The FreightCaviar Podcast

Hosted by FreightCaviar Media

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Episodes

264

Latest episode

Aug 2026

Language

EN-US

About the show

The FreightCaviar Podcast interviews founders, executives, and decision-makers in the freight and shipping industry. New episodes are released every Monday at 5 a.m. CT and are available on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts. Also, subscribe to our free freight broker newsletter on FreightCaviar.com.

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60 recent

September 8, 2026Episode 351 hr 1 min

Why Freight Brokerage Margins Are Headed to 8%

Andrew Leto, Founder of Emerge, GlobalTranz, and Felix AI, explains why bringing AI to carriers could be one of the biggest opportunities in trucking and logistics, and why digitizing the carrier side of freight could reshape how the entire market operates. Andrew also breaks down how AI agents could help carriers access more loads, negotiate better rates, and improve yield, why so much of trucking still runs manually, and why carriers have been slower than brokers to adopt new technology. He also shares why freight brokerage margins could fall from 12–13% to 8–9%, what that means for hiring and headcount, and how AI could change the structure of freight brokerage without necessarily triggering mass layoffs. The conversation also covers why carrier data remains a major competitive advantage for large brokers, whether AI could create more freight brokerages instead of fewer, the risks brokers take on for shippers, and why Andrew believes the next major wave of freight technology will be built around carriers. This week's episode is sponsored by Epay Manager, Bitfreighter, FreightFlex, and TrackFlo. Interested in sponsoring our podcast? Send us an email at pbj@freightcaviar.com

September 3, 2026Episode 157 min

Scaling Like a GOAT

What does it take to make brokerage growth look easy?Join Epay Manager for a discussion on how freight brokerages are using automation to handle more volume without building a bigger back-office team. We will share real client growth stories, including how River City Logistics increased load volume by approximately 70% without adding back-office headcount.Then, we are settling the freight industry’s greatest debates. What is the GOAT freight snack? Freight phrase? Acronym? Logistics movie? Come ready to share your picks.

September 1, 2026Episode 2641 hr 6 min

How Cold Calls and Customer Service Built a $50M Freight Brokerage

Freight brokerage founder John Ferguson breaks down how Pivot Supply Chain Solutions grew to $50M, why cold calling and customer service still win in logistics, and where AI fits into the future of freight brokerage. John also opens up about how freight brokering changed his life, from spending time in foster care and struggling as a young adult to building a career, a family, and his own company. Now, after checking off many of the milestones he set for himself, he says the next thing left to chase is a $1B freight brokerage. This week's episode is sponsored by Epay Manager, Goodship, Highway, and Bitfreighter.

August 26, 2026Episode 2631 hr 2 min

Scaling a Freight Brokerage to $100M+ Using Offshore Talent

Lev Krasnopolskiy, Co-Founder of Everest Transportation Systems and Founder of Alpha Staffing and Recruiting, shares how he went from immigrating to the U.S. from Moscow at five years old to building a career in freight, co-founding Everest, and using offshore talent in Ukraine to help the brokerage compete and scale.Lev also breaks down how chess shaped his approach to sales and negotiation, how speaking Russian helped him build relationships with carriers, why he believed Ukraine could give Everest more firepower for less money, and why he thinks freight offshoring isn't going away. He also shares his views on offshore fraud, building a global logistics workforce, launching Alpha after Everest, and combining offshore staffing with domestic recruiting.This week's episode is sponsored by Epay Manager, Highway, Bitfreighter, and Chain.Interested in sponsoring our podcast? Send us an email at pbj@freightcaviar.comCHAPTERS:0:00 Intro1:09 Meet Lev Krasnopolskiy2:38 From Moscow to America4:58 Geography, History, and Early Ambition7:43 Chess and Learning to Sell11:57 Breaking Into Freight at Echo14:05 Building Carrier Relationships15:55 From Echo to Custom19:22 Founding Everest Transportation Systems21:18 Learning Customer Sales24:49 The Ukraine Staffing Experiment30:42 Moving the Team to Ukraine34:04 How Ukraine Helped Everest Scale37:49 What Held Everest Back40:12 Why Freight Offshoring Won't Stop43:19 Freight Becomes a Global Industry45:03 Offshore Fraud and Regulation48:25 Starting Alpha Staffing and Recruiting52:22 Offshore and Domestic Recruiting56:02 The Future of Alpha57:33 Lev's Formula for Success58:49 The Four-Hour Workweek1:01:05 Final Thoughts

August 18, 2026Episode 26233 min

How They Built a $500M Freight Brokerage

Ted Alling, Managing Partner at Dynamo Ventures, and Co-Founder of Access America, joined Reed Loustalot on the FreightCaviar Podcast to discuss how he helped build a freight brokerage from a startup into a $500 million business without outside capital, the early days of Access America and the culture that fueled its growth, and how Dynamo is backing the next generation of freight founders. Ted also breaks down the early days of Access America, the culture and training that helped it scale, the logistics flywheel that transformed Chattanooga, why investors underestimated the size of logistics, and the long-term mindset behind building companies, communities, and talent. This week's episode is sponsored by Epay Manager, GoodShip, Bitfreighter, and TrackFlow. Interested in sponsoring our podcast? Send us an email at pbj@freightcaviar.com . CHAPTERS: 0:00 Intro 0:42 Brickyard and Lamp Post Origins 3:03 Ted's Background and Move to Chattanooga 4:51 Starting Access America 7:54 Landing the First Customers 9:08 Scaling Access and Building Culture 11:07 The Chattanooga Logistics Flywheel 14:58 Making Freight Brokerage Cool 16:42 Selling Access and Reinvesting Locally 18:58 Creating More Wealth in Chattanooga 22:37 Why Ted Started Dynamo Ventures 25:00 Long-Term Games and Compound Interest 26:37 Building Chattanooga Prep 30:16 Why Founders Should Build in Chattanooga 32:17 Final Thoughts

August 12, 2026Episode 2611 hr 29 min

He Sold His First Company at 28. Then Came Freight

Tim Higham, Founder of AscendTMS, shares his journey from building a fintech company, to launching a freight brokerage, to creating a cloud-based TMS platform, and more. This week's episode is sponsored by Epay Manager, Highway, Chain, and Resolve Logistics. Interested in sponsoring our podcast? Send us an email at ⁠pbj@freightcaviar.com⁠ .

August 4, 2026Episode 2601 hr 1 min

Moldova: The Hidden Dispatch Workforce Powering U.S. Trucking

Serge Raducan, the Founder & CEO at Kovin Group, breaks down the rise of Moldova’s dispatch workforce, the challenges of managing U.S. freight abroad, and more. This week's episode is sponsored by: Epay Manager, Chain, Bitfreighter, and Freight Flex. Interested in sponsoring our podcast? Send us an email at pbj@freightcaviar.com .

July 28, 2026Episode 2591 hr 24 min

The Hidden Problem Costing Fleets Millions

Yuri from Easy Truck Shop traveled state-by-state to build software around the hidden bottleneck of trucking: managing repairs, parts, and shop data. This week's episode is sponsored by Epay Manager, Resolve Logistics, Bitfreighter, and TrackFlo. Interested in sponsoring our podcast? Send us an email at pbj@freightcaviar.com .

July 21, 2026Episode 25835 min

Bridging the Border: The Future of U.S.–Mexico Cross-Border Freight

Mario Torres, Terminal Manager at Erives Enterprises, explains why cross-border freight remains a steady bet despite tariffs, diesel volatility, and capacity swings, and more. This week's episode is sponsored by Epay Manager, Goodship,FreightFlex and TrackFlo. Interested in sponsoring our podcast? Send us an email at pbj@freightcaviar.com .

July 14, 2026Episode 25737 min

The Hidden Engine of North American Logistics: El Paso–Juárez

Salvador Munoz is the CEO and Owner of Best Express Inc., a trucking company based in El Paso. He breaks down the mechanics of the Juárez freight economy, from maquiladoras and tariffs to driver shortages and rising operating costs.This week's episode is sponsored by Epay Manager, Goodship, Chain, and Highway.Interested in sponsoring our podcast? Send us an email at pbj@freightcaviar.com.