FreightWaves deepens bench, hires top equities analyst

Mike Baudendistel

Mike Baudendistel, a 13-year equities analyst with deep expertise in rail, intermodal, Jones Act and transportation OEMs, joins FreightWaves as a market expert. 

Prior to joining FreightWaves, Baudendistel was on the equities research team at Stifel, covering railroads, rail equipment, and truck equipment. His experience also touched the barge, intermodal, and truckload sectors. Prior to Stifel, Baudendistel served as an investment banking associate for Crowe Capital in Chicago. He is a CFA charterholder.

Market participants continue to seek fundamental market analysis of the transportation sector from a team with deep tribal and data-driven insights. Over the past two years, FreightWaves has become the go-to source for the global freight sector, and hiring Mike Baudendistel reflects a continued commitment to being the market leader. 

“I have worked with Mike Baudendistel for the past six years and his depth of expertise and relationships across his areas of specialization will be highly valuable to the FreightWaves team here in Chattanooga, Tennessee,” said John “JT” Engstrom, chief strategy officer of FreightWaves. “His multi-modal understanding of domestic and international freight markets will further propel FreightWaves’ ability to provide a comprehensive read on the fundamentals market.”

The goal in adding Baudendistel to FreightWaves’ growing team is to deepen customers’ understanding of intermodal, barge, and transportation equipment cycles and trends. His track record and deep tribal knowledge of these market trends will be a tremendous resource as the company builds out fundamental research, analysis, and datasets covering #freightallkinds. 

Baudendistel will join the FreightWaves team at its Chattanooga headquarters and has challenged the staff with his “mean game of Super Smash Bros.”

FreightWaves is one of the fastest-growing enterprise software-as-a-service (SaaS) companies in the world. In less than three years, FreightWaves has become the leading provider of data and analytics for the global freight market. FreightWaves’ team of 150 full-time captures, models, and interprets near-time data from more than one thousand sources to provide participants with the fastest insights into the global freight market. The company offers the fastest data in the industry and the most complete view across all modes of freight transportation. SONAR, the company’s SaaS offering, is a market dashboard that provides companies involved in transportation with access to datasets that can help them optimize their routing, pricing, and planning decisions. 

FreightWaves is also the largest publisher of freight news and data in the world. FreightWaves.com publishes 40+ news articles per day, providing commentary and analysis for freight transportation, while FreightWaves TV is the first and only streaming TV network for the transport and logistics industry.

Upcoming FreightWaves Events
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Brokerage Compliance Symposium

The day before F3. Every compliance issue you face - fraud exposure, carrier liability, FMCSA rules, cargo theft, insurance gaps - navigated by attorneys and operators defining best practices in a changing industry.

October 26, 2026
The Signal at Chattanooga Choo Choo • Chattanooga, TN
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F3 Awards Dinner

The night before F3. FreightTech100 companies honored. FreightTech 25 and Shipper of Choice winners revealed live. Cocktail reception into dinner and live music - 300 industry leaders in one purpose-built room.

October 26, 2026
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FreightTech

F3: Future of Freight Festival

Industry-defining keynotes, rapid-fire technology demos, and industry leaders networking in experiences across Chattanooga - plus the inaugural F3 Awards Dinner featuring the FreightTech and Shipper of Choice reveals.

October 27, 2026 – October 28, 2026
The Signal at Chattanooga Choo Choo • Chattanooga, TN
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Compliance Brokerage Compliance Symposium Oct 26 • The Signal at Chattanooga Choo Choo • Chattanooga, TN

The day before F3. Every compliance issue you face - fraud exposure, carrier liability, FMCSA rules, cargo theft, insurance gaps - navigated by attorneys and operators defining best practices in a changing industry.

The Signal at Chattanooga Choo Choo • Chattanooga, TN Register Now
Awards F3 Awards Dinner Oct 26 • The Signal at Chattanooga Choo Choo • Chattanooga, TN

The night before F3. FreightTech100 companies honored. FreightTech 25 and Shipper of Choice winners revealed live. Cocktail reception into dinner and live music - 300 industry leaders in one purpose-built room.

The Signal at Chattanooga Choo Choo • Chattanooga, TN Register Now
FreightTech F3: Future of Freight Festival Oct 27 – Oct 28 • The Signal at Chattanooga Choo Choo • Chattanooga, TN

Industry-defining keynotes, rapid-fire technology demos, and industry leaders networking in experiences across Chattanooga - plus the inaugural F3 Awards Dinner featuring the FreightTech and Shipper of Choice reveals.

The Signal at Chattanooga Choo Choo • Chattanooga, TN Register Now