Art of Supply

Imagine a single railroad company that could move freight seamlessly from the ports of Los Angeles to the ports of New York without handoffs, interchange delays, or needing to switch carriers mid-journey.
That's the promise behind the proposed merger between the Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern railroads. If the deal is approved, it will create the first single-line transcontinental railroad in U.S. history, spanning more than 50,000 miles across 43 states and nearly 100 ports.
Supporters say this could make rail a more serious competitor to long-haul trucking, lowering costs and improving supply chain efficiency. Critics say it risks concentrating too much power in too few hands in an industry where four railroads already control more than 90% of U.S. freight.
Earlier this month, regulators hit the reset button. The Surface Transportation Board (STB) rejected the merger application - not on its merits, but because the paperwork was incomplete.
In this episode of Art of Supply, Kelly Barner covers:
What Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern are proposing, and why it would be historically significant
The arguments for the merger, including efficiency, cost, and competition with trucking
The arguments against it, from labor, shippers, competitors, and policy advocates
Where the Surface Transportation Board fits in, and what the January 2026 rejection means from an approval and timeline standpoint
Links:
Kelly Barner on LinkedIn
Art of Supply LinkedIn newsletter 
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In late 2023, one of the world's most critical maritime chokepoints effectively broke.
After Hamas' October 7th attack on Israel, Houthi militants began targeting commercial shipping in the Red Sea. Initially, their target was Israel-linked vessels, then they increasingly started targeting anything that passed through.
What followed was a near-collapse of confidence in the Suez Canal, a route that normally handles roughly 10–12% of global seaborne trade. Ocean carriers rerouted thousands of ships around the Cape of Good Hope, adding weeks, cost, fuel burn, and complexity to global supply chains.
Fast forward to late 2025 and early 2026, and something quietly significant happened: Maersk, the world's second-largest container carrier, sent ships back through the Red Sea. It wasn't a full return or a declaration of victory, but it was a meaningful test.
In this episode of the Art of Supply podcast, Kelly Barner covers: 
Why Maersk's Red Sea test voyages matter more than they may appear
The economic and capacity pressures pushing carriers back toward Suez
Why a "safe reopening" may still create winners and losers
What procurement and supply chain leaders should be watching for next
Links:
High Stakes in the Red Sea
Kelly Barner on LinkedIn
Art of Supply LinkedIn newsletter 
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In early December of last year, two thefts took place in Taunton, Massachusetts, that involved two usually wonderful things: lobster and logistics. 
The stolen property was valued at $400,000: approximately $250,000 worth of lobster and $150,000 in crabmeat. Both thefts took place at the same warehouse. The crimes were a massive hit to all of the businesses involved at one of the most critical times of the year.
Unfortunately, this kind of fraud-based theft is all too common. Even more unfortunately, the opportunity to steal this property was created by security lapses in the supply chain. Significant effort went into tricking the warehouse to hand over the seafood, but it worked.
In this episode of the Art of Supply podcast, Kelly Barner covers:
The theft: who, what, where, and when
How common this form of theft is, and the multi-agency law enforcement effort that is being mounted in response
All of the forms of cost associated with 'fictitious pickups'
Links:
Kelly Barner on LinkedIn
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"When the Wright brothers got their airplane up in the air for the first time, it wasn't because they overcame the laws of physics, it was because they figured out how to harness those laws." - Patrick Kilbride, Policy Fellow at the Center for American Principles
The rate and scale of change taking place around us are so destabilizing that it would be easy to think that 'old ideas' no longer apply. Could economic principles that were articulated in the late 1700s possibly be relevant in a global, digital economy? 
Patrick Kilbride, Policy Fellow at the Center for American Principles, and principal at Kilbride Public Affairs, says yes – and he recently re-read Adam Smith's Wealth of Nations to prove it to himself.
Patrick is a public policy expert with experience as a Deputy Assistant U.S. Trade Representative. He has held a number of executive strategy- and policy-focused roles at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Today, he is a Policy Fellow at the Center for American Principles, a 501(c)(4) focused on personal liberties, free markets, and strong national security.
In this episode of the Art of Supply podcast, Kelly Barner speaks with Patrick about the wisdom Adam Smith and his contemporaries can still offer us today:
Why (and which) economic principles articulated during the Enlightenment still hold true today
The quality of life improvements that have been driven by productivity gains despite population growth
The role that governments can play in supporting enlightened self-interest

Links:
Patrick Kilbride on LinkedIn
The Center for American Principles
Kelly Barner on LinkedIn
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'Tis the season… for making supply chain predictions. Given how volatile 2025 was, anyone willing to share their opinions about the coming year deserves an award for courage. 
In this episode of Art of Supply, the last of 2025, Kelly Barner shares her curated list of picks for the most compelling 2026 supply chain predictions, not ranked in any particular order, and with no guarantees for how likely they are to come true.
These predictions suggest that:
Localization, automation, and resilience will keep colliding with reality, not hype
Decision-making will stay fast, data will stay late, and companies will learn to live with the gap
Rising costs and tighter oversight (from freight to cyber risk to returns) will force uncomfortable tradeoffs
Government influence on supply chains isn't fading, it's expanding in new and unexpected ways
Links:
Kelly Barner on LinkedIn
Art of Supply LinkedIn newsletter 
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