Logistics Management Podcast

Tariff and trade update with Pete Mento, Director, Global Trade Management Services, Baker Tilly

GUEST: Pete Mento, Director, Global Trade Management Services, Baker Tilly 
In this podcast, LM Group News Editor Jeff Berman interviewed Pete Mento, Director, Global Trade Management Services, Baker Tilly. Topics covered included: the current state of the global trade environment; the Supreme Court's decision to overturn the White House's IEEPA tariffs; the Court of International Trade's ruling on IEEPA refunds; the upcoming United States Mexico Canada Agreement (USMCA) negotiations; and supply chain uncertainty related to trade, among other topics.    
Pete is a licensed Customs House Broker and a widely recognized voice in global trade, customs and duty minimization strategy. As director of global trade advisory at Baker Tilly, he helps companies identify savings, reduce risk and design efficient, defensible trade compliance programs.
With more than three decades of experience, including senior leadership roles in major logistics and advisory firms, Pete brings a rare combination of operational depth and strategic perspective. His expertise spans customs operations, transfer pricing alignment for importers, audit defense, trade tax integration, valuation, cargo security and global supply chain risk.
Pete holds a master’s degree in government with a concentration in trade theory from Harvard University, a Ph.D. in customs and economics from the University of Durham in the UK and completed his undergraduate studies at Maine Maritime Academy where he served five terms as a member of the advisory board. Known for his engaging, insightful speaking style, he translates complex global trade issues into clear, practical guidance for executives, compliance teams and industry audiences worldwide.

Sizing up the current state of the freight economy with Keith Prather, Armada Corporate Intelligence Managing Director

GUEST: Keith Prather, Armada Corporate Intelligence, Managing Director
Prather is a Managing Director and Co-founder of Armada Corporate Intelligence. During his 24 years with Armada, he has consulted to Fortune 500 and companies of all sizes providing corporate intelligence, economic forecasting, and insights on changing global dynamics, geopolitics, supply chain issues, and other factors that affect the corporate operating environment.
Keith has spent 24 years working with clients in the transportation and global supply chain industry, providing strategic support and insights on the global operating environment.  
Keith is a former CFO and is the chief editor for the Flagship, an “Officer of the Watch Report” read by more than 18,000 corporate executives weekly. He and co-founder Chris Kuehl present keynotes on the economy at more than 120 events a year. 
 

Flexibility, Faster Cost-Out, and the New Logistics Playbook for 2026

To illustrate what this new playbook looks like in practice, Michael Levans, Group Editorial Director of Peerless Media’s Supply Chain Group, is joined by Steve Barber, Vice President of Solutions Architecture at Uber Freight. Barber works directly with shippers as they rethink network design, cost strategies, and how to operate in a market that’s becoming more dynamic—and less forgiving of slow decision-making.

Looking at global trade and tariffs with S&P Global Market Intelligence Research Director Chris Rogers

GUEST: Chris Rogers, S&P Global Market Intelligence Research Director 
Topics covered in this podcast included: United States-bound containerized imports; the global trade outlook, with a focus on ther impact of tariffs; container shipping rates and capacity; and the current status of Red Sea shipping, among others. 
Chris Rogers is Research Director for S&P Global Market Intelligence. He has more than 10 years of experience in building research businesses covering corporate decision-making and government policy in the supply chain and logistics sectors at S&P Global, Bloomberg, and Flexport. Chris’s prior experience includes power, gas and emissions markets analysis at investment banks, including JP Morgan and UBS.

Larry Gross analyzes the current state of the intermodal market

GUEST: Larry Gross, President, Gross Transportation Consulting 
Larry Gross is a forty-year veteran of the freight transportation sector, and President of Gross Transportation Consulting of Durango, CO, an independent consulting practice specializing in freight transportation matters. He is the author and creator of “Intermodal in Depth," an analytical report covering the intermodal sector.
Larry is an acknowledged expert on intermodal matters who makes frequent appearances before the transportation community. He has played a key role in the creation of educational content at the IANA Intermodal Expo for the past four years. He enjoys teaching and has authored business case studies for use in the IANA Academic Challenge competition at the University of North Florida as well as the IANA Expo Academic Challenge.
Prior to starting his consulting practice, Larry enjoyed a long career in intermodal equipment development and sales. He is the individual most closely associated with the innovative RoadRailer intermodal system, an organization that he headed for over a decade.
 
 

Stifel's Chan assesses the current state of the freight transportation market

GUEST: Bruce Chan, Managing Director, at Stifel
In this podcast, LM Group News Editor Jeff Berman interviews Bruce Chan, Managing Director, at Stifel. Topics covered included: the current state of the freight economy; the over-the-road capacity outlook; rates and pricing; the impact of tariffs on freight transportation; and the parcel sector, among others. 
Bruce Chan joined Stifel in March 2010.  Based out of the Miami office, Mr. Chan is an analyst covering the Transportation, Global Logistics, and Future Mobility sectors, covering Global Logistics. Before joining Stifel, Mr. Chan was a senior project manager for a real estate investment and development firm. Mr. Chan graduated from Georgetown University and earned his Juris Doctor from the University of Maryland.  He serves on the Board of Directors of Zync, Inc., an automotive media and technology company.

TranzAct's Regan provides an overview of the 2026 motor carrier market

GUEST: Co-Founder and Chief Relationship Officer, for TranzAct Technologies
Mike Regan is well known and active within the logistics industry. He has served on the Boards of numerous industry groups such as the National Industrial Transportation League, National Shippers Strategic Transportation Council (NASSTRAC), He’s also active in several industry organizations, such as the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP), where he is a 2014 recipient of the Distinguished Service Award. He has also served as the Chairman of the YPO Manufacturing Excellence Network. Mike has been a featured contributor and has published several blogs in industry periodicals such as Logistics Management, and has been quoted in periodicals such as the Wall Street Journal and many others.

Looking at the state of the parcel market with Robert Persuit, Sr. Director of Business Development, ShipMatrix

GUEST: Robert Persuit, Sr. Director of Business Development, ShipMatrix 
Robert Persuit brings 40 years of transportation experience to ShipMatrix, which includes 15 years in parcel carrier operations management at UPS, RPS/FedEx Ground, and Emery Worldwide Airline (USPS Contract). With ShipMatrix, Robert has helped companies with transportation budgets of $250K-to-$1B optimize their spending.

Looking at the LTL market with Scooter Sayers

GUEST: Scooter Sayers, Business Development Director–LTL Solutions, Cubiscan
Scooter Sayers is the Business Development Director–LTL Solutions at Cubiscan, a leader in freight dimensioning solutions.  He spends his days speaking with shippers, carriers, and 3PLs to deploy solutions that maximize revenues and profits, minimize costs, and optimize systems.
Following a 25-plus year career at ABF Freight and ArcBest Corporation as a Pricing Analyst, progressing through several positions including Director – Rating & Traffic Services. In this latter role, he held responsibility for 100 employees in the corporate office as well as the Weighing & Research team spread across the ABF Freight network.  He developed the LTL industry’s first density-based tariff in 1993.
Scooter spent 3 years in the 3PL and freight brokerage space with several companies.  He then formed Sayers Logistics LLC, an LTL transportation consultancy, to deliver LTL solutions by working with shippers, carriers, trade organizations, 3PLs, and technology providers to help move the LTL industry forward.  
Scooter Sayers graduated from the University of Arkansas with a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineering and a Master of Business Administration.  He, his wife, and his cat named Princeton currently reside in northeast Georgia.

The Ultimate Competitive Edge: WMS as the 3PL’s Secret Weapon

Group Editorial Director Mike Levans sits down with Michael Armanious, CEO of Datex, to explore how modern WMS technology—highlighted has become a critical competitive advantage for 3PLs.