Freight buying strategy is being tested like never before. Tariff whiplash, carrier consolidation, AI adoption and nobody quite knows what comes next.

Mark McCullough, CEO of Gebrüder Weiss North America, joins Mike King for a frank conversation about how one of the world's leading freight forwarders is navigating the uncertainty and what it means for shippers.

They cover the proposed Hapag-Lloyd/ZIM merger and what less competition really means for freight buyers, why shippers are firmly in the driving seat on the Trans-Pacific right now, and how tariff uncertainty is forcing companies into three-tiered contingency strategies rather than long-term capital deployment.

Mark also opens up about freight fraud costing Gebrüder Weiss hundreds of thousands of dollars a year, how sophisticated double-brokering scams are targeting freight forwarders, and what the industry needs to do about it.

Plus an honest account of GW's automation journey, what's working, what's been expensive, and why bad data will kill your AI investment before it starts.

And how a funeral, a few too many drinks, and a South African aunt launched one of North America's most senior freight executives into a career in logistics.

Sponsored by OntegosCloud, the freight forwarder profitability specialist.

Featured:

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The Good, The Bad, and the ANC: South Africa’s Logistics on the Brink https://youtu.be/POyM0kHGMeg

Topics covered:

0:00 Introduction — Mike King welcomes Gebrüder Weiss North America CEO Mark McCullough and previews the episode

01:45 Hapag-Lloyd/ZIM Merger — Is carrier consolidation good for freight buyers or just less competition dressed up as efficiency?

03:00 Trans-Pacific Outlook — Excess capacity, blank sailings, depressed rates and what the next 12 to 18 months looks like

05:00 Shippers in the Driver's Seat — Why forwarders like GW actually prefer higher freight rates and what that means for contract season

07:00 Tariffs and Capital Deployment — Why uncertainty is stopping shippers from committing to long-term strategy and the three-tiered contingency approach

11:00 Freight Fraud Revealed — How double-brokering scams cost Gebrüder Weiss $600,000 in a single year and how they work in practice

16:00 Automation and AI at GW — Bots, document splitting, carrier vetting tech and how offshore teams are being upskilled

19:00 The Data Problem — Why bad data killed their AI investment early and what they had to do to fix it

21:30 Clean Data Advice — Mark's blunt advice to any company thinking about AI investment right now

22:00 How Mark Got Into Freight — A funeral, a few white wines and a South African aunt who changed everything