Surviving Ocean Freight Procurement in 2026 with Stephanie Loomis, Noatum Logistics
Unfiltered Freight Episode #8
Video
Guest:
Stephanie Loomis
Head of Procurement, Pricing, and Commercial Relations, Ocean Product, Noatum Logistics
Bio:
Stephanie brings 30+ years of ocean freight expertise to her role leading Noatum’s ocean product strategy across North America. A proven market predictor, her career spans logistics powerhouses like Rhenus, DB Schenker, and DHL, bridging procurement, product teams, and sales organizations.
About the Episode
Stephanie Loomis isn’t buying the “rates will bounce back” narrative. After watching carriers learn they can actually make money (shocking, right?), she’s calling BS on anyone still chasing rock-bottom rates while their cargo sits on the dock. Her take? The game has changed, and if you’re still playing by 2019 rules, you’re already losing. Listen to the whole thing to hear how hybrid freight procurement strategies will win, three ways humans beat out AI in freight and why you should buckle up for ocean freight rates in 2026.
Chapters
[00:00:00]
Reality Check: Why your cheap rate won’t move jack
[00:00:52]
This Ain’t 2008: Why carriers finally discovered capitalism
[00:03:20]
Playing the New Game: Stop rate-chasing, start freight-moving
[00:06:34]
Tender Frequency Goes Brrr: Why annual contracts are dead weight
[00:07:34]
Industry Speed Dating: When BCOs, forwarders and carriers get freaky
[00:09:23]
Robots Can’t Schmooze: Why relationships still beat algorithms
[00:12:39]
Suez Roulette: Betting on when carriers create their own chaos
Key Insight:
Your killer rate means nothing if your cargo’s still sitting at port.
The Floor is Real
Forget those glory days of carriers racing to zero. Today’s carriers actually like profit (weird flex, but okay) and won’t touch freight that doesn’t make money. That $500 China-LA rate from 2008? Dead and buried. The pandemic taught carriers they hold the cards, and they’re not folding anytime soon.
Cheap Rates, Empty Shelves
Here’s the dirty secret: scoring that killer freight rate means jack if your container’s collecting dust at port. With blank sailings multiplying like rabbits and Suez chaos looming, smart money’s on securing space, not chasing pennies. Pick your battles: do you want bragging rights on rates or actual freight that moves?
RIP Annual Tenders
Still doing once-a-year procurement? That’s adorable. With an 800-pound Suez gorilla ready to flip the table at any moment, quarterly tenders are the new minimum. The days of “set it and forget it” procurement died somewhere between COVID and the Ever Given.
Everyone’s Playing Together Now
BCOs dating forwarders? Carriers sliding into tech? The industry’s turning into one big polyamorous relationship. Big shippers are using forwarders for spot market quickies while maintaining their carrier marriages. Meanwhile, everyone’s building their own tech stack because trusting someone else with your data is so 2015.
Chaos is the New Strategy
In a market drowning in capacity, disruption is the only thing that moves the needle on rates. Watch carriers time their Suez return like a perfectly orchestrated traffic jam. Creating congestion to boost rates? That’s not a bug, it’s a feature.
Previous Episode 7: 24 Months to Autonomous Procurement with Martin Polakovic, Lenovo
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