Talking Transports

Railroad freight remains a critical but often overlooked backbone of the economy, even as uncertainty clouds capital investment decisions. Railcar orders have moderated amid tariff concerns and cautious shipper spending, yet Greenbrier’s backlog remains strong, underscoring resilient underlying demand. In this Talking Transports podcast, Greenbrier CEO Lorie Tekorius joins Bloomberg Intelligence’s Lee Klaskow to discuss the company’s strategy to balance cyclical new railcar manufacturing with expanding recurring revenue from leasing and services. Tekorius outlines margin expansion through footprint optimization, steel sourcing discipline and insourcing initiatives, while addressing tariffs, inflationary pressures, rail consolidation and the long-term opportunity to increase freight rail’s share of the transportation pie.
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Supply chain technology adoption is shifting from pilots to measurable gains in productivity and margins. In this episode of the Talking Transports podcast, Bloomberg Intelligence’s Lee Klaskow shares conversations from the floor of Manifest conference in Las Vegas, where innovation — not freight volumes — dominated. Vendors spotlighted AI agents for less-than-truckload workflows, robotics for e-commerce packaging, autonomous trucking, corrugate solutions to cut waste and reverse-logistics platforms to speed up resale readiness. C.H. Robinson cited 95% automation of LTL missed pickups, while robotics firm Ultra targets a $2–$3 billion packaging automation opportunity. Last-mile startup GoFo is challenging FedEx and UPS with lower-cost DSP models, while autonomous trucking firm Bot Auto is prioritizing cost-per-mile economics before scaling.
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AI’s growing appetite for power is quietly reshaping freight demand, creating new opportunities for transportation providers serving the oil and gas industry and its supporting infrastructure. In this Talking Transports podcast, Pinch Transport President Thomas Massalone joins Bloomberg Intelligence’s Lee Klaskow to discuss a niche corner of the freight market: flatbed less-than-trucking serving every major oil and gas basin in the US and Canada. Unlike traditional LTL carriers such as Old Dominion or XPO, Pinch’s demand is more tied to oil prices than to the ISM manufacturing index. Massalone also provides insight into how consolidation has strengthened specialized carriers, helping mitigate inflationary pressures and combat fraud, as well as the challenges and opportunities facing the company’s brokerage and drayage businesses.
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Market participants and investors appear optimistic that federal initiatives can drive out slack trucking capacity and ignite a prolonged rate recovery. The Bloomberg Intelligence truckload peer group is up 18% year to date vs. a 1% gain for the broader index. In this episode of Talking Transports, USA Truck CEO and co-owner George Henry joins BI’s Lee Klaskow to examine the early signs of structural tightening in the truckload market. Henry outlines the company’s asset-heavy strategy, with a growing emphasis on dedicated freight, safety-led operations and disciplined spot exposure. The pair also discuss the opportunities that come with being a private, stand-alone company, rate expectations, technology-fueled productivity, inflation and the story behind USA Truck’s logo.
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Knight-Swift’s CEO Adam Miller joins Lee Klaskow, Bloomberg Intelligence senior transportation and logistics analyst for a fireside chat at SMC3’s JumpStart 2026 Conference in Atlanta on this episode of Talking Transports podcast. Miller explains why the company is better positioned following the near-completion of its national less-than-truckload network, with scale, flexibility and diversification supporting a renewed focus on margin recovery and network density before further LTL expansion. He also shares views on the truckload cycle, potential federal supply-side support, autonomous trucking, railroad consolidation and how his mentor Kevin Knight shaped his accountability-driven leadership style.
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