Guest: Andrei Quinn-Barabanov of Moody’s on inflation risks; Growth drives new demands for cobots; A shift in robotic final mile delivery

Guest: Andrei Quinn-Barabanov of Moody’s on inflation risks; Growth drives new demands for cobots; A shift in robotic final mile delivery

Our guest on this week's episode is Andrei Quinn-Barabanov, supply chain practice lead at Moody’s. New inflation reports came out this week showing that last month we reached the highest inflation rates of the past three years. Inflation is even higher when it comes to transportation cost increases. To help us understand how such inflation affects our supply chains, our guest joins DC Velocity’s Senior News Editor Ben Ames. The market outlook for collaborative robots remains strong as the equipment advances to accommodate heavier duty use around the world. Senior Editor Victoria Kickham reports that new research from Interact Analysis that shipments of these cobots designed to work with and alongside humans are predicted to grow at an average annual rate of more than 17% between 2025 to 2030. Ben Ames reports that this week that a change is coming to robotic last mile fulfillment. Starship Technologies is an Estonian tech startup that makes autonomous, self-driving bots. If you’ve been on any large university campuses in the last few years, you’ve probably seen them driving along pathways and college quads, delivering small items like e-commerce orders for snacks and burritos. But now Starship says they plan to wind down their operations on U.S. university campuses and shift their focus to retail grocery chains and hot food delivery in cities across Europe and the U.S. Ben shares why the company has shifted their strategy. Articles and resources mentioned in this episode: * Moody's [https://www.moodys.com] * Cobot shipments to rise more than 17% by 2030. China maintains market dominance. [https://www.dcvelocity.com/editorial/featured/cobot-shipments-to-rise-more-than-17-by-2030-china-maintains-market-dominance] * Starship steers delivery robots off college campuses and toward grocery sector [https://www.dcvelocity.com/transportation/trucking/last-mile/starship-steers-its-delivery-robots-off-college-campuses-and-toward-grocery-sector] * Visit DC Velocity [https://www.dcvelocity.com/] * Visit Supply Chain Xchange [https://www.supplychainquarterly.com/] * Send feedback about this podcast to podcast@agilebme.com [podcast@agilebme.com] This podcast episode is sponsored by: ID Label [https://www.idlabelinc.com/]

Guest: Jim Mozer of Crown and ITA on forklift safety; Venture capital invests in warehouses; Strengthening global disaster response

Our guest on this week's episode is Jim Mozer, Senior Vice President at Crown Equipment Corporation. He is representing the Industrial Truck Association, the industry association for the lift truck industry. This coming Tuesday, the supply chain industry hosts National Forklift Safety Day. Now in its 13th year, this day is set aside annually to remind us of the importance of safe practices when working on and around forklifts. National Forklift Safety Day is sponsored by the Industrial Truck Association. Our guest and DC Velocity Group Editorial Director David Maloney discuss what will take place at Tuesday’s National Forklift Safety Day event in Washington, D.C. The logistics sector has seen a tremendous impact in recent years from venture capital and other investment firms, through mergers and acquisitions, taking private companies public on the stock market, and other strategies. This week Senior News Editor Ben Ames wrote a story about more big money making changes in the industry, but it wasn’t in a sexy area like robotics or drones, it was in good old fashioned warehouses. Earlier this week, German logistics giant DHL Group announced the launch of its DHL Academy of Humanitarian Logistics (DAHL). Senior Editor Victoria Kickham reports on this global training initiative designed to give humanitarian organizations and local responders practical logistics knowledge and skills—ultimately allowing them to better prepare for and respond to crises. Articles and resources mentioned in this episode: * Industrial Truck Association (ITA) [https://www.indtrk.org/] * BKM and Kayne Anderson acquire $1.81 billion of industrial real estate [https://www.dcvelocity.com/logistics/warehousing/bkm-and-kayne-anderson-acquire-1-81-billion-of-industrial-real-estate] * DHL Group launches DHL Academy of Humanitarian Logistics [https://www.dcvelocity.com/editorial/featured/dhl-group-launches-dhl-academy-of-humanitarian-logistics] * Visit DC Velocity [https://www.dcvelocity.com/] * Visit Supply Chain Xchange [https://www.supplychainquarterly.com/] * Send feedback about this podcast to podcast@agilebme.com [podcast@agilebme.com] This podcast episode is sponsored by: ID Label [https://www.idlabelinc.com/]

Guest: Matt Lekstutis of Efficio on China and world trade; The upbeat forklift market; Automation comes to the high seas

Our guest on this week's episode is Matt Lekstutis, director at Efficio, a supply chain and consulting firm. Two weeks ago, President Trump had an historic meeting with China’s President Xi. It was a highly anticipated gathering, as there was a lot to talk about, including the war against Iran and the ongoing oil constraints. Our guest this week talks with DC Velocity Group Editorial Director David Maloney to unwrap what took place and to discuss international trade and world-wide threats to our supply chains.  Senior Editor Victoria Kickham reports that buyers of forklifts and pallet-handling equipment are upbeat in 2026, with many expecting to increase capital expenditures on those items this year as compared to last year. This information is based on a recent Voice of Market report [https://interactanalysis.com/market-sentiment-improves-for-forklift-buyers/] from London-based research firm Interact Analysis. The researchers surveyed decision-makers involved in the use, selection, and purchase of automation technologies for their facilities globally. We’ve been writing for years about autonomous vehicles, first with AGVs and AMRs in warehouses, there are self-driving forklifts, outdoor delivery robots on sidewalks, increasingly self-driving cars, a small but growing number of self-driving trucks, and some flying drones both indoors and out. But a story that caught the eye of Senior News Editor Ben Ames this week was about autonomous commercial ships. Articles and resources mentioned in this episode: * Officio [https://www.efficioconsulting.com/en-us/] * Report: Market sentiment for forklift and pallet handling tech improves [https://www.dcvelocity.com/editorial/featured/report-market-sentiment-for-forklift-pallet-handling-tech-improves] * IMO launches safety code to regulate autonomous ships [https://www.dcvelocity.com/transportation/maritime-ocean/imo-launches-safety-code-to-regulate-autonomous-ships] * Visit DC Velocity [https://www.dcvelocity.com/] * Visit Supply Chain Xchange [https://www.supplychainquarterly.com/] * Send feedback about this podcast to podcast@agilebme.com [podcast@agilebme.com] This podcast episode is sponsored by: ID Label [https://www.idlabelinc.com/]

Guest Hannah Hurckes of Boss Lady Logistics on fallout from the Supreme Court’s broker decision; Gaining “Momentum” with Agentic AI; A robotics acquisition

Our guest on this week's episode is Hannah Hurckes, Founder and CEO, Boss Lady Logistics. Last week the U.S. Supreme Court ruled unanimously on a case that could end up changing the freight industry as we know it, especially the brokerage part of freight movement. Hurckes shares the details and the impacts of this landmark ruling with DC Velocity Senior Editor Victoria Kickham. The buzzword of the season in supply chain software right now is agentic AI. But that technology, and artificial intelligence overall really, is still so new that there are probably more questions than answers about how it will affect each user’s own business processes. This week Senior News Editor Ben Ames traveled to Las Vegas to attend the Manhattan Associates Momentum conference, where much of the discussion focused on some new tools to help users implement agentic AI into their workflows and deal with the “blackbox” problem. Warehouse robotics and automation company Locus Robotics [https://locusrobotics.com/] said this week it has acquired Nexera Robotics [https://www.nexera-robotics.com/]. Nexera is a Vancouver-based developer of advanced robotic grasping technology. This is a big deal because it will help advance Locus’ newest offering—its Locus Array system--which it released at the MODEX show in April. Victoria Kickham reports. Articles and resources mentioned in this episode: * Boss Lady Logistics [https://www.bossladylogistics.com/] * Manhattan Associates launches marketplace of AI Agents [https://www.dcvelocity.com/technology/artificial-intelligence/manhattan-associates-launches-marketplace-of-ai-agents] * Manhattan tool explains the why behind agentic AI decisions [https://www.dcvelocity.com/technology/artificial-intelligence/manhattan-tool-explains-the-why-behind-agentic-ai-decisions] * Blue Yonder launches AI agent testing system [https://www.dcvelocity.com/technology/artificial-intelligence/blue-yonder-launches-ai-agent-testing-system] * Locus Robotics acquires Nexera Robotics [https://www.dcvelocity.com/editorial/featured/locus-robotics-acquires-nexera-robotics] * Visit DC Velocity [https://www.dcvelocity.com/] * Visit Supply Chain Xchange [https://www.supplychainquarterly.com/] * Send feedback about this podcast to podcast@agilebme.com [podcast@agilebme.com] This podcast episode is sponsored by: Werner [https://www.werner.com/freight-quote/]

Guest: Patrick Van den Bossche of Kearney on the 2026 Reshoring Index; Will AI take away jobs? Safety in trucking fleets

Our guest on this week's episode is Patrick Van den Bossche, partner at Kearney, a global management consulting firm. There has been a huge effort in recent years to return manufacturing to the United States, as much of this production has been outsourced to overseas factories for decades. But have these attempts been successful? Van den Bossche is the lead author of new research called the 2026 Reshoring Index Report and offers his insights and findings from the report on whether the current state of reshoring initiatives..  Artificial intelligence has so many up sides that investors are betting big right now on the benefits of the technologies – you can just look at the stock market for evidence of that. But we do hear of the downside of the many jobs AI may eliminate. Ben Ames reports on new research that shows which types of jobs are most vulnerable and the areas of the world that might be most affected (Hint: the U.S. is high on the vulnerablity list). There is a wealth of data in trucking today, much of it derived from the telematics and other advanced technology tools that connect what’s happening in the truck to a company’s broader IT system. Companies can use this vast array of data to improve safety and enhance operations. But while most small and mid-sized fleets claim to be “data rich,” they say they are starved for ways to best use the information they get from all of those tech tools. Articles and resources mentioned in this episode: * Kearney [https://www.kearney.com/] * Allianz report: Unemployment rates could be shaken by immigration, Iran War, and AI [https://www.dcvelocity.com/supply-chain/other-services/labor/allianz-unemployment-rates-could-be-shaken-by-immigration-iran-war-and-ai] * Fleets struggle to turn safety data into action [https://www.dcvelocity.com/editorial/featured/fleets-struggle-to-turn-safety-data-into-action] * Visit DC Velocity [https://www.dcvelocity.com/] * Visit Supply Chain Xchange [https://www.supplychainquarterly.com/] * Send feedback about this podcast to podcast@agilebme.com [podcast@agilebme.com] This podcast episode is sponsored by: Werner [https://www.werner.com/freight-quote/]