Guest: Ronak Amin of HERE Technologies on preventing bridge strikes by trucks; More maritime freight fright; Are humanoid robots ready for prime time?

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Jan 23, 2026

Ronak Amin, global product marketing lead at HERE Technologies focused on fleet and transport location solutions. He talks about why bridge strikes happen and practical tech and routing fixes. There’s also discussion of shifting container routes around the Suez and what that means for shippers. Finally, the conversation covers the current gap between humanoid robot hype and readiness for large-scale logistics use.

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INSIGHT

Bridge Strikes Are Shockingly Common

Bridge strikes are far more frequent than most realize, occurring roughly 14,500 times annually in the U.S. and nearly 40 times per day.
The scale makes them a persistent, costly infrastructure and safety problem for supply chains.

INSIGHT

Costs Extend Beyond Immediate Damage

Bridge strikes cause direct costs like cargo and vehicle damage and indirect costs such as higher insurance and administrative burdens.
Infrastructure repair bills and dedicated prevention budgets demonstrate the large economic impact on states and fleets.

INSIGHT

Human Error Is A Major Factor

Human factors drive many strikes: missed or unread signs and drivers not knowing their vertical load height.
About half of truck drivers surveyed don't know their load's vertical height, exacerbating the risk.

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Our guest on this week's episode is Ronak Amin - global product marketing lead for fleet, mobility, and transport solutions at Here Technologies. Bridges and trucks are two elements that do not mix well. Many would be surprised to learn that an over-the-road truck strikes a bridge or an underpass every 36 minutes. Of course these accidents risk lives besides disrupting traffic flow. What can be done to prevent bridge strikes? Our guest offers some insights.

One major container ship line recently decided to resume sailings in the Red Sea but has now backed out of those plans and will instead continue sailing around Africa rather than going through the Suez Canal. In recent years the canal has been nearly empty of commercial traffic, due to violence and missiles from forces in Yemen, who were targeting Israeli and other western hemisphere ships due to the bloodshed in Israel’s war with Hamas. What does this change mean for shippers looking for some certainty in an ever-changing environment?

We’ve talked a lot about advances in humanoid robots recently, and there was more news this week. New Gartner research released on Tuesday found that the hype around humanoids is outpacing the technology’s readiness for large-scale deployment in logistics—and that means that we will probably see a lot of pilot projects over the next few years, but it’s going to be a while before these human-looking robots become commonplace on the warehouse floor.

Supply Chain Xchange also offers a podcast series called Supply Chain in the Fast Lane. It is co-produced with the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals. A new series is now available on Top Threats to our Supply Chains. It covers topics including Geopolitical Risks, Economic Instability, Cybersecurity Risks, Threats to energy and electric grids; Supplier Risks, and Transportation Disruptions Go to your favorite podcast platform to subscribe and to listen to past and future episodes. The podcast is also available at www.thescxchange.com.

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This podcast episode is sponsored by: Werner

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