rice is the Chief Executive Officer at Dray Depot, a Chicago based drayage and transloading provider that services all U.S. ports and rails.
- In the podcast interview Brian shares his insights on the shipment delays on the West Coast that are wreaking havoc on retail, e-commerce, and production supply chains.
- Los Angeles is the largest port in the United States and, together with Long Beach a bit further south, account for around 30 percent of trade entering and exiting the United States.
- China, Canada, Mexico, Japan, and Germany are the top 5 exporters to the USA.
- The US imported the most goods from Canada until 2007 when China replaced our neighbor to the north.
- In 2019, these five countries supplied 48% of the $2.5 trillion in U.S. imports of goods.
- The 5 biggest US importers are Walmart, Target, Home Depot, Lowes, and Ashley Furniture. Click the link to see the top 100 US importers.
- In late May 2021, the Executive Director of the Port of Los Angeles stated, “We are in the seventh month of an unparalleled import surge
- Stuck at home during the pandemic, Americans decided to buy lots of consumer goods.
- The surge in ships arriving from Asia put West Coast ports under stress, which started in November and thus far has continued through into the summer months.
- While American consumers demand went up, transportation and logistics companies struggled to keep up.
- Employees stayed home because 1.) Fear of COVID, 2.) Kids were home, 3.) Government checks
- Meanwhile USA exports dropped because of supply chain shortages, COVID related production delays
- In addition, the shipping container shortage and the block Suez Canal caused supply chains disruptions.
- The West Coast bottleneck is slowly opening up, but will most likely last until 2022.
- Shippers, especially those who rely on Christmas sales must work with their 3PLs to find alternative solutions.