The optimal way to understand the intricacies of today’s supply chain environment is to participate in an educationally focused transportation conference. Events hosted by a reliable company with decades of industry expertise arm attendees with new supply chain ideas and transportation tools.

On the second and third days of SMC³’s Connections 2019 supply chain and logistics conference, attendees spent their time learning about the ins and outs of the economy and discussing transportation infrastructure and regulations. Emory University’s Jeffrey Rosensweig fears of a recession, while the ATA’s Randy Guillot made the case for a gas tax.

It’s impossible to avoid politics at any substantive gathering of supply chain and transportation industry leaders, and during the first day of the Connections 2019 logistics conference at the Broadmoor in Colorado Springs, the government was front of mind, both implicitly and explicitly, during most panel conversations.

This year at Worldwide Express, Tom Madine, the company’s CEO, has been seeing logistics industry insiders operate from a position of strength and profitability. While the supply chain is humming along, there are also some signs for concerns. Madine recently spoke with SMC³ about how he sees the current logistics arena in advance of the Connections 2019 supply chain conference.

In 2015, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration put forward a supply chain safety measure meant to regulate the amount of time a truck driver stays on the road. The FMCSA regulation, which was put into force two years later, forced truckload and LTL carriers through some growing pains, but the resultant dip in available capacity turned out to be temporary. Supply chain stakeholders can ensure they always have needed capacity by automating their transportation procurement process.

This holiday season, SMC³ is empowering shippers, carriers, 3PLs and other supply chain stakeholders with the gift of logistics and supply chain optimization.