Transportation Life Lessons: 2024 Edition

From Cori’s Desk . . .

1. The state of 3PL is challenging in new ways. Our industry is fighting a lot of fraud, and we’re having to vet and minimize risk for our customers and carriers every day. There’s just a lot of unauthorized brokering out there.

2. Friday moves and holiday moves are tough, not least because they’re high risk for fraud.

3. I know a guy who lost an entire load of beef.

4. Monday mornings are the calm before the storm. Unless they’re not. Sometimes it depends on how the previous Friday went.

5. Unsweetened ice tea keeps me going.

6. DFW business growth: there’s an influx of companies moving to Texas because of the positive business environment.

7. For women in this industry today, I’ve definitely seen growth these past 10 years. Seem like there’s never been a stronger presence of females in transportation.

8. Getting out of the office is key to our growth. It does so much to build relationships with customers and carriers alike.

9. My favorite lunch: Chik-fil-A nuggets, sometimes with fries.

10. My staff is aligned in our vision for 2024. I’m taking them a bit out of their comfort zone but nothing that compromises their competency.

11. Consultants are the outside eyes, looking in. Uncovering opportunities and strengths can be very helpful.

12. I’m very proud of our Team NATCO culture. It does a lot to inform positive growth and outcomes.

13. Our most surprising growth has been in movements of heavy industrial equipment resale.

14. Keys to our growth include using new technology in smart ways, as well as managing and mitigating fraudulent activities in this industry.

15. My carriers are generally appreciative. They’ll communicate with us because we over-communicate with them.

16. These past two quarters have been challenging. I’m hopeful when I read indicators showing Q2 will bring the industry up.

17. In 2021, a lot of carriers bought trucks and entered the market as owner-operators. Some of them are still hanging on, taking the low-market freight just to keep the cash flow. And the market leads haven’t really balanced out from that.

18. The pandemic years were surprisingly steady.

19. The pandemic affected all areas, and we saw how so many industries were dependent on one another.

20. Handshakes and eye contact are key to a business relationship. I always want to put a face with a name of the people I work with. I like the personal experience this industry can give, and that also allow us to learn more from one another.

21. My favorite movement recently: we sent some shwag to and from the Super Bowl.

22. The most interesting and challenging industry we’re dealing with is industrial equipment because there’s so many moving players and parts and components involved.

23. Diesel is an indicator of where the market could be headed.

24. I see autonomous vehicles, right now with drivers in them for safety precaution, out there between Houston and Dallas.

25. The Dallas Cowboys: next year . . . hopefully. Here we go.