Darren Lamb and Russell Reams are key members of the Colography team, a company that has been providing actionable market intelligence for the logistics and transportation industry since 1983. Darren, with his deep understanding of the industry’s evolution, brings a wealth of experience in helping transportation providers make informed decisions based on reliable data. He helps guide Colography’s mission to fill the gap left by deregulation in the transportation market, offering valuable insights into cost, logistics, and geography.
Russell Reams, with his expertise in the carrier side of logistics, adds a unique perspective on how companies in the shipping industry—whether dealing with small packages, LTL (less-than-truckload), or full truckload shipments—make strategic decisions about network investments. Together, Darren and Russell are driving Colography’s innovative approach to helping businesses navigate the complexities of logistics, both domestically and internationally.
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Susan Nofi: I’m Susan Nofi with OGC Solutions and it’s my pleasure today to have with us some folks from Colography here, not far from where our offices are, just outside the perimeter in Atlanta, GA. And with me are Darren Lamb and Russell Reams and you know, as, as I told you when we first met the logistics and shipping industry, it is an interesting industry to me. But you know, given recent events, the economy, the state of shipping, it’s, I think it’s on everybody’s mind and you provide a unique service, I think an innovative service to the industry that provides some valuable information and insight for a lot of companies.
So maybe we can start with how did the name Colography come about?
Darren Lamb: Well, Susan, a lot of people think that we do color graphics. So that is a no, we do make charts and they do look pretty. But we, we we’ve graduated beyond kindergarten there. But the Colography Group should take a half step back in time into the early 80s when there is this thing called deregulation that was going on in the market. And as the government started getting out of the data collection business, especially around the transportation as it relates to shipping of freight in packages within the US.
The cofounders of the company, Ted Shirk and Cliff Courier, who unfortunately are not with us today, but they had this vision of, of a company being the source of having reliable and actionable market information so that transportation providers could still be able to market and sell their goods and services within the market.
And so as, as they’ve told me, when the company was started, you know, it was over a, a billiard table and some beer and they came up with the word Colagraphy.
And it comes up from three words, cost, logistics and geography.
And so that’s how the Colography Group was born
Susan Nofi: Interesting
Darren Lamb: In 1983. And, and we have been going strong now since 83 of providing and trying to step into the gap of providing actionable market intelligence about this market, not only here in the United States, but also cross-border with the United States and in in certain areas of globally as well.
Russell Reams: Pick up there where Darren left off. When you think about decisions that you have to make in this industry, there’s, there’s different perspectives. There’s this perspectives of the carriers, whether it’s small package, whether it’s LTL or full truckload, They have to make decisions about where do they invest for their networks.
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