University Park, Pa. – J. Michael Kilgore, president and chief executive officer of Atlanta-based Chainalytics LLP, a leading supply chain consultancy, will address how the economic crisis is affecting the freight transportation industry at this year's Spisak Lecture in Logistics and Supply Chain Management at Penn State's Smeal College of Business.
Kilgore's lecture, "How Today's Economic Turmoil Will Shape Tomorrow's Transportation Capacity Crisis," will begin at 5 p.m. March 25, in room 126 of the Business Building. The talk is free and open to the public.
The combination of high fuel costs, tightening liquidity, and the toppling freight market made 2008 the worst year since the 1930s for freight carriers. More than 3,000 motor carriers went out of business, eliminating 6.5 percent of motor freight capacity -- evidence that when the economy recedes, transportation quickly follows suit.
Kilgore will discuss what will happen in transportation when the economy rebounds. He will address the impact of economic cycles on freight transportation rates, capacity, and service. In addition, he will outline strategies for dealing with adversity during difficult economic times and for taking advantage of opportunities when the rebound occurs.
Prior to founding Chainalytics, Kilgore was vice president of sales and marketing at OmniSpace Technologies, where he was responsible for defining product and market strategies for the OmniSpace B2B collaboration platform. He has also served in a supply chain leadership capacity at daly.commerce, InterTrans Logistics Solutions, and Ernst & Young LLP.
Kilgore, a veteran of the United States Marine Corps, holds a bachelor's degree in transportation/physical distribution from Auburn University and a master's degree in business logistics from Smeal. In 2007, he was recognized as an Outstanding Young Alumnus of the college.
The Spisak Lectureship was founded in 1990 through a gift from the Alex and Ann Spisak family of State College. The fund supports lectures by outstanding professionals working in logistics and supply chain management.