The Space Economy Needs a Supply Chain - 5 Companies Who Are Making it Happen

Seven containers were waiting near an Antarctic ice shelf’s edge when a blizzard changed the plan. The ice broke away, carrying the cargo out to sea.Grace Sharkey brings this story to Freight Friends, and we talk through the difficulty of supplying a research station in such an unforgiving place. The conversation leads into Shackleton’s survival story and the challenge of operating on moving ice. Even getting supplies to the edge of the world takes an extraordinary amount of coordination.In this segment:• How containers ended up drifting on an iceberg• Research-station resupply and waste removal• Moving ice, survival and the limits of recoveryListen to the full Freight Friends conversation:https://everythingislogistics.com/freight-friends-edi-fees-ai-hype-vs-reality-and-totos-ceramics-that-secretly-power-chip-manufacturing/Links mentioned:Reporting on the container incident: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-05-23/tasmania-iceberg-breaks-away-with-shipping-containers-on-board/106710726-----------------------------------------THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS!SPI Logistics has been a Day 1 supporter of this podcast which is why we're proud to promote them in every episode. During that time, we've gotten to know the team and their agents to confidently say they are the best home for freight agents in North America for 40 years and counting. Listen to past episodes to hear why.CargoRex is the search engine for the logistics industry—connecting LSPs with the right tools, services, events, and creators to explore, discover, and evolve.Digital Dispatch maximizes and manages your #1 sales tool with a website that establishes trust and builds rock-solid relationships with your leads and customers. 

The rocket gets the glamor shot, but a launch is only one leg of a much larger network. Before anything leaves Earth, hardware has already moved through factories and specialized facilities. After launch, somebody still has to manage fuel, communications, maintenance, replacement parts, materials, and the trip back.In this solo episode, I follow five pieces of the emerging space supply chain: Rocket Lab’s deployable GHOST launch concept, the recurring resupply needs behind SpaceX’s Moon-base ambitions, Dawn Aerospace’s Loop refueling interface, Cascade Space’s deep-space communications capacity, and Anatar’s advanced textiles and material traceability. These efforts are at different stages. The logistics question is how to make each handoff dependable enough for the next mission.In this episode:Why a launch site that can move changes capacity planningThe deliveries, repairs, and reverse flows a Moon base would needHow a common docking and fuel-transfer connection could enable orbital refuelingWhy a lost signal is a serious exception in deep spaceThe manufacturing and traceability questions behind spacesuits and other soft goodsLinks and resources:Rocket Lab GHOST: https://rocketlabcorp.com/updates/rocket-lab-unveils-ghost-deployable-launch-system-to-enable-responsive-space-missions-worldwide/Dawn Aerospace Loop: https://www.dawnaerospace.com/latest-news/in-orbit-refueling-loop-networkCascade Space: https://www.cascadespace.com/Anatar: https://www.anatarindustries.com/newsroom/anatar-approved-to-join-the-arm-instituteKaia Rhodes on X: https://x.com/kaiarhodes/status/2049959076197511561Related episodes:NASA Series: Deep Space Logistics: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-everything-is-logistics-73784837/episode/nasa-series-deep-space-logistics-202946654/Building Warehouses in Space with Inversion: https://everythingislogistics.com/building-warehouses-in-space-with-inversion/-----------------------------------------THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS!SPI Logistics has been a Day 1 supporter of this podcast which is why we're proud to promote them in every episode. During that time, we've gotten to know the team and their agents to confidently say they are the best home for freight agents in North America for 40 years and counting. Listen to past episodes to hear why.CargoRex is the search engine for the logistics industry—connecting LSPs with the right tools, services, events, and creators to explore, discover, and evolve.Digital Dispatch maximizes and manages your #1 sales tool with a website that establishes trust and builds rock-solid relationships with your leads and customers. 

The company behind Japan’s heated toilets also makes precision ceramics used in semiconductor manufacturing. TOTO’s role in that supply chain sent Grace Sharkey and me down a very unexpected rabbit hole.Fresh from my trip to Japan, I compare notes with Grace about what we noticed there. We talk about the care behind everyday products, the food we still think about, and the maritime details at Tokyo DisneySea. This standalone Freight Friends segment connects an unusual manufacturing story with the places we experienced firsthand.In this segment:• How TOTO’s precision ceramics support chipmaking• Japan through a honeymoon and a student exchange• Food, everyday design and Tokyo DisneySea’s maritime worldListen to the full Freight Friends conversation:https://everythingislogistics.com/freight-friends-edi-fees-ai-hype-vs-reality-and-totos-ceramics-that-secretly-power-chip-manufacturing/Links mentioned:TOTO’s electrostatic chucks: https://jp.toto.com/en/products/ceramics/elewafer/ -----------------------------------------THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS!SPI Logistics has been a Day 1 supporter of this podcast which is why we're proud to promote them in every episode. During that time, we've gotten to know the team and their agents to confidently say they are the best home for freight agents in North America for 40 years and counting. Listen to past episodes to hear why.CargoRex is the search engine for the logistics industry—connecting LSPs with the right tools, services, events, and creators to explore, discover, and evolve.Digital Dispatch maximizes and manages your #1 sales tool with a website that establishes trust and builds rock-solid relationships with your leads and customers. 

I went to my first IANA Intermodal Expo with a confession: intermodal was one of the weakest areas in my logistics coverage. I had worked inside an asset-based 3PL with an intermodal department, but it mostly operated in the background. Three days in Long Beach gave me a much clearer picture of the mode, the technology surrounding it and the security problems that follow freight across ports, rail yards and highways.In this solo episode, I’m sharing what I learned about the infrastructure connecting the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, why cargo security can unravel when a driver cannot find safe parking, and where autonomous freight systems are becoming useful today. I also recorded six conversations for CargoRex’s upcoming cargo crime guide with Scott Cornell, Joe Ohr, Bernardo Mendez, Jared Palmer, Reed Loustalot and Kristy Knichel.In this episode:Why intermodal became a blind spot during my 3PL careerWhat the Alameda Corridor reveals about hidden freight infrastructureHow cargo crime connects physical security, cyber risk, insurance and driver safetyWhy secure truck parking belongs in the cargo security conversationWhat I learned from six interviews recorded at IANAHow GLĪD, Humble Robotics and Bot Auto are approaching autonomous freightWhy yards, terminals and dedicated lanes are practical starting points for autonomyWhat IANA’s podcast booth offered logistics creatorsResources mentioned:IANA Intermodal Expo: https://www.intermodal.org/intermodalexpoAlameda Corridor Mid-Corridor Trench: https://www.acta.org/about/projects/completed-projects/alameda-corridor-mid/NMFTA Freight Fraud Prevention Hub: https://freightfraudhub.com/TAPA Americas: https://www.tapaonline.org/Company mentioned on CargoRex:Bot Auto on CargoRex: https://cargorex.io/business/bot-auto/Related episodes:Leading IANA: Anne Reinke on Rail and Intermodal: https://everythingislogistics.com/from-rail-roots-to-leading-iana/How Intermodal Can Win Back Shippers: https://everythingislogistics.com/how-intermodal-can-win-back-shippers/Why Cargo Crime Keeps Getting Worse: https://everythingislogistics.com/why-cargo-crime-keeps-getting-worse/Everything is Logistics is hosted by Blythe Brumleve Milligan and presented by SPI Logistics.Learn more: https://everythingislogistics.com/ -----------------------------------------THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS!SPI Logistics has been a Day 1 supporter of this podcast which is why we're proud to promote them in every episode. During that time, we've gotten to know the team and their agents to confidently say they are the best home for freight agents in North America for 40 years and counting. Listen to past episodes to hear why.CargoRex is the search engine for the logistics industry—connecting LSPs with the right tools, services, events, and creators to explore, discover, and evolve.Digital Dispatch maximizes and manages your #1 sales tool with a website that establishes trust and builds rock-solid relationships with your leads and customers. 

Tall ships arrived in New York Harbor for America’s 250th, bringing a shared maritime tradition into full view. I loved seeing that gathering alongside the commemorative designs appearing on trucks and trains across the country.Grace Sharkey and I look at the fleet wraps and the ships that made this celebration so memorable. We also talk about why the effort behind these displays deserves more attention. This Freight Friends conversation was recorded July 9, 2026, during the anniversary celebrations.In this segment:• Mack’s commemorative truck and patriotic rail designs• The Liberty Bell connection behind Norfolk Southern’s locomotive• Tall ships from around the world gathering in New York HarborListen to the full Freight Friends conversation:https://everythingislogistics.com/freight-friends-edi-fees-ai-hype-vs-reality-and-totos-ceramics-that-secretly-power-chip-manufacturing/Links mentioned:Sail4th 250 event details: https://sail4th.org/news/with-30-days-to-go-new-york-harbor-gets-ready-for-a-historic-maritime-spectacle-for-the-nations-250thMack’s America 250 tribute truck: https://www.macktrucks.com/mack-news/2026/mack-trucks-debuts-limited-edition-america-tribute-truck-and-patriotic-truck-builder-backgroundNorfolk Southern’s anniversary locomotives: https://www.norfolksouthern.com/en/newsroom/story-yard/norfolk-southern-unveils-americas-250th-locomotive-series-----------------------------------------THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS!SPI Logistics has been a Day 1 supporter of this podcast which is why we're proud to promote them in every episode. During that time, we've gotten to know the team and their agents to confidently say they are the best home for freight agents in North America for 40 years and counting. Listen to past episodes to hear why.CargoRex is the search engine for the logistics industry—connecting LSPs with the right tools, services, events, and creators to explore, discover, and evolve.Digital Dispatch maximizes and manages your #1 sales tool with a website that establishes trust and builds rock-solid relationships with your leads and customers. 

Everyone in freight has the same marketing tools now. Same AI writing assistants, same ability to produce a clean chart in ninety seconds, same well-formatted blog post. RJ Finnegan, Brand Manager at SPI Logistics, told me that once that happened, the stack stopped being anyone's advantage.So he bought a DSLR camera. What he wanted on it was the new hire sharing a joke with one of SPI's senior client care managers, execs on trips, people actually speaking in a room. SPI had not been posting that kind of thing before, and his bet is that a generator can copy your polish but cannot manufacture a Tuesday afternoon in your office.This is RJ's second time on the show after our TMSA Elevate recap, and he chairs TMSA's Recognition Committee. We get into the one filter he runs every idea through, what he watches instead of vanity metrics, why he thinks perfectly optimized blog content became the baseline rather than the advantage, and why SPI posts less for its agents rather than more.Links: RJ Finnegan on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rjfinneganRJ's first appearance, 5 Things We Learned at TMSA Elevate 2025: https://everythingislogistics.com/5-things-we-learned-at-tmsa-elevate-2025/Watch this episode on YouTube -----------------------------------------THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS!SPI Logistics has been a Day 1 supporter of this podcast which is why we're proud to promote them in every episode. During that time, we've gotten to know the team and their agents to confidently say they are the best home for freight agents in North America for 40 years and counting. Listen to past episodes to hear why.CargoRex is the search engine for the logistics industry—connecting LSPs with the right tools, services, events, and creators to explore, discover, and evolve.Digital Dispatch maximizes and manages your #1 sales tool with a website that establishes trust and builds rock-solid relationships with your leads and customers. 

Before Everything is Logistics, I spent years covering the Jacksonville Jaguars for a local station. Football has always been more than a game to me. It is one of the clearest examples of how much work happens before the public sees the finished product.In this replay, I trace the city effort that brought the Jaguars to Jacksonville, then step inside the operations behind game day. Food and field prep, broadcast timing, sideline technology, international travel, and hundreds of people working from a plan the crowd will never see.I also follow championship merchandise from the stadium to fans, then to its next destination when a team does not win. It is a football episode, but the logistics are the part I have always loved. -----------------------------------------THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS!SPI Logistics has been a Day 1 supporter of this podcast which is why we're proud to promote them in every episode. During that time, we've gotten to know the team and their agents to confidently say they are the best home for freight agents in North America for 40 years and counting. Listen to past episodes to hear why.CargoRex is the search engine for the logistics industry—connecting LSPs with the right tools, services, events, and creators to explore, discover, and evolve.Digital Dispatch maximizes and manages your #1 sales tool with a website that establishes trust and builds rock-solid relationships with your leads and customers. 

Note: this is technically a segment from a recent Freight Friends episode so if you already listened to that convo, thank you. But if you'd like to listen for the first time or listen again, also thank you.Back in May, I started a new content initiative on CargoRex where I'm interviewing companies/leaders to get their collective take and there's no bigger collective right now than the discussion around AI. I shared all 8 of their voices on CargoRex's AI Use Cases in Logistics Guide and I also shared my personal take in the AI that Ships episode right here on EiL. But this one features my good friend Grace Sharkey who is as tech savvy in logistics as they come. She brings the buyer perspective and where AI goes rouge. We talked all about this plus her company Orderful's recent raise while somehow making EDI sound interesting. Give it a watch/listen here in the podcast player or if YouTube is your jam, head on other there. Connect with Grace on LinkedinGrace’s work at Orderful‘The Two Clocks’ article Grace mentionedOrderful’s Every Man Jack case studyCargoRex AI Use Cases in Logistics GuideSolo EiL episode with Blythe’s opinion on AI in Logistics -----------------------------------------THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS!SPI Logistics has been a Day 1 supporter of this podcast which is why we're proud to promote them in every episode. During that time, we've gotten to know the team and their agents to confidently say they are the best home for freight agents in North America for 40 years and counting. Listen to past episodes to hear why.CargoRex is the search engine for the logistics industry—connecting LSPs with the right tools, services, events, and creators to explore, discover, and evolve.Digital Dispatch maximizes and manages your #1 sales tool with a website that establishes trust and builds rock-solid relationships with your leads and customers. 

Sri Lanka's logistics story is visible almost everywhere you look. Colombo sorts containers for the region. Hambantota is building an automotive transshipment business. Tea and cinnamon turn mountain geography into a first-mile challenge, while apparel compresses production timelines into something you can watch happen in a single day. In this solo episode, I'm nerding out on the logistics I noticed during a trip through the country. The episode also looks inside Jetwing Yala, where solar power, biomass cooling, desalination, wastewater treatment and biogas make hotel operations part of the supply-chain story.Links: Jetwing YalaCeylon Artisanal Tea AssociationWatch this episode on YouTubeNote: sorry for the added text in the video version. I spent 25 hours editing this damn thing only to "add a little to the beginning" right before uploading that ended up displaying the rest of a track from an entire other episode. Whoops. If this bothers your OCD like me, hit the YouTube link above to watch the new upload that's free of these rookie mistakes! -----------------------------------------THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS!SPI Logistics has been a Day 1 supporter of this podcast which is why we're proud to promote them in every episode. During that time, we've gotten to know the team and their agents to confidently say they are the best home for freight agents in North America for 40 years and counting. Listen to past episodes to hear why.CargoRex is the search engine for the logistics industry—connecting LSPs with the right tools, services, events, and creators to explore, discover, and evolve.Digital Dispatch maximizes and manages your #1 sales tool with a website that establishes trust and builds rock-solid relationships with your leads and customers. 

Choosing the right freight agency can make or break your business. So when a post on Linkedin went semi-viral about the top freight agent programs in the country, your girl had to share what she's learned from years of interviewing freight agents and the execs that run these programs. Check out our full episode library on how to choose a freight agent program in 2026 and beyondThe LinkedIn post that started the conversationWatch this episode on YouTube -----------------------------------------THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS!SPI Logistics has been a Day 1 supporter of this podcast which is why we're proud to promote them in every episode. During that time, we've gotten to know the team and their agents to confidently say they are the best home for freight agents in North America for 40 years and counting. Listen to past episodes to hear why.CargoRex is the search engine for the logistics industry—connecting LSPs with the right tools, services, events, and creators to explore, discover, and evolve.Digital Dispatch maximizes and manages your #1 sales tool with a website that establishes trust and builds rock-solid relationships with your leads and customers.