For logistics managers in the 2020s, nothing is as certain as uncertainty. The past five years have seen one tumultuous turn after another as US freight demand went from boom to bust and transportation pricing followed. The next year makes no promises.

Shippers and their transportation and logistics partners dealt with a plethora of challenges, from the COVID-19 pandemic to economic inflation, global supply chain risks, excess capacity, inventory destocking, pre-tariff surges in US imports, cargo theft, and trade wars.

Global risks to the flow of freight aren’t receding; they’re changing more rapidly than in any recent decade, and on more fronts. The only certainty is that cargo thieves will become increasingly sophisticated in the ways they target and steal freight.

In the middle of this decade, businesses of all types, including transportation and logistics providers, have been positioning themselves for a period of higher freight demand and higher costs – but it remains far from certain when that long-expected market inflection will arrive.

They are seeking real value – not just lower pricing or higher rates – from their logistics partners and their investments in technology, assets, and people.

In September, the Journal of Commerce Inland Distribution Conference (Inland25) brought together shippers domestic and global, third-party logistics companies, forwarders and freight brokers, drayage, LTL and truckload carriers, and technology providers in Chicago as they worked to plan the best route toward supply chain success in 2026.

Attendees grappled with the challenges we all face through detailed panel discussions, collaborative think-tank workshops, one-on-one conversations, and informative Inland Academy classes on what comes next and what we should do to be ready for it.

It was great to see everyone in Chicago from Sept. 29 to Oct. 1 as we explored big-picture issues while drilling down into nitty-gritty topics including:

  • The outlook for North American freight demand
  • Cross-border logistics between the US, Canada and Mexico
  • The impact of tariffs, especially within North America
  • Strategies to counter cargo theft and fraud
  • Drayage’s role in connecting supply chains
  • Intermodal rail’s route to revival in 2026
  • Truckload capacity, service and pricing
  • The new density-focused era of LTL classification
  • How shippers are using dedicated and private fleets
  • Where the push for automation will have the biggest payoff
  • Near-term and long-term outlooks for sustainability