Welcome to the May 16th edition of Sent Items.

I am just getting back from an incredible few days in Kansas City for SubSummit. Always fun seeing friends and partners from over the years, and we hosted a fantastic dinner for two-dozen leading operators talking real strategy. A huge thank you to everyone who joined us and made the trip so valuable.

I also had a pretty cool moment walking the floor: stumbling across our friends at the Jay Group and seeing Third Person’s Partner badge actively featured at their booth. Completely unprompted, totally unexpected, and honestly the best kind of surprise. Seeing us championed in the wild by top-tier 3PLs is exactly why we built Third Person.

There is no time to rest, though. Next week, the circuit comes to my backyard for Home Delivery World here in Nashville. Third Person will be set up in the Startup Zone, I will be moderating two panels, and while our VIP Dinner is completely sold out, we still have a few spots left for our Happy Hour.

While we digest the last few days and prep for the next week, the industry news cycle is moving fast. UniUni is eyeing a massive $1B public offering, Amazon is cutting delivery times in half, and the Supreme Court just handed down a ruling that will completely alter the risk profile for freight brokers.

But before we get into it, we also announced of Fall 2026 Third Person VIP Logistics & Leadership Retreat cohort. It will take place September 28-30 here in Nashville. The first two cohorts have been terrific, but I must say, this one is truly 🔥

The FOMO is real, I’ve heard from several folks who wish they could be there. We’ll soon begin building a pre-registration list for our Spring 2027 event, so stay tuned!

👉 See the announcement here

Now let’s get into it.

- Matt

UniUni Eyes $1B SPAC Deal on TSX The alternative carrier market is officially coming of age. BetaKit reports that last-mile delivery startup UniUni is in talks to go public on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) via a massive $1 billion USD SPAC deal. As brands desperately seek out reliable, cost-effective alternatives to FedEx and UPS, regional and tech-enabled carriers like UniUni are capitalizing on the massive influx of volume.

UniUni’s revenue grew from $113 million USD in 2023 to $295 million USD in 2024 and $683 million USD in 2025. UniUni expects to hit $1.1 billion USD in sales this year and surpass $1.5 billion USD in 2027. The company lost $70 million USD in 2025, but expects to reach profitability this year and generate $125 million USD in pre-tax profits in 2027. While I’m a huge supporter of UniUni - many brands and 3PLs we work with leverage them - their labor practices have been scrutinized in the past, including from multiple proposed class action lawsuits. Media reports last year also said local police in Connecticut found people sleeping in sordid conditions inside a UniUni warehouse.  

However, a billion-dollar public exit would validate the entire "challenger carrier" category. Source: BetaKit

Amazon Expands 30-Minute Delivery While the rest of the market struggles to maintain 2-day margins, Amazon is moving the goalposts again. Supply Chain Dive notes that the Everything Store is aggressively expanding its ultra-fast, 30-minute delivery service to additional cities. By leveraging sub-same-day facilities and localized inventory nodes, Amazon is resetting consumer expectations, making speed an even steeper moat against independent brands. Source: Supply Chain Dive

SCOTUS Ruling Rocks Freight Brokers In a monumental decision with massive liability implications, the Supreme Court ruled this week that freight brokers can face negligent hiring lawsuits under state law. SCOTUSblog breaks down the ruling, which effectively strips away the federal preemption shield brokers previously relied on. If a broker hires a carrier with a poor safety record and an accident occurs, the broker is now fully exposed to state-level negligence claims. Expect insurance premiums and vetting costs to skyrocket across the brokerage sector. Source: SCOTUSblog

FedEx & UPS Spike International Surcharges The global supply chain squeeze is hitting the parcel networks. The carriers are applying temporary fees for shipments between the U.S. and various countries until further notice. One from UPS is a $0.32 per pound surcharge for volume to the U.S. from any origin country or territory, save for those in which a surge emergency fee already applies.

FedEx and UPS are upping their fuel fee calculations on import and export services as well. For example, if the price per gallon of jet fuel is $4 in a given week, FedEx will levy a 38.5% fuel surcharge for international exports. Previously, FedEx charged a 36.5% rate at that fuel price. Meanwhile, DHL eCommerce is increasing its fuel surcharge calculations for domestic products on May 30.

Both FedEx and UPS have aggressively hiked their international fuel surcharge rates and implemented new surge fees on specific cross-border lanes. With ocean freight disruptions pushing more urgent cargo into the air networks, the legacy carriers are protecting their margins and passing the compounding operational costs directly down to the shipper. Source: Supply Chain Dive

Data Check: Consumers Are Hanging In There Despite inflationary pressures and tightening credit, the American consumer is still spending. The latest retail sales data detailed by the WSJ shows steady, resilient demand. [Insert Retail Sales Data Chart Here] Source: WSJ

This Week: Home Delivery World (Nashville) HDW is finally here! If you are in Nashville this coming week, come find the Third Person team at our booth in the Startup Zone.

While our VIP Dinner is officially at Capacity, we are co-hosting a Happy Hour Thurs May 21 with APC Postal Logistics, Kase/WSI, Parsel, and RateRunners. We only have a few spots remaining on the list, so request your invite right now before we close it out.

Have a great week, and looking forward to seeing many of you at HDW!

- Matt

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