• TPM25 | March 2-5, 2025
  • TPM25
  • March 2-5, 2025 | Long Beach Convention Center

Cathy Morrow Roberson

S&P Global

Research Analyst, Journal of Commerce by

Cathy Roberson joined the JOC in July 2020 and covers parcel, air cargo, and last-mile and reverse logistics. Based in Atlanta, she is also founder and head analyst for Logistics Trends & Insights, which provides customized logistics research and consulting services utilizing a global network of trusted and experienced analysts. Services include whitepapers, reports, surveys, case studies, and more. Roberson has more than 15 years of experience in the logistics market, including 10 years with UPS Supply Chain and several years with specialized consulting firms. In addition to being quoted in numerous publications, Roberson has published numerous articles in various business and logistics publications and speaks regularly at industry events.

Sessions With Cathy Morrow Roberson

Wednesday, 6 March

  • 11:10am - 11:50am (PST) / 06/mar/2024 07:10 pm - 06/mar/2024 07:50 pm

    TPM Cold Chain: Tech Innovation and the Pursuit of Efficiency
    Shippers haven’t always been able to get all the information they want and need on their freight while it’s in transit, even for time- and/or temperature-sensitive cargo being carried in specialized refrigerated containers. The COVID pandemic not only underscored the depths of the problem, but also provided an impetus for service and technology providers to ramp up their offerings and make them more accessible to shippers. From increasingly sophisticated tracking devices to better real-time visibility into temperature changes of containerized goods, investment is flowing rapidly into the market. Indeed, investment in tracking devices for refrigerated shipments alone is expected to more than double in the five years to 2026, according to market researcher Berg Insight, with industry giants Maersk and Orbcomm leading the way, and a number of smaller upstarts offering new or expanding services. This session will analyze the tech investment flowing into the market, the increasing accessibility of tech solutions to shippers, and how those solutions are improving cold chain efficiency.
  • 12:00pm - 12:45pm (PST) / 06/mar/2024 08:00 pm - 06/mar/2024 08:45 pm

    Shipper Case Study: How GE Appliances Got Its Arms Around Excessive Detention and Demurrage Costs
    Importers still licking their wounds from heightened freight rates through 2022 got relief in the form of lower rates in 2023, but one thorn in their side persisted: detention and demurrage fees that were hard to track and dispute. Indeed, the level of such fees rose as a percentage of total freight costs last year. GE Appliances, a maker of widely used home goods, set out to tackle the challenge of minimizing the fees it paid to carriers by turning to technology that could help it track, audit, and dispute charges it felt were erroneous. The importer also used software, from BlueCargo, to determine the root causes of free time fees that were appropriately billed in order to mitigate future exposure to such charges. In this case study, executives from GE Appliances and BlueCargo will discuss the scope of the detention and demurrage management challenge, how to tackle it on a national basis, and where technology comes into play.
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