Our guest on this week's episode is Kathy Fulton, executive director at the American Logistics Aid Network (ALAN). It is officially the beginning of hurricane season – a period where these storms, as well as tornados and other natural disasters, such as this week’s earthquakes in Venezuela, leave behind considerable damage to towns in their wakes. It is during these times that the logistics industry snaps into action to help those in affected areas, as today’s guest discusses with our DC Velocity senior editor, Victoria Kickham.

Those of us who grew up in the Jetsons and Star Wars eras have been imagining for a long time the advantages that humanoid robots could bring to everyday tasks. Senior News Editor Ben Ames has been tracking just how rapidly humanoid robotic technologies are now advancing.

Hundreds of millions of containers ship worldwide every year and almost all of them make it safely to their destinations. However, there are some containers that do not - as Victoria Kickham reported this week. The number of shipping containers lost at sea more than doubled in 2025, driven by some major maritime accidents as well as severe weather.

Articles and resources mentioned in this episode:

• American Logistics Aid Newwork (ALAN)
• Humanoid robots could drive hot demand for co-bot arms
• Agility Robotics will go public to boost rollout of humanoid robots
• Visit DC Velocity
• Visit Supply Chain Xchange
• Send feedback about this podcast to podcast@agilebme.com

This podcast episode is sponsored by: Werner

Our guest on this week's episode is Eric Fullerton, Vice President of Data Insights and Product Marketing at project44. There is now an agreement in place to end the fighting between the United States and Iran – and we hope it will be a lasting peace. But it will be a while before the world gets back to normal and we can recover from the blockage of the Strait of Hormuz. And that includes not just the flow of oil, but also products made from petroleum, such as plastics. We may find some products delayed or scarce due to waiting on plastic parts. Our guest joins DC Velocity’s Senior News Editor Ben Ames to explain the situation and to predict how long it will be before these supply chains normalize.

For the next month or so the entire world is focusing on North America and the biggest sporting event on the globe – soccer’s World Cup. Putting on such a huge event takes a lot of planning – and lots and lots of logistics support. Senior Editor Victoria Kickham reports on the people who do the logistics work to make sure that the World Cup comes off without a hitch.

We’ve seen a huge explosion of new robotics tools in our supply chain facilities, whether we’re talking about handheld and wearable computers or material handling automation or mobile robots. This week Ben Ames shares a report he saw on how workers can get the most out of those new tools. This was a study from researchers at Erasmus University in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. And they found that the best way to combine humans and robots for ideal results in warehouse work is for employees to circulate between working with various co-bot partners, not with a single dedicated robot.

Articles and resources mentioned in this episode:

• project44
• Logistics workers score big in World Cup prep
• Research shows that warehouse workers do best when they switch between co-bots
• Visit DC Velocity
• Visit Supply Chain Xchange
• Send feedback about this podcast to podcast@agilebme.com

This podcast episode is sponsored by: ID Label

Our guest on this week's episode is Andrei Quinn-Barabanov, supply chain practice lead at Moody’s. New inflation reports came out this week showing that last month we reached the highest inflation rates of the past three years. Inflation is even higher when it comes to transportation cost increases. To help us understand how such inflation affects our supply chains, our guest joins DC Velocity’s Senior News Editor Ben Ames.

The market outlook for collaborative robots remains strong as the equipment advances to accommodate heavier duty use around the world. Senior Editor Victoria Kickham reports that new research from Interact Analysis that shipments of these cobots designed to work with and alongside humans are predicted to grow at an average annual rate of more than 17% between 2025 to 2030.

Ben Ames reports that this week that a change is coming to robotic last mile fulfillment. Starship Technologies is an Estonian tech startup that makes autonomous, self-driving bots. If you’ve been on any large university campuses in the last few years, you’ve probably seen them driving along pathways and college quads, delivering small items like e-commerce orders for snacks and burritos. But now Starship says they plan to wind down their operations on U.S. university campuses and shift their focus to retail grocery chains and hot food delivery in cities across Europe and the U.S. Ben shares why the company has shifted their strategy.

Articles and resources mentioned in this episode:

• Moody's
• Cobot shipments to rise more than 17% by 2030. China maintains market dominance.
• Starship steers delivery robots off college campuses and toward grocery sector
• Visit DC Velocity
• Visit Supply Chain Xchange
• Send feedback about this podcast to podcast@agilebme.com

This podcast episode is sponsored by: ID Label