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:

Hapag-Lloyd Buys ZIM Explained: Why Freight Buyers Should Care https://youtu.be/4u6wCfwUvc0

Why Great Freight Forwarders Thrive in Chaos | #44 | Freight Buyers Club

https://youtu.be/9yuq3xbkp_c

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

Hapag-Lloyd has agreed to acquire ZIM for $4.2 billion, creating a combined fleet of 400+ vessels. In this mini Freight Buyers' Club, Nils Roche (ex-CMA CGM, Maersk, PIL) breaks down what this deal means for the liner industry, for the Gemini Cooperation, for MSC, and crucially, for freight buyers.

We cover:

• The deal structure and Israel's "golden share" carve-out
• What happens to ZIM's vessel sharing agreement with MSC
• How this strengthens Gemini and shifts alliance dynamics
• Fewer carriers = more blank sailing control
• Who's next? PIL, Wan Hai, HMM as potential targets
• The new M&A model: joint ventures with national stakes

This mini Freight Buyers' Club is brought to you by Ontegos Cloud, the freight forwarder profitability specialist: https://www.ontegoscloud.com

Guest: Nils Roche, Founder of Solvens Advisory Host: Mike King

The freighter capacity crunch is real. In this episode of Air Cargo Unpacked, Mike King and Neel Jones Shah break down UPS retiring its MD-11 fleet, why the aircraft backlog won't normalise until the 2030s, and what it means for air cargo rates.

Plus: Dimerco's Kathy Liu on Chinese New Year from Shanghai, exclusive rate analysis from TAC Index's Neil Wilson, and how de minimis policy changes are reshaping e-commerce flows out of China - with North America down 33% and Europe up 22%.

We also cover Maersk dumping its 767s for 777s on trans-Pacific, and what the new US-India trade deal could mean for air freight demand.

Featuring:

• Mike King, Host & Executive Producer
• Neel Jones Shah, Co-Host (ex-Delta, United, Flexport)
• Kathy Liu, VP Global Sales & Marketing, Dimerco Express Group
• Neil Wilson, Editor, TAC Index

Air Cargo Unpacked is a monthly Freight Buyers' Club production, brought to you by OntegosCloud, the freight forwarder profitability specialist. https://www.ontegos.cloud/

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#AirCargoUnpacked #FreightBuyersClub #Logistics #AirFreight #Shipping #CargoCapacity #DeMinimis #ChineseNewYear #TACIndex #Ecommerce #GlobalTrade

00:00 Welcome to Air Cargo Unpacked

01:00 UPS Retires MD-11 Fleet

02:30 10% of Widebody Freighter Capacity at Risk

04:30 Aircraft Backlog Hits 17,000

06:00 Conversion Costs Soaring: $80m for a 777

08:00 Chinese New Year: Kathy Liu from Shanghai

10:00 China Plus One: Southeast Asia Booming

12:00 Neel on CNY: Why This Year Is Different

15:30 TAC Index Rate Analysis with Neil Wilson

17:00 Shanghai Rates Up 9% Year on Year

18:00 Spot vs Contract Rates Explained

21:00 De Minimis: US Down 33%, Europe Up 22%

23:00 E-Commerce Is Like a Raging River

24:30 Maersk Sells 767 Freighters to Amazon

27:00 US-India Trade Deal: Stability Returns