In this episode of the Meet Me For Coffee Podcast, our host Samantha Jones will sit down with Keith Prather, Managing Director and Partner at Armada Corporate Intelligence, one of the most respected economic forecasting and business intelligence firms in the country.

Armada functions like an intelligence agency for corporate executives, helping leaders anticipate what’s coming long before it hits their bottom line. Their proprietary ASIS modeling system blends traditional intelligence techniques with advanced analytics to forecast everything from economic trends and sector growth to supply chain risks, raw material costs, and geopolitical pressures, with accuracy rates as high as 92–99% six months out.

Join the conversation live as Samantha asks Keith to unpack topics such as:
The current state of the U.S. economy
What transportation and logistics markets should expect heading into 2026
How corporate intelligence modeling predicts demand cycles, pricing shifts, and capacity changes
Key risks and signals executives should watch right now
And More

With more than 24 years advising corporate boards, industry associations, and over 50,000 business leaders monthly, Keith brings a rare level of clarity to an increasingly complex economic landscape.

A new face on the podcast! We are super excited to have Aaron Terrazas, Independent & Fractional Economist and formerly an economist at Glassdoor, Convoy, Zillow, and the US Treasury Dept, join our host, Samantha Jones! We are excited to hear the thoughts of an economist who has experience in freight application as well! You don't want to miss this one! Submit your questions now, and tune in for a full conversation geared around helping your business navigate the current economy and freight markets!

Join our host Samantha Jones-Beach Jones and her guest Lynda Patterson, the SVP of Sales - Logistics, at Watco as they discuss some markets that need a little time and attention but don't often get it! Join us for an update on barge logistics, imports, and a conversation around visibility and execution in inbound supply chains, from barge, to rail, to truck.

Watco's services are unique and their capabilities allow them to have a strong view of what is possible in a company's global supply chain, join Samantha and Lynda as they discuss the opportunities and challenges facing our nation's supply chain and logistics decision makers!

It's fall break, so we're jumping on the opportunity to snag Jason Miller for a coffee chat while he's not teaching a MBA level logistics course! Join our host Samantha Jones as her and Jason meet for a live podcast conversation to hear Jason's latest thoughts on the US economy, global supply chains, domestic freight networks, and more!

As busy logistics professionals, we cannot devote all of our time to understanding the current dynamics impacting freight markets, but others can! As an educator, Jason's research focuses on topics at the intersection of supply chain management and economics, with a special emphasis on examining issues in the for-hire trucking industry including carrier safety, pricing dynamics, employment dynamics, and carrier growth.

We hope you make some time to meet us for coffee!

Grab a coffee and join our host Samantha Jones as she sits down with Mazen Danaf, Principal Economist at Uber Freight, to discuss the intersection of freight markets and economics.

When Mazen last joined us in July 2023, the conversation centered on whether we were nearing the turning point in the freight cycle. At the time, he didn’t see many reasons for rates to improve, and here we are, two years later, still navigating the low end of the cycle.

We’ll revisit that discussion, explore what’s changed (and what hasn’t), and get Mazen’s take on today’s economic and industry trends.

Our host Samantha Jones called attention to a statement made by Dean Croke on the Mid-Year Market Update panel in July, and we decided to follow up on that! Join our host Samantha as she brings Dean and his colleague Ken Adamo back on the show to discuss the future of freight management. All three speakers believe there are fundamental changes taking place in the way freight is managed across shippers, and how they source capacity. Convoy was seen as a pioneer of digital freight matching, DAT is often viewed as a legacy coverage platform, with the recent acquisition of Convoy by DAT, it seems more relevant than ever that we discuss the future of freight movement.

Dean: "The more important thing I think is work with people like David (broker) in particular to build relationships, try new things, don't be afraid to make mistakes and try new things and venture out into territories that you haven't been before. Because I see structural change in this industry in terms of how freight is moving, and I don't know that we can rely on past freight patterns to dictate where we think the market is going. At a carrier level I think you need to have really good partnerships with really good people to make sure you're in the right place at the right time."

Sam: "Dean I might need to have you back to have a whole conversation on that, because I've been talking about how things seem to be changing as far as the role of the broker, the role of the mid-sized carrier, and how technology is changing some things, and in other ways cementing old truths that have always been there.

If you are a shipper, broker, small carrier, mid-size carrier, or large fleet, tune in! We are excited to hear from our audience!

Join Samantha and her guest Gad Levanon, the Chief Economist at The Burning Glass Institute and an adjunct professor of economics at NYU, as they meet for coffee and chat economics!

Gad is recognized by LinkedIn as a "Top Industry Voice", and has an impressive following of businessmen and women who are seeking to better understand and apply economics to their fields! We will dive into what the current state and predicted future of the US economy, as we seek to better understand the forces that drive freight markets.

Please join us, and ask questions! You can start commenting questions anytime below!

Join our host Samantha Jones and her guest Taylor Walker, the Chief Insurance Officer at Loadsure, as they discuss the evolution of risk in trucking and how that has impacted shippers, brokers and carriers. They plan to start with some insurance 101 to cover terms that have grown in significance but may still be underexplained in our space. We will cover other topics like shippers changing risk tolerance and the impact it has on their brokers and carriers, and the rising barriers to entry for freight brokerages to get up and going. Join us as we lean on Taylor's wealth of knowledge and expertise in insurance and supply chain / logistics to help us better educate ourselves for important risk and insurance decisions.

Remember, we love questions, submit them in the show comments anytime before, during or even after the show!