Drilling Deep: C.H. Robinson’s O’Brien on the driver for retail supply chain transparency

Robinson reduces 3% of global workforce (Photo: C.H. Robinson)

C.H. Robinson and SAS form an “unprecedented” partnership aimed at the freer flow of information in the retail supply chain.

On this week’s Drilling Deep podcast, Chris O’Brien of C.H. Robinson joins host John Kingston to talk about CHRW’s recent announcement of a sweeping data partnership with SAS that is targeted at a freer flow of information up and down the retail supply chain. 

The partnership, announced this week, was described by both companies as “unprecedented.” It is yet another step to bring more transparency from retailer to carrier and all the parts in between.

Also on Drilling Deep, Kingston discusses the 10th consecutive weekly increase in the Department of Energy/Energy Information Administration average retail diesel price and how two important numbers are signaling different directions for diesel markets going forward.

More articles by John Kingston

Drilling Deep:manufacturing’s upcoming boost to trucking

Drilling Deep: A freight tech startup got lots of money; what did it do with it?

Drilling Deep: tapping into the brains of a leading college to aid trucking

Upcoming FreightWaves Events
AI

Supply Chain AI Symposium

Past the hype. Join operators, founders, and enterprise leaders figuring out how to deploy AI in supply chain.

July 15, 2026
The Old Post • Chicago, IL
Register Now
FreightTech

F3: Future of Freight Festival

Industry-defining keynotes, rapid-fire technology demos, and industry leaders networking in experiences across Chattanooga - plus the inaugural F3 Awards Dinner featuring the FreightTech and Shipper of Choice reveals.

October 27, 2026 – October 28, 2026
The Signal at Chattanooga Choo Choo • Chattanooga, TN
Register Now
AI Supply Chain AI Symposium Jul 15 • The Old Post • Chicago, IL

Past the hype. Join operators, founders, and enterprise leaders figuring out how to deploy AI in supply chain.

The Old Post • Chicago, IL Register Now
FreightTech F3: Future of Freight Festival Oct 27 – Oct 28 • The Signal at Chattanooga Choo Choo • Chattanooga, TN

Industry-defining keynotes, rapid-fire technology demos, and industry leaders networking in experiences across Chattanooga - plus the inaugural F3 Awards Dinner featuring the FreightTech and Shipper of Choice reveals.

The Signal at Chattanooga Choo Choo • Chattanooga, TN Register Now

John Kingston

John has an almost 40-year career covering commodities, most of the time at S&P Global Platts. He created the Dated Brent benchmark, now the world’s most important crude oil marker. He was Director of Oil, Director of News, the editor in chief of Platts Oilgram News and the “talking head” for Platts on numerous media outlets, including CNBC, Fox Business and Canada’s BNN. He covered metals before joining Platts and then spent a year running Platts’ metals business as well. He was awarded the International Association of Energy Economics Award for Excellence in Written Journalism in 2015. In 2010, he won two Corporate Achievement Awards from McGraw-Hill, an extremely rare accomplishment, one for steering coverage of the BP Deepwater Horizon disaster and the other for the launch of a public affairs television show, Platts Energy Week.