Chris Caplice, PhD
Executive Director | Senior Research Scientist | Founder and Director, MIT Freight Lab MIT Center for Transportation & Logistics
- Boston MA
Dr. Caplice's research focuses on improving the way freight transportation is designed, procured, and managed.
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Biography
He is also the founder and director of the MIT FreightLab – a research initiative focused on improving how freight transportation is designed, procured, and managed. His primary research is in all aspects of freight transportation, including combinatorial procurement auctions, robust planning, portfolio management, performance metrics, and infrastructure design.
In addition to his work at MIT, Dr. Caplice is currently the Chief Scientist for DAT Freight & Analytics, the largest truckload freight marketplace in North America with over $150 billion in market transactions. In this role, he pioneered the concept of freight rate modeling, which became the Chainalytics Freight Market Intelligence Consortium (FMIC) and is now part of DAT. He leads the development and deployment of innovations and insights into the transportation industry, including the monthly Signal Report and the bi-weekly Freightvine Podcasts.
Dr. Caplice was named the first Silver Family Research Fellow in 2016. He has been awarded the Irwin Sizer Award for the Most Significant Improvement to MIT Education, the MIT School of Engineering Distinguished Educator Award, the MITx Prize for Teaching and Learning. He has also received the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP) Doctoral Dissertation Award in 1996 and the Distinguished Service Award in 2016.
Research Focus
Future Logistics & Infrastructure Systems
Shaping freight, mobility, and infrastructure systems that enable global supply networks.
Critical Systems & Supply Network Resilience
Ensuring continuity, preparedness, and mission assurance under disruption and geopolitical volatility.
Areas of Expertise
Education
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
PhD
Transportation & Logistics Systems
1996
The University of Texas at Austin
MSCE
Transportation Engineering
1990
Virginia Military Institute
BSCE
Civil Engineering
1984
Affiliations
- MIT FreightLab : Founder
Languages
- English
Media Appearances
Preparing for Freight Volatility with Chris Caplice From MIT and DAT Freight & Analytics | Ep. 87
Unboxing Logistics: An EasyPost Podcast online
2026-04-08
In this Unboxing Logistics episode, Lori sits down with Chris Caplice, executive director at MIT Center for Transportation Logistics and chief scientist at DAT Freight and Analytics, to discuss the state of freight in 2026.
'Most Advanced Minds': How Military, MIT Are Pushing Boundaries
Military.com online
2025-12-04
“We're a 50-year-old center that works with shippers, carriers, brokers, manufacturers and retailers, helping them improve their supply chain, coming up with new ideas and driving it into practice,” Caplice told Military.com. “We have grad programs, we have executive education, we have research projects, and we have corporate outreach.
The unsung role of logistics in the US military
MIT News online
2025-11-25
“If you think about it, logistics started as a military function,” says Chris Caplice, executive director of the MIT Center for Transportation and Logistics (CTL). “The idea of getting supplies, ammunition, food, all the material you need to the front line was the core of logistics, and really supply chain came out of that over the last decades or centuries.”
Supply Chain Trends in 2025 With Chris Caplice From MIT and DAT Freight & Analytics | Ep. 50
Unboxing Logistics: An EasyPost Podcast online
2025-01-08
Last January, Chris Caplice joined us to discuss the top supply chain trends of 2024. This year, he’s back to talk about what the world of shipping and logistics will look like in 2025.
How artificial intelligence is transforming logistics
MIT Sloan School of Management online
2024-08-20
“AI is a moving target,” said Chris Caplice, the executive director of the MIT Center for Transportation and Logistics. “It’s not sitting still; it’s aspirational because what was considered AI 30 years ago — even 20 years ago — is not considered cutting-edge AI anymore. It’s always that thing that exceeds our grasp.”
Trucking Market Dynamics: Insights from Chris Caplice and Angi Acocella
The Matt Waller Podcast online
2024-01-16
Chris Caplice and Angi Acocella discuss the complexities of the freight industry on The Matt Waller Podcast.
Speaking Engagements/Featured Conversations
Dr. Chris Caplice at CSCMP Edge 2022 Conference
Dr. Chris Caplice’s September 20, 2022, Town Hall Series presentation entitled What You Wish Your CEO Knew about Truckload Freight. He discusses the most common misunderstandings CEOs without transportation backgrounds have concerning truckload transportation and why it matters. Watch the full presentation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_XRTX9S5BZE
Research Papers
Measuring causal effects of disasters and consequent relief activity on truckload markets
Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation ReviewShraddha Rana, Jarrod Goentzel, Chris Caplice
2025-09-01
During disasters the demand for transportation increases to distribute relief supplies, but the capacity decrease due to damaged infrastructure and competition for limited assets, leading to higher procurement prices. With the increase in frequency of natural disasters and resulting economic losses, we are motivated to study the historical impact to prepare for the future.
Great Expectations: The Moderating Effects of Supplier Service Model and Market Dynamics on Relational Contract Performance
Production and Operations ManagementAngela Acocella, Chris Caplice, Yossi Sheffi
2024-08-19
Under a relational contract, the value placed on expected future business must outweigh the short-term temptations to deviate for the buyer–supplier relationship to persist. Operational and relational factors that influence this trade-off have been explored, however, there is a considerable lack of research on the moderating effects of supplier and market characteristics.
Research on truckload transportation procurement: A review, framework, and future research agenda
Journal of Business LogisticsAngela Acocella, Chris Caplice
2023-02-06
The body of literature on truckload (TL) transportation procurement decisions by firms (shippers) and their transportation service providers (motor carriers) has been driven by real‐world challenges faced by a large and important segment of the economy. The field has received the attention of researchers from a wide range of domains.
Pack size effects on retail store inventory and storage space needs
INFOR: Information Systems and Operational ResearchLita Das, Andre L Carrel, Chris Caplice
2021-08-02
Due to constraints on pack sizes in which products are shipped to retail stores, excess inventory can accumulate in stores. In order to optimize the allocation of store space between storage and customer-facing areas, simple expressions are required for backroom inventory levels that can be inserted into optimization models.
Reducing Uncertainty in Freight Transportation Procurement
Journal of Supply Chain Management, Logistics and ProcurementChris Caplice
2021-01-01
Securing sufficient truckload transportation capacity is a challenge for most shippers. The dominant design currently used across North America is to run an annual reverse auction collecting rates from carriers on each of their freight lanes (origin-destination pairings) and then feeding these rates into the shipper’s transportation management system (TMS), which then uses a routing guide to determine which carrier to tender a load to when a particular shipment materialises.
Event Appearances
What You Wish Your CEO Knew about Truckload Freight
CSCMP EDGE 2022 Conference Nashville, TN
2022-09-20
How Data Science is Transforming Freight Transportation
CSCMP EDGE 2021 Supply Chain Conference & Exhibition Atlanta, GA
2021-10-01
Making Sense of an Uncertain Future
Keynote Logistics Summit Mexico City, Mexico
2019-03-01
Availability
- Keynote
- Moderator
- Panelist
Awards
Distinguished Service Award
Issued by Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP)
Aug 2016
MITx Prize for Teaching and Learning in MOOCs
Issued by Massachusetts Institute of Technology - Office of Digital Learning
May 2018
Irwin Sizer Award for the Most Significant Improvement to MIT Education
Issued by Massachusetts Institute of Technology
May 2018
MIT Teaching with Digital Technology Award
Issued by Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Jun 2018
Courses
SCM.260 Logistics Systems
Provides an introduction to supply chain management from both analytical and practical perspectives. Taking a unified approach, students develop a framework for making intelligent decisions within the supply chain. Covers key logistics functions, such as demand planning, procurement, inventory theory and control, transportation planning and execution, reverse logistics, and flexible contracting.
SCM.266 Freight Transportation
Provides an in-depth introduction to the fundamental concepts and techniques related to the design, procurement, and management of freight transportation. Examines freight transportation as a bridging function for a firm, considering the physical flow of raw materials and finished goods as well as connections to suppliers and customers.
