Long Beach, harbor home of the iconic Queen Mary, the greatest ocean liner in the history of the world was out there resting gently on the waters of Long Beach harbor as the ever expanding world of big surface transportation land and sea, gathered this week September 15-17 at The Intermodal Association of North America (IANA) Annual Expo at The Long Beach Convention Center.
     Pictured smack dab in the middle of the action with an invitation of hope for ocean, truckers, railroad shippers and every other form of surface movement, in the tariff-of-the-week de minimis world of today, was the PayTeam from PayCargo.
     It's all about delivering one less thing to worry about in business, whilst assuring everyone that here is the best way to pay and get paid currently at work for everyone in the transportation business.
     From left are Dennis Monts, COO and President of PayCargo Labs; Timothy Walton, SVP of Sales Global Key Accounts; Christian Schwarz, EVP of Sales and Jonathan Giffin, Director of Enterprise Development Sales.
     Intermodal EXPO is a significant event for the intermodal supply chain, bringing together professionals from various sectors, including rail, road, and sea.
     “Our team enjoyed connecting with industry leaders, exploring the future of intermodal freight, and sharing how PayCargo is helping companies move cargo faster and smarter through secure, digital payments,” said Christian Schwarz.
     Good slate of speakers included some usual suspects addressing the big issue of 2025 as concern for ongoing tariffs hangs over every aspect of transportation like an ominous black cloud.
     Lars Jensen of Vespucci Maritime told conferees that U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs policies isolate the United States.
     “I'm seeing a bifurcation of the global containerized trade,” Jensen declared.
     “If you look at the U.S. ever since the start of the trade war, growth, imports and exports have been declining, while elsewhere in the world business is booming.
     “I don’t think this current situation is going to be a short-lived phenomenon,” Jensen declared.
     About the equally concerning scourge of cargo theft that to some is measured as a pandemic, Donna Lemm, Chief Strategy Officer at IMC Logistics, based in Memphis, took the bull by the horns continuing her call for collaboration with law enforcement as a critical component of cargo theft prevention, urging that U.S. Homeland Security to be brought onboard to fight cargo thefts.
     “The lack of a coordinated federal strategy for cargo theft enforcement and prosecution leads to inconsisten response across jurisdictions and agencies. Bad players are well aware of these enforcement gaps, and they are using them to their advantage,” Lemm added.
     Within the U.S., 18 milllion loads are moved by rail annually. The Association of American Railroads estimates that over 65,000 thefts occurred in the U.S. in 2024, representing a roughly 40% increase over the prior year.  
     Lemm noted that "all aspects of the industry have been by theft, but not everyone realizes how much it has increased or the urgent need to address it."
     Suggesting that a central incident reporting system be created to at least keep some kind of track on rail and trucking theft, Donna told conferees:
     “The problem is so unreported that it would make your head spin.”
SSA