U.S. Logistics & Ports At A Breaking Point With Kent Gourdin – RFP 63

In this powerhouse episode of The Real Finds Podcast, host Gordon Lamphere welcomes Kent Gourdin, professor and director of Global Logistics and Transportation at the College of Charleston, for a wide-ranging and deeply insightful conversation that peels back the layers of America’s supply chain crisis, port infrastructure limitations, and the real estate ripple effects reshaping industrial investment strategy nationwide.

With global trade volatility, chronic congestion at ports, labor unrest, and regulatory gridlock making headlines, Kent breaks down what these complex issues actually mean for developers, industrial tenants, site selectors, and commercial real estate investors. Drawing on decades of research and hands-on experience, he explains why the logistics sector is no longer an invisible machine humming in the background, but a front-line battleground in America’s economic competitiveness.

This episode is more than a snapshot of current events, it’s a strategic blueprint for understanding how supply chains now dictate location value, tenant demand, capital deployment, and long-term risk. If your work touches industrial real estate, infrastructure investment, global trade, or site selection, this conversation is required listening.

Key Topics Covered in This Episode:

• How ports shape real estate values: Why logistics hubs like Charleston, Savannah, and Long Beach have become bellwethers for industrial growth

• The U.S. maritime paradox: Why America has the world’s strongest navy but a nearly non-existent blue-water shipping fleet for commercial trade

• The Jones Act’s hidden impact: How this 100-year-old regulation adds friction to domestic trade and increases costs for U.S. consumers and businesses

• Logistics lessons from WWII: The story of cake deliveries to troops—and what it teaches us about historical U.S. logistics supremacy

• Port development wars: How Charleston and Savannah have diverged in infrastructure strategy, and what it means for the surrounding real estate

• Just-in-time is over: The shift to resilience, redundancy, and nearshoring—why major shippers are rewriting their inventory models

• Automation hype vs. reality: What’s working, what’s failing, and why trucking and port automation are still limited by labor, technology, and regulation

• Electrification delays at ports: Why battery-powered cargo handling is more policy promise than real-world practice—especially in the Southeast

• Warehouse surge near ports: How distribution centers are clustering around logistics hubs and how that reshapes land use and development patterns

• CRE investment in a trade-volatile world: How to price long-term risk when tariffs, labor disruptions, and geopolitical shifts are the new normal

• Lean vs. resilient supply chains: Why major retailers and manufacturers are building redundancy, and what that means for real estate portfolios

• Logistics as a strategic differentiator: How companies are now leveraging their supply chain visibility as a competitive advantage

Books Recommended by Kent Gourdin

Door to Door by Edward Humes — A narrative-driven look inside the hidden world of freight, logistics, and the movement of goods across the globe. It’s not just classroom reading—it’s an eye-opener for anyone who wants to understand the modern economy.

Kent’s Career & Advice for Young Professionals

As a tenured logistics professor and former Air Force logistics officer, Kent Gourdin brings both academic rigor and real-world perspective to every conversation. In this episode, he shares advice for emerging professionals:

“Find something you’re genuinely curious about. Let your career grow around that curiosity. Flexibility is more important than a rigid five-year plan.”

It’s a philosophy rooted in his own journey from military logistics to academic leadership—and it applies to anyone navigating today’s fast-changing job market.

Want to Connect with Kent Gourdin?

Whether you’re a student exploring supply chain careers, an investor analyzing port-adjacent real estate, or a policymaker looking to modernize infrastructure, Kent is a resource worth following.

📧 Email: gourdinK@cofc.edu
🏛️ College of Charleston – Global Logistics & Transportation Program
🌐 Website: cofc.edu

🎧 About The Real Finds Podcast
Hosted by Gordon Lamphere, The Real Finds Podcast is where real estate meets real-world systems. We talk with entrepreneurs, operators, policymakers, and researchers who are shaping the built world—often in ways the market overlooks.

Each week, we surface the underappreciated levers that influence location value, investment risk, infrastructure policy, and tenant demand. If you’re serious about understanding the complex interplay between logistics, land use, and capital, you’re in the right place.

📍 Find us on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen.
🗣️ Like. Comment. Subscribe. Share with a colleague who still thinks supply chains are “just trucks.”

Relevant Links:

• 🔗 Industrial Real Estate Opportunities

• 🔗 Van Vlissingen & Co. Brokerage Team

• 🔗 The VVCO Blog