Supply Chain Intelligence Brief

Click here to view this email in your browser.

The Supply Chain Intelligence Brief is a SMC³ member benefit that provides a snapshot of the day’s key industry news. Stay informed and connected with the SMC³ Supply Chain Intelligence Brief. Opt out at any time, with no impact to other SMC³ communications you may receive. If you would like to add any coworkers to the distribution list for this publication, please reply to this message with their names and email addresses.

TRUCKING

Old Dominion hoping stars align in 2026

Freight Waves Todd Maiden February 4, 2026

Old Dominion Freight Line provided positive commentary around demand on its fourth-quarter call on Wednesday. The less-than-truckload carrier’s leadership said recent customer conversations point to lean inventories, suggesting that improved volumes may be ahead in the new year. January manufacturing data surpassed expectations, lending further support to this constructive outlook.

Link: Old Dominion Freight Line Press Release Old Dominion Freight Line Reports Fourth Quarter 2025 Earnings Per Diluted Share of $1.09

Old Dominion Posts Lower Q4 Results While Investing in Growth

Transport Topics Connor D. Wolf  February 4, 2026

Freeman said ODFL has maintained a disciplined approach to yield management that is designed to offset cost inflation over the long term, with the team managing discretionary spending. These efforts allowed for investments in capacity, technology and its workforce.

ODFL ‘cautiously optimistic’ about LTL demand despite lackluster Q4

Journal of Commerce Dan Ronan February 4, 2026 $Subscription Based

Old Dominion Freight Lines (ODFL), one of the top US less-than-truckload (LTL) carriers, is “cautiously optimistic” about 2026 despite a decline in fourth-quarter revenue and volume, the company said Wednesday.

The carrier believes the US economy and freight demand were showing signs of growth late in the fourth quarter, and that those trends continued through January.

ArcBest offsets freight recession pressures with new LTL customers

Trucking Dive Haley Cawthon February 4, 2026

ArcBest’s ABF Freight increased its daily shipments by 2.4% year over year, driven by an influx of new LTL customers, according to its Q4 earnings report.

Link: ArcBest Earnings Presentation 4Q ’25

SMC³ conference predicts technology to play a major part in recovery for the LTL industry

American Journal of Transportation Debra Phillips February 4, 2026

From autonomous trucks to AI, the SMC³ “JumpStart” conference, held on January 26-28 in Atlanta, Georgia, provided the over 500 attendees with comprehensive view of the trucking industry, including its challenges and opportunities.

A leading provider of transportation data and logistics technology, the SMC³ JumpStart conference annually provides a unique forum for logistics and transportation experts to share their real-world insights about the industry landscape and best practices to remain competitive in a highly fragmented market.

Will Werner’s $245M FirstFleet buy signal new era of dedicated trucking consolidation?

CCJ Pamella De Leon February 4, 2026

The deal represents a move for the fleet to pivot away from the boom-and-bust cycle among truckload carriers, noted FTR Vice President of Trucking Avery Vise. Since 2014, market volatility has made capacity planning difficult, creating cost inefficiencies.

“Some carriers have concluded that a better long-term strategy is to provide greater service for a smaller cadre of steady customers, thus achieving a solid return on investment that is consistent,” Vise said.

Duffy Closes 7,500 CDL Schools in ‘Wild West’ Crackdown

Transport Topics Noël Fletcher February 4, 2026

Duffy has vowed that DOT under the Trump administration “is cracking down on every link in the illegal trucking chain” and using available federal tools to thwart “illegal and reckless practices that let poorly trained drivers get behind the wheel of semi-trucks and school buses.”

SHIPPERS / 3PLs

Walmart is basically a tech company now

Modern Retail Mitchell Parton February 5, 2026

“Walmart is setting a new standard for omnichannel retail by integrating automation and AI to build smarter, faster and more connected experiences for customers, while enabling our associates to deliver even greater value at scale,” Rainey said in November.

Clorox completes $580 million ERP overhaul to link operations with digital commerce

Digital Commerce 360 Mark Brohan February 4, 2026

Clorox said it intends for the effort to do more than modernize internal systems. By standardizing data and workflows across functions and locations, Clorox designed the new ERP platform to improve how the company forecasts demand, plans production, fulfills orders and collaborates with suppliers — capabilities that directly affect how consumer brands support retail, ecommerce and omnichannel customers.

Startup Pitches X-Rays and AI to Catch Fraudulent Returns

The Wall Street Journal Liz Young February 5, 2026 $Subscription Based

U.S. consumers last year returned an estimated 15.8% of all goods purchased, up from 8.1% in 2019, according to the National Retail Federation.

INDUSTRY

Spot intermodal savings spiked in Q4, but providers remain cautious

Journal of Commerce Ari Ashe February 4, 2026 $Subscription Based

US shippers saved 25.6% on spot market freight — a record— and 25.4% on contract loads in the fourth quarter by using domestic intermodal instead of long-haul trucking amid a rise in truckload spot rates, according to the latest Journal of Commerce Intermodal Savings Index (ISI).

USPS last-mile bidding process: What shippers should know

Supply Chain Dive Max Garland February 4, 2026

The agency is enabling shippers to reserve capacity at thousands of locations nationwide via an online bidding process, part of Postmaster General and CEO David Steiner’s efforts to better monetize the USPS network. Winning bidders will be able to inject volume into facilities closer to end customers for faster delivery, bypassing the standard end-to-end Postal Service shipping process.

Veho to flex delivery speed for price-sensitive e-commerce sellers

Freight Waves Eric Kulisch February 3, 2026

Parcel carrier Veho is rolling out an innovative AI-enabled delivery option that gives price-sensitive e-commerce brands the ability to save on shipping costs by trading day-definite delivery for more open-ended delivery windows at a lower rate.

Link: Veho Press Release Veho Introduces FlexSaveTM 

TECHNOLOGY

AI Won’t Kill the Software Business, Just Its Growth Story

The Wall Street Journal February 4, 2026 $Subscription Based

Artificial intelligence won’t destroy the software business. But the persistent belief that it will can still do a lot of damage.

Google’s Gemini app has surpassed 750M monthly active users

TechCrunch Lauren Forristal February 4, 2026

Google’s AI chatbot Gemini has surpassed 750 million monthly active users (MAUs), according to the company’s fourth-quarter 2025 earnings. This figure illustrates the rapid consumer adoption of Gemini, which has quickly become a prominent player in the AI space.

Link: Google The Keyword Blog Q4 earnings call: Remarks from our CEO

Alphabet resets the bar for AI infrastructure spending

CNBC Jennifer Elias February 4, 2026

Google’s flagship AI app Gemini now has 750 million monthly active users, up from 650 million last quarter, executives said.

When asked what keeps executives up at night, Pichai responded “compute capacity.”

Related: The Wall Street Journal Google to Double Spending as Earnings Beat Wall Street Expectations

SUSTAINABILITY / SAFETY / SECURITY

Geotab study finds EV batteries remain robust despite rise in fast charging

Freight Waves Thomas Wasson February 4, 2026

Geotab has released updated findings from its third major study on EV battery degradation. The analysis draws on more than 22,700 electric vehicles across 21 makes and models, spanning several years of aggregated telematics information. The verdict: modern batteries remain robust, but charging behavior has emerged as the dominant factor in how quickly they age.

Link: Geotab How long do electric car batteries last? The updated guide to real-world EV battery health

FedEx deploys SAF at Dallas, New York City airports

ESG Dive Lamar Johnson February 4, 2026

The agreement with World Fuel Services will bring FedEx’s total purchases of SAF to the equivalent of 5 million gallons of unblended fuel to date.

Link: FedEx Press Release FedEx Takes Delivery of SAF at Dallas Fort Worth and New York–JFK International Airports

4 Fatality Indiana Truck Crash Exposes Chameleon Carrier Network, Again.

Freight Waves Rob Carpenter February 4, 2026

A semi driver failed to stop for traffic. Four men from Bryant, Indiana, will never come home. And the carrier network behind that truck has been hiding in plain sight.

2026 federal spending bill provides $200M for truck parking

Trucking Dive Larry Avila February 4, 2026

Studies by the American Transportation Research Institute found that the average truck driver spends about 56 minutes of drive time daily seeking safe parking. This results in $6,813 in lost wages for truck drivers annually, according to ATA.

FMCSA designates English proficiency ‘safe zones’

Freight Waves John Gallagher February 4, 2026

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has released new guidance defining the boundaries of where truck drivers are effectively immune from being placed out of service (OOS) for failing to speak English.

BUSINESS AND THE ECONOMY

Services economy remains on growth track in January, reports ISM

Logistics Management Jeff Berman February 4, 2026

Another concern cited by Miller was January’s New Export Orders reading, which fell 9.2%, to 45, in January, for its lowest reading since March 2023’s 43.7. What’s more, he pointed to some panelists’ comments indicating that with ongoing tension between the U.S. and other nations could impact other nations’ interest in buying from the U.S.

Link: Institute for Supply Management Services PMI® Report

Private payrolls rose by just 22,000 in January, far short of expectations, ADP says

CNBC Jeff Cox February 4, 2026

Private companies added just 22,000 positions for the month and the number would have been negative had it not been for a surge of 74,000 hires in the education and health services category. The total was less than the downwardly revised 37,000 increase in December and below the Dow Jones consensus forecast for 45,000.

Link: ADP® National Employment Report

Click here to unsubscribe or to change your Subscription Preferences.