Mary O'Connell

Former pricing analyst, supply chain planner, and broker/dispatcher turned creator of the newsletter and podcast Check Call. Which gives insights into the world around 3PLs and Freight brokers. She will talk your ear off about anything and everything if you let her. Expertise in operations, LTL pricing and procurement, flatbed operations, dry van, tracking and tracing, reality tv shows and how to turn a stranger into your new best friend.
Feb - 2026 -
12 February
Mary O'Connell

Yard management technology moves out of the shadows as supply chains push for end-to-end visibility

While supply chains have poured investment into transportation and warehouse technology, yard and dock operations remain one of the most manual and least visible parts of the network, a gap that is increasingly difficult to manage as volumes fluctuate and labor tightens. While the C3 State of Yard and Dock Management 2026 survey is underway, […]

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10 February
Mary O'Connell

Reelables launches Bluetooth-based indoor tracking smart label with centimeter-level accuracy

Reelables, a London-based logistics technology company, has launched a new Smart Label Indoor Tracking solution designed to deliver real-time indoor location visibility with accuracy down to 10 centimeters. The company says the platform is the first to combine real-time location system (RTLS) capabilities with printable smart shipping labels, offering warehouse operators a lower-cost alternative to […]

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Mary O'Connell

Midmo introduces modular Edge Intelligence platform at Manifest 2026

Midmo used Manifest 2026 to introduce a new suite of Edge Intelligence modules, marking its latest move to push real-time visibility and decision-making closer to the physical operations of the supply chain. Tech solutions aren’t just aimed at operations as there is a growing shift across logistics technology toward intelligence that operates directly at docks, […]

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Mary O'Connell

Gather AI raises $40m to scale its physical AI platform for global logistics

Warehouse operations can make or break an organization. That problem is at the heart of Gather AI’s latest funding round. The Pittsburgh-based startup announced it has raised $40 million in Series B financing, led by Smith Point Capital Management, the firm founded by former Salesforce co-CEO Keith Block.  The raise brings Gather AI’s total funding […]

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09 February
Mary O'Connell

Fuel Transport builds for the next cycle with expanded warehousing footprint

Fuel Transport is taking a long-term view on growth, expanding owned warehouse infrastructure at a time when many logistics providers remain cautious.  For Robert Piccioni, CEO of Montreal-based Fuel Transport, the strategy reflects years of disciplined investment and close collaboration with customers, not a reaction to short-term market swings. While Fuel operates primarily as a […]

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Mary O'Connell

Corvus deploys autonomous inventory drones for warehousing

Warehouse automation is entering a new phase, one driven less by fixed infrastructure and more by autonomous systems that can perceive, adapt and operate continuously inside live facilities.  The next wave of FreightTech isn’t just optimizing transportation lanes or digitizing workflows in the cloud. It’s moving into the four walls of the warehouse, where physical […]

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Mary O'Connell

Augment brings institutional knowledge into the flow of freight

Logistics has long depended on tribal knowledge, the unwritten rules and hard-earned judgment held by a small group of experienced operators. They know which carriers actually perform on certain lanes, how specific customers expect exceptions to be handled, and what worked the last time a shipment went wrong. That knowledge has powered freight networks for […]

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07 February
Mary O'Connell

As the market turns, broker stress tests are already underway

The freight market has spent the better part of two years grinding along the bottom, offering little relief to brokers operating on thin margins and tighter credit. But as early signals suggest the cycle may finally be inflecting upward, recent earnings calls from RXO and C.H. Robinson offer a timely warning: a rising market does […]

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06 February
Mary O'Connell

How St. Christopher Fund supports drivers beyond emergencies and its record-breaking support from TravelCenters of America

TravelCenters of America’s (TA) most recent charity golf tournament did more than set a fundraising record. It showed that industry support for driver health and hardship relief is not only growing, but becoming more intentional. The tournament raised more than $100,000 for the St. Christopher Truckers Relief Fund, the largest single-year contribution since the partnership […]

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Jan - 2026 -
28 January
Mary O'Connell

Datatruck raises $12M to build the AI-native operating system for long-haul

As long-haul carriers outgrow legacy TMS platforms, unified operating systems built around AI and financial intelligence are starting to take over The Chicago-based Datatruck recently raised a $12 million Series A round led by Avenue Growth Partners. This highlights a broader shift across North American trucking. Carriers are increasingly replacing legacy TMS platforms with AI-native […]

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26 January
Mary O'Connell

How C.H. Robinson is using AI to fix LTL’s missed pickup problem

Missed pickups have long been an accepted cost of doing business in less-than-truckload shipping. They’re frustrating, inefficient and expensive, but for an industry built on shared capacity and tight scheduling, they’ve often felt unavoidable. C.H. Robinson is betting that doesn’t have to be the case. The logistics provider has rolled out a new set of […]

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25 January
Mary O'Connell

Southeast power outages: Winter Storm Fern’s impact

Winter Storm Fern has battered the Southeast and Lower Midwest and is set to finish its sweep through the Northeast by the end of the day. According to ABC News, snowfall totals have topped 8” in Arkansas, 11” in Illinois and Ohio, 13” in Indiana, 8” in Kansas, 12” in Missouri, 7” in Oklahoma, 6” […]

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24 January
Mary O'Connell

Assessing the first wave of Winter Storm Fern

The first wave of Winter Storm Fern has fallen over the Southeast and lower Midwest. As predicted, the dividing line between ice and snow remains Interstate 40. Major interstates are shut down across the country in various spots.  Interstate 70 is closed in various spots throughout Missouri, fairly close to St. Louis, as a result […]

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23 January
Mary O'Connell

AI readiness lagging in procurement

Artificial intelligence has already made its way into procurement. It shows up in sourcing tools, analytics dashboards, and supplier platforms, often quietly embedded in day-to-day workflows. And yet, most procurement leaders still hesitate to say they are ready for it. That contradiction sits at the center of ProcureAbility’s 2026 CPO Report, which found that while […]

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Mary O'Connell

Assessing the full impact of Winter Storm Fern 

24 hours out from a major winter weather event becomes the perfect window for assessing the full impact of what’s to come. That’s when meteorologists get a clearer picture of what’s actually going to happen. For the most part, the areas affected haven’t changed, just the accumulation numbers get more confident and where cities are […]

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22 January
Mary O'Connell

When ice, not snow, brings freight to a standstill

That is the reality facing shippers and carriers as a sprawling winter system stretches from the Lower Midwest into the Southeast. North of Interstate 40, conditions resemble a familiar winter pattern: snow, cold, and manageable delays. South of it, Arctic air at the surface collides with warmer air aloft, creating a corridor of freezing rain […]

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21 January
Mary O'Connell

Winter storm targets key freight corridors across the Southeast

A powerful winter storm is setting its sights on a wide swath of the Southeast and the lower Midwest this weekend, bringing a dangerous mix of snow, freezing rain, and ice that could significantly disrupt road travel and regional freight movement. Meteorologists say the setup is particularly concerning for southern states that are less equipped […]

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20 January
Mary O'Connell

Flexport launches tariff refund calculator as Supreme Court weighs tariff authority

As U.S. importers wait on a Supreme Court decision that could upend the last year of work with constantly changing tariffs, a new tool from Flexport is offering businesses a way to quantify what has largely been an abstract legal debate: how much money they might actually get back. Flxport  launched a Tariff Refund Calculator, […]

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19 January
Mary O'Connell

HwyHaul marks 7 years with AI-powered leap toward autonomous freight

Hwy Haul is celebrating its seventh anniversary by unveiling a suite of AI-driven tools designed to make freight management fully autonomous. The company announced the launch of its AI Agents and AI Teammates, along with a new cloud-native AI Transportation Management System (TMS) for freight brokers, shippers, and carriers. The release marks Hwy Haul’s transition […]

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15 January
Mary O'Connell

MySavant.ai launches AI-powered nearshore workforce for logistics and supply chain teams

For years, nearshoring has been sold to logistics operators as a simple equation: move work closer, add people, lower costs. In practice, that model has begun to crack under its own weight. As freight markets remain volatile and operational margins stay thin, the industry is confronting a harder truth, scaling by headcount alone rarely delivers […]

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