Behind The Freight

Jeremy Baksht has spent much of his career working with data, from Bloomberg and Walmart to now, building Catena Clearing for the freight industry.


In this episode of Behind the Freight, Jeremy joins John Howland to make ELD technology easier to understand for owner-operators. They cover what an ELD actually records, how different devices vary in price and capability and why choosing the right one depends on your freight, your equipment and the information you need.


Plus, why carriers should know exactly what they are authorizing when another platform asks for access to their ELD data. 


What You’ll Learn

• What an ELD actually records and why Jeremy compares it to an airline black box
• How to choose an ELD based on your operation rather than price alone
• Why ELD data quality can vary between providers
• Why Jeremy recommends checking the FMCSA registered list before buying
• What to look for before sharing your data with an unfamiliar platform
• How VIN and license plate mismatches can provide an early fraud warning
• Why brokers only see the ELD information they are authorized to access
• Why Jeremy expects autonomy to increase the amount of data and sensor information trucking relies on
  
  

Today, understanding your ELD is all about knowing what you bought, what it records and who you are giving permission to see it.



Episode Highlights

04:14 Your ELD is like a black box

Jeremy reframes the ELD as less of a surveillance device and more like an airline black box. It records operational information such as location, engine hours, mileage and vehicle or driver identifiers, then makes that data available where permission allows. For owner-operators, that distinction matters because the device itself is not automatically broadcasting everything to everyone. The real questions are what data your ELD captures, who you authorize and what each platform is allowed to use.


07:18 Choose an ELD for the operation you run

Jeremy says choosing an ELD should start with how you actually run your business. A basic compliance-focused option may be enough for a single truck, while more specialized freight can require richer engine data, trailer information or harder-wired equipment. Price matters, but so do cargo type, growth plans and the features you will genuinely use. His advice is to get the fit right upfront because switching providers later can be disruptive and contracts may run for years.


12:37 Know where your data is going

When an unfamiliar platform asks to connect to your ELD, Jeremy says the important question is where your data is going. He recommends looking at the terms of service, privacy policy and the company behind the request before sharing credentials. Data can help with routing, fueling, insurance and load visibility, but that usefulness depends on trust. You should know what you are sharing, why the platform needs it and whether you can control that access later.


16:40 Your broker isn’t stalking you

One of the biggest misconceptions Jeremy addresses is that a broker can automatically see everywhere your truck goes once you have an ELD. He clarifies that access depends on what you authorize and how that permission is scoped, often to a particular load or use case. For carriers worried about losing control of their location data, the practical takeaway is to understand the permission settings rather than assuming every connection gives someone unlimited visibility.


21:05 Autonomous trucking will need even more data

Looking five years ahead, Jeremy expects autonomy to move faster than many people think, particularly on middle-mile routes where operating conditions are easier to standardize. He is more cautious about first-mile, last-mile, weather and other situations that still require human judgment. What interests him most is the data behind that shift. More autonomous trucking will require more sensors, more reliable information and more ways for systems to share that data safely across the freight network.


Behind the Freight is Truckstop’s trucking and logistics podcast for carriers, owner operators, small fleets and freight brokers. Hosted by John Howland, with new episodes every other week on freight fraud prevention, compliance, trucking technology and the freight market.
Find loads, vet carriers and protect your business at Truckstop.com

Connect with John on LinkedIn
Behind The Freight is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so

Freight fraud is evolving. Just trust Rob Carpenter, who has spent more than 25 years around trucking as a driver, broker, fleet owner, safety and compliance professional and investigator.


But first, John checks in with Avery Vise, Chief Trucking Analyst at FTR Transportation Intelligence, for the monthly market update. Avery describes the market as resilient, with dry van rates recovering after some midyear softness and flatbed continuing to follow a fairly normal seasonal pattern. Looking ahead, he is optimistic about Q4, although another sharp rise in diesel prices remains the main risk he is watching.


Next, Rob explains why carrier verification can no longer stop at checking whether a DOT number is active or insurance looks current. Chameleon carriers can reappear under new identities while keeping the same equipment and people behind the operation.


Plus, he walks us through a practical red flag exercise built around situations freight professionals see every day.


What You’ll Learn

• Why Avery Vise describes the current freight market as resilient despite pressure from diesel prices
• What carriers should focus on through Q4 if spot rates remain steady and fuel costs stay manageable
• Why an active DOT number does not necessarily confirm who is behind a carrier
• How chameleon carriers can reuse equipment under new identities
• What to verify when a truck or driver changes shortly before pickup
• Why an unusually low rate can deserve a closer look
• What mismatched contact information may tell you about carrier identity
• Why urgency should trigger extra scrutiny around payment changes
• How VIN and plate history can reveal patterns basic carrier checks miss
• Why Rob sees self-certification as a major weakness in freight verification
  
  

The biggest takeaway is that paperwork should start the verification process, not finish it.


Episode Highlights:
00:57 Why Avery is calling the freight market resilient

Avery Vise sums up the latest freight market in one word: resilient. Despite pressure from diesel prices, he points to dry van rates recovering after earlier softness, refrigerated holding up better, and flatbed continuing to follow a fairly normal seasonal pattern. His Q4 outlook is cautiously positive too. The biggest thing stopping him from being fully confident is the possibility of another sharp rise in diesel prices.


10:05 Chameleon carriers: can the same truck keep coming back?

Rob explains what a chameleon carrier can look like in practice. In one investigation, photo records showed the same truck continuing to operate while the plate, VIN, ELD, and driver remained consistent and the company markings changed. That matters because a carrier can appear new on paper while the equipment behind it has a much longer history. Rob’s advice is to look beyond the current carrier profile and check the equipment too.



13:11 Data helps investigators connect fraud networks faster

Rob describes how private-sector systems are giving investigators another way to connect information that would otherwise take much longer to piece together manually. He shares an example of a network presented as 32 trucks that his modeling connected to thousands of pieces of equipment. The useful lesson for operators is not the headline number alone. It is that isolated carrier records can look very different once VINs, plates, equipment histories and connected entities are viewed together.



16:59 Why the cheapest carrier deserves a second look

Rob knows there are legitimate reasons a carrier may quote an unusually low rate. A driver trying to get home may simply want enough money to cover fuel. The problem is that an attractive price can also be part of a double-broker or cargo-theft setup. Instead of rejecting every cheap quote, Rob recommends checking authority age, recent contact changes, insurance and whether the truck being offered can actually be verified before making the call.



18:37 Why urgency should make you slow down

When John gives Rob a scenario involving a familiar carrier suddenly asking for payment to be sent to a new account, Rob immediately focuses on one detail - the urgency. A demand that the change happen today should trigger more verification, not faster action. Rob recommends calling a known contact already on file and getting written confirmation before moving any money. It is a small procedural habit that can stop a rushed decision from becoming an expensive one.



19:49 What better chain-of-custody verification can look like

Rob shares a case involving repeated cargo theft and explains how his team built a tighter verification process around the load. Drivers had to confirm their identity, while VIN and plate information was checked against historical records. The shipment was then monitored through the trip and revalidated at delivery. His broader point is useful even without the same technology. Essentially, the more valuable the freight, the more important it becomes to verify identity and equipment at each handoff.



24:40 Self-certification is the root cause 

Asked what vulnerability he would fix if he could remove one from trucking, Rob comes back to identity and self-certification. Too much of the system depends on someone providing information about who they are and that information being accepted at face value. His argument is that self-reported details should be treated as the beginning of verification rather than the proof itself. Cross-checking contact information, equipment history and independent records gives you a much stronger picture.

Behind the Freight is Truckstop’s trucking and logistics podcast for carriers, owner operators, small fleets and freight brokers. Hosted by John Howland, with new episodes every other week on freight fraud prevention, compliance, trucking technology and the freight market.
Find loads, vet carriers and protect your business at Truckstop.com

Connect with John on LinkedIn
Behind The Freight is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so

Kristi Rist knows what long-haul driving can do to your body because she lived it.


She spent around a decade driving her own truck and eventually dealt with serious lower-back and hip pain, sciatica, physical therapy and pain injections. That experience is now shaping RoadFit Wellness, her effort to make fitness and nutrition advice more realistic for drivers who spend long hours on the road.


In this episode of Behind the Freight, Kristi explains what prolonged sitting does to the hips and lower back, why movement matters so much and why you do not need a gym to start making progress.


What You’ll Learn

• Why sitting for long stretches can contribute to hip and lower-back problems
• What drivers can do when they step out of the cab to get moving again
• Why 10 minutes of movement can still be worth doing
• How resistance bands can give drivers a simple, portable strength tool
• Why improving your diet does not have to mean cutting out every food you enjoy
• How to make more practical choices at truck stops
• Why driver wellness advice works better when it understands trucking life
• How RoadFit Wellness is trying to meet drivers where they actually are
  
  

It’s simple: driver wellness needs to fit the reality of trucking. Small changes that actually happen are worth more than perfect plans that never leave the page.



Episode Highlights


01:25 What 10 Years of Driving Did to Kristi’s Body

Kristi spent around a decade driving her own truck, and the physical effects eventually became impossible to ignore. She dealt with lower-back pain, hip problems and sciatica, followed by roughly 18 months of physical therapy and pain injections. Her experience gives this conversation real weight: she is not asking drivers to care about hypothetical problems. She knows what happens when discomfort becomes something you simply learn to live with for too long.


02:05 Why Driver Wellness Has to Fit the Road

RoadFit Wellness came from Kristi’s frustration with health advice that does not reflect trucking life. Drivers spend long hours away from home, often without easy access to gyms, kitchens or regular schedules. Kristi wants coaching to start from that reality rather than pretending it does not exist. Her goal is personal, practical support from people who understand what drivers actually deal with, instead of generic programs that make healthy living feel even further out of reach.


08:20 You Don’t Need a Gym for Movement to Count

John puts Kristi through a quick round of health myths, including whether walking around a truck stop for 20 minutes counts as a workout and whether you need a gym to get stronger. Her answers are refreshingly practical: walking counts, and a gym is not required. For drivers who already feel intimidated by fitness, that matters. Progress can start with what is available right now rather than waiting for the perfect setup, schedule or piece of equipment.


10:23 Kristi Lost 90 Pounds Without Giving Up Chocolate

Healthy eating on the road does not have to mean eliminating every food you enjoy. Kristi has lost 90 pounds and still eats chocolate, which is why she pushes back on all-or-nothing dieting. Her advice is moderation: pay attention to what the carbs are, how much you are eating and where you can make a better choice. That makes nutrition feel sustainable instead of turning every meal into another test drivers eventually get tired of failing.


17:33 A 10-Minute Routine That Fits a Truck Stop

Kristi’s basic routine is deliberately simple: get out, stretch, walk around the truck and use the stop as an opportunity to move instead of heading straight back to the seat. She recommends taking a longer route when possible and pairing the walk with a few simple resistance-band movements during a safe break. The point is not intensity. It is creating a repeatable habit that fits into stops drivers already make instead of requiring a separate trip to the gym.

Behind the Freight is Truckstop’s trucking and logistics podcast for carriers, owner operators, small fleets and freight brokers. Hosted by John Howland, with new episodes every other week on freight fraud prevention, compliance, trucking technology and the freight market.
Find loads, vet carriers and protect your business at Truckstop.com

Connect with John on LinkedIn
Behind The Freight is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so

Telly Arnold entered the trucking industry believing her corporate background and her business partner Sharif’s 20-plus years of CDL experience had prepared them well. But once they activated their authority and hit the first roadblock, they were forced to learn fast, ask better questions and rethink much of the advice she had received before starting.


In this episode of Behind the Freight, Telly, Founder of TLA Group LLC and StraightConnect, shares what new carriers should understand about building broker relationships, calculating cents per mile and knowing exactly where their break-even number sits. She also explains why new authorities may benefit from booking their own loads instead of immediately relying on a dispatcher.


One theme lies at the center of this episode: get the right information, know your numbers and build relationships with people you can trust.


What You’ll Learn

• Why activating your MC authority does not guarantee immediate access to freight
• How startup costs can drain capital while a new authority builds credibility
• Why every carrier should know their cents-per-mile break-even point
• Why new authorities may need to build broker relationships themselves first
• What to look for when hiring and evaluating drivers
• Why scaling should start with the right person, not another truck
• How to separate useful industry education from social media hype
  
  

Episode Highlights


01:45 Authority ≠ Freight

Telly entered the industry believing that once her MC authority became active, she could start booking loads. Reality is different, though. In practice, many brokers were unwilling to work with a brand-new authority. Even having an experienced CDL driver did not change that. For a new carrier, the lesson is simple: plan for the gap between becoming legally operational and becoming commercially trusted, because your expenses will not stop while you wait.

06:50 Why Telly Built StraightConnect

Telly noticed that general business training did not always translate cleanly into trucking. Advice about finding customers rarely explained broker relationships, direct shippers or cents-per-mile calculations. At the same time, online communities were full of people selling services instead of answering questions. StraightConnect grew from that gap: a place where users are verified and the education comes from people who understand the actual mechanics, language and problems transportation businesses deal with every day.

13:21 Revenue Doesn’t Tell You Whether a Business Is Healthy

Social media makes it easy to post a big revenue number and call it success. Telly pushes back on that thinking. Her question is much more useful: what did you actually keep? Tolls, maintenance, insurance and other expenses can show up long after the revenue screenshot gets posted. For aspiring owners, that means judging any business opportunity by its margins and operating costs rather than being impressed by the biggest top-line number someone can put on Instagram.

20:34 Another Truck Doesn’t Mean You’re Ready to Scale

Telly and Sharif once operated two trucks, but the second became a money drain and was eventually sold. The bigger lesson was not about the equipment itself. It was about the person operating it. Telly says she would effectively need another Sharif before feeling comfortable scaling again. A truck can be financed or purchased. Finding someone reliable enough to protect the equipment, freight and company reputation is the much harder part of expansion.

23:34 The Driver Can Make or Break the Business

You can acquire another truck much faster than you can find the right driver for it. Telly warns that an inexperienced or unreliable driver can create costs far beyond wages, from damaged equipment to safety incidents that affect the company itself. Her advice is to treat hiring as an operational risk decision, not simply a staffing problem. If the person behind the wheel is wrong, adding capacity can make the business weaker rather than stronger.

Behind the Freight is Truckstop’s trucking and logistics podcast for carriers, owner operators, small fleets and freight brokers. Hosted by John Howland, with new episodes every other week on freight fraud prevention, compliance, trucking technology and the freight market.
Find loads, vet carriers and protect your business at Truckstop.com

Connect with John on LinkedIn
Behind The Freight is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so

Jamie Hagen has spent almost his entire life around trucks. He remembers riding with his dad at four or five years old, eventually became an owner-operator himself and today runs Hell Bent Xpress, a 12-truck family-owned fleet in South Dakota.


But adding trucks was not the hardest part of that journey. Adding people was.


In this episode of Behind the Freight, Jamie explains why fleet ownership forced him to rethink the way he makes decisions. From why saying no can be a competitive advantage and driver retention strategies to why his fleet doesn’t need more than 12 trucks, he breaks it all down. The goal still remains driving, staying involved and knowing the people working beside him.


What You’ll Learn

• What changes when an owner-operator becomes responsible for a team
• Why good equipment is ultimately an investment in a driver’s time
• How smaller fleets can compete for drivers without mega-carrier benefits
• Why saying no to certain freight can protect both drivers and the business
• How diversification gives carriers more room to react when a market changes
  
  

This episode also features Avery Vise, Chief Trucking Analyst at FTR Transportation Intelligence, who joins John and Scott for the show’s monthly freight market check-in. Avery explains why spot rates remaining roughly 40–45% above last year offers carriers some reason for optimism, even as diesel costs have climbed sharply. His key September watchpoint is simple: freight should show at least some normal seasonal firming around Labor Day. If it does not, that is when operators may need to pay closer attention.


Episode Highlights

[01:00] Spot Rates Are Holding Up Despite Higher Diesel

The monthly market update arrives as Avery Vise points out an unusual combination in the August market: diesel prices have risen sharply, yet spot rates have continued to follow a fairly normal seasonal pattern. Rates are also still running roughly 40–45% above last year across several major equipment types. 

[06:45] The Hardest Part of Becoming a Fleet Owner

Jamie says moving into fleet ownership was his biggest professional adjustment because decisions stopped affecting only him. What is best for the business can conflict with what is reasonable for the people doing the work. That forces owners to continually balance revenue, service and employee needs. 

[10:49] Equipment Decisions Outlive Market Conditions

A truck you buy today can still be generating payments years after the market that justified the purchase has changed. Jamie talks candidly about that tension as Hell Bent Xpress invests ahead of expected changes around 2027 equipment requirements and higher truck prices.  The practical lesson is to understand exactly what you are committing to, keep the downside in mind and avoid treating a strong freight environment today as a guarantee about tomorrow.

[12:16] Learning That You Don’t Have to Say Yes

Jamie naturally enjoys the difficult loads and strange situations that make trucking interesting. The problem was assuming his drivers felt the same way. His wife eventually pointed out that not every opportunity needed a yes, especially when the demands were making life unnecessarily difficult for the team. It became an important leadership adjustment: a customer request can make financial sense and still be the wrong move. 

[14:04] You’re Paying for the Driver, Not the Truck

Jamie offers a useful way to rethink fleet investment: trucking is a service business, so the person providing that service matters more than the piece of equipment carrying it. The truck is the tool that allows the driver to use their time effectively. Reliable trucks are not simply a recruitment perk. They reduce unnecessary headaches, help drivers work efficiently and show that the business respects the people expected to operate them every day.

Behind the Freight is Truckstop’s trucking and logistics podcast for carriers, owner operators, small fleets and freight brokers. Hosted by John Howland, with new episodes every other week on freight fraud prevention, compliance, trucking technology and the freight market.
Find loads, vet carriers and protect your business at Truckstop.com

Connect with John on LinkedIn
Behind The Freight is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so

Xander Hassan did not take a traditional path into the freight industry. He spent years working in hospitality for Marriott, where he learned the importance of anticipating a guest's needs before they even ask. When he moved into logistics, he brought that same "get it done" mentality to his work at TQL and eventually to his own company, Hassan Transportation & Logistics. Xander shares the story of managing the structural steel shipments for the construction of SoFi Stadium and how that project shaped his perspective on the impact of logistics.


Xander discusses how he uses Claude to analyze supply chain data and find "micro-savings" that add up to hundreds of thousands of dollars for his customers. He even shares an example of how changing the dimensions of a shipping box for earplugs could save a company $800,000 a month. This episode shines light on the future of e-commerce and why carriers and partners must work together to stay resilient during market changes.


What You’ll Learn

• How skills learned from different industries can be useful in freight
• The logistics behind massive projects like building SoFi Stadium
• How to use AI for prospecting and finding warm introductions
• Why "micro-savings" from details like box dimensions can save millions
• The importance of anticipating customer needs to prevent mistakes
• How to transition from a transactional broker to a supply chain consultant
• Why the future of freight is deeply tied to e-commerce growth
  
  

Episode Highlights

• [00:02:13] Building an Icon: 
  
  

Xander shares his experience of being involved in moving the structural steel used to build SoFi Stadium.

• [00:08:18] The Marriott Mindset: 
  
  

Hear how working every role in a hotel prepared Xander for the logistics ringer.

• [00:14:55] Security and Stolen Loads: 
  
  

A story about recovering two stolen trucks and why staying with the problem and seeing it through matters.

• [00:18:50] The $800k Earplug Math:
  
  

Learn about the approach and effect of making small dimensional changes. It eventually led to a pretty big chunk of savings.

• [00:22:47] AI as a Time Machine: 
  
  

How Xander uses Claude to win back two hours of his day for customer service.


Behind the Freight is Truckstop’s trucking and logistics podcast for carriers, owner operators, small fleets and freight brokers. Hosted by John Howland, with new episodes every other week on freight fraud prevention, compliance, trucking technology and the freight market.
Find loads, vet carriers and protect your business at Truckstop.com

Connect with John on LinkedIn
Behind The Freight is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so

Charles Gracey has a reputation for being the unfiltered voice of the driver. As a former driver and current radio host, he sees the gap between corporate narratives and what really happens on the road. Many carriers think everything is fine because they see positive pie charts, but the bank accounts of owner operators tell a different story. High expenses and low volumes are squeezing margins even as some claim we are in a golden era.


You will learn why the common sign on bonus is a failed concept that drivers do not actually care about. Charles argues that real appreciation comes through fair pay for all time spent working and clear communication instead of hot dogs and Facebook posts. He also shares his concerns about the rapid adoption of AI in recruiting. While tools can help small fleets compete with mega carriers, they should not replace the human interaction that keeps the industry moving.


The conversation covers the need for a real career path for the next generation of drivers so the industry has something worth handing off. If you want to understand the identity crisis in trucking and how to fix the hole in your boat before you start bailing water, Charles provides the honest perspective you need to hear. Success requires looking at why you are losing people rather than just spending more money to find new ones.


What You’ll Learn

• The disconnect between industry market data and driver bank accounts.
• Why sign on bonuses have zero real value for retention.
• How to fix the "hole in the boat" regarding driver churn.
• The danger of using AI to replace human recruiters.
• How technology like Ava helps small fleets compete with mega fleets.
• What the next generation of drivers wants from a career.
  
  

Episode Highlights

• [00:08:20] The Bank Account Reality: 
  
  

Industry reports often show positive pie charts but these charts can ignore the actual financial struggle happening on the road. Charles shares why rising expenses and low volumes are crushing margins for drivers right now.

• [00:12:12] The Sign-On Bonus Is Not an Actual Incentive: 
  
  

Carriers often rely on large bonuses to attract professional drivers. These incentives usually fall flat because they lack real value for long term retention. Drivers prefer honest pay for all their time rather than a one time check with strings attached.

• [00:15:25] Fix the Boat First: 
  
  

It is much cheaper to keep the people you have than to spend thousands finding new ones. This part of the conversation looks at the operational flaws that cause people to leave your fleet. Fixing your internal culture is more effective than just increasing your marketing budget.

• [00:18:54] Career Paths for Youth: 
  
  

Attracting younger talent takes more than just a job opening. Charles shares his thoughts on building real career paths and sustainable pay packages that make trucking a first choice career. The goal is to offer something worth handing off to the next generation.

• [00:24:15] The Power Lag: 
  
  

The industry is currently in a middle ground where control over the market is split between carriers and drivers. Charles explains why this is a great time to start healing working relationships. Understanding this balance helps both sides set better expectations for the future.

• [00:28:08] Tech vs. People: 
  
  

New technology can empower small fleets to compete with the biggest names in the freight world. Using AI to handle human interactions in recruiting often drives the best candidates away. You will hear how to use tech as a tool to support your team without losing the human connection.

Behind the Freight is Truckstop’s trucking and logistics podcast for carriers, owner operators, small fleets and freight brokers. Hosted by John Howland, with new episodes every other week on freight fraud prevention, compliance, trucking technology and the freight market.
Find loads, vet carriers and protect your business at Truckstop.com

Connect with John on LinkedIn
Behind The Freight is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so

Nate Johnson has spent three decades untangling the mess of trucking software and IT systems. As the Founder and CEO of GLCS, he sees carriers making the same mistake over and over: buying technology to fix a problem that is actually about people or processes. In this conversation, Nate lays out a clear hierarchy where people come first, followed by process, and technology sits at the bottom. If your team is struggling and your workflows are a mess, a new TMS will only make things more complicated.


You will also hear about why trucking is failing to attract the next generation of drivers and how face-to-face networking can help the industry regain its footing. Success in the current market requires slowing down to gain control of your costs and data. This conversation provides the roadmap for any operator who wants to stop buying software emotionally and start building a more profitable, stable business that lasts.


What You’ll Learn

• The People-Process-Technology hierarchy and why it matters
• How to diagnose if your issue is software or broken operations
• The "Standard, Automate, Improve" framework for any rollout
• Why compliance noise has made the industry less efficient since 2006
• The one security question you must ask every AI vendor
• Why the industry needs an intervention to attract younger drivers
  
  

Episode Highlights


[00:02:19] The Operational Hierarchy: Why great people and decent processes beat great technology every time.


[00:18:54] Fixing the Foundation: The three steps to take before you spend a dollar on new software.


[00:20:57] Vetting Your Vendors: Why SOC 2 compliance is the first thing you should check with any tech partner.


[00:21:18] The Back Office Opportunity: How unstandardized data in dispatch creates major bottlenecks downstream.


[00:24:33] Managing Culture Change: Why 80% of projects fail because of people, not the product.


[00:28:08] The Automation Paradox: Why fleets today struggle to match the efficiency levels of 20 years ago.



Behind the Freight is Truckstop’s trucking and logistics podcast for carriers, owner operators, small fleets and freight brokers. Hosted by John Howland, with new episodes every other week on freight fraud prevention, compliance, trucking technology and the freight market.
Find loads, vet carriers and protect your business at Truckstop.com

Connect with John on LinkedIn
Behind The Freight is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so

Marina Ivanov shares her journey from being the daughter of an owner-operator to leading a successful asset-based carrier. She admits that starting Apex Transit Solutions in 2012 was about survival rather than a grand vision. The focus changed in 2016 when she saw how steady paychecks and respect helped a driver get out of bankruptcy and buy a home. This moment turned her business into a mission-driven organization focused on people.


Marina talks about the challenges of being a woman in the trucking industry and how she overcame her own limiting beliefs. She explains the importance of visibility and why seeing other female leaders is vital for growth. A key part of her success is a "mini-ownership" model where fleet managers handle their own P&L. This makes them feel like entrepreneurs who are directly responsible for driver retention and freight quality.


We talk about the tension between providing excellent service and maintaining operational efficiency. Marina shares a story about how her team had to tell her it was okay to let a customer down to protect the company. She also highlights her advocacy work, such as banning predatory booting of commercial vehicles in North Carolina. This conversation offers a look at how leading with empathy and curiosity can create a resilient business that makes a real impact on the lives of everyone involved.


What You’ll Learn

• Why starting a business for survival can lead to a powerful mission
• How to balance high customer service expectations with your bottom line
• The "mini-ownership" model for empowering fleet managers
• Why visibility for women in leadership matters for industry growth
• Strategies for using empathy to improve driver retention
• The importance of individualized motivation for team members
• How advocacy work can fix systemic problems like predatory booting
• Why curiosity is a better leadership tool than judgment
  
  

Episode Highlights


[00:07:00] Starting for Survival: Marina explains why Apex Transit Solutions didn't start with a grand vision but grew from a need to pay the bills.


[00:10:13] The Impact Epiphany: How seeing a driver buy his first home changed the entire mission of the company.


[00:12:28] The Service Trap: Marina shares the lesson she learned when her team told her she was over-delivering to the point of hurting the business.


[00:16:16] Mini-Ownership Explained: A look at how giving fleet managers their own P&L creates an entrepreneurial culture.


[00:23:30] Seeing is Believing: Why being a visible woman in leadership is the best way to motivate the next generation of female leaders.


[00:28:00] Fighting for Drivers: Marina talks about the legislative win to ban commercial vehicle booting in North Carolina.



Behind the Freight is Truckstop’s trucking and logistics podcast for carriers, owner operators, small fleets and freight brokers. Hosted by John Howland, with new episodes every other week on freight fraud prevention, compliance, trucking technology and the freight market.
Find loads, vet carriers and protect your business at Truckstop.com

Connect with John on LinkedIn
Behind The Freight is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so

Don Everhart has spent his years working with both trucking and technology. He grew up in a trucking family and worked through many roles at Swift Transportation before moving into the tech side of the industry. In this episode, Don joins Todd and John at the Fullbay headquarters in Phoenix to discuss how technology is moving from "shiny" hype to solving actual problems. 


The conversation covers the uses of AI for carriers of all sizes. For small fleets, Don suggests focusing on load acquisition and using AI to manage the heavy volume of calls and negotiations. For larger carriers, the focus would ideally be back-office automation and removing manual invoicing. Don also gives a reality check on autonomous trucking. He explains that while the technology is advancing quickly, the path forward depends on regulations and liability and not everything can be automated.


This is a major theme that comes up is the human element in a high-tech world. Don argues for reallocating resources so that people can focus on relationships rather than tedious paperwork. He emphasizes that the goal of software should be to make the industry more personal. At the end of the day, Don shares that no metric is as important as a carrier's health and making sure every driver gets home safely.


What You’ll Learn

• How to tell the difference between useful tech and industry hype
• The best way for small fleets to use AI for load acquisition
• Why the back office is the next big area for automation
• The truth about the timeline for autonomous truck adoption
• How to reallocate your team to focus on relationships
• The importance of data history when choosing a tech partner
• Why regulations are the biggest hurdle for autonomous vehicles
• Tips for maintaining your health as a carrier owner
  
  

Episode Highlights


[00:03:33] Starting from the Green Screens: John and Don look back at their early days at Swift and how they manipulated the old AS 400 systems.


[00:07:16] Living on Both Sides of the Desk: Don explains how having a background in operations helps him build better technology today.


[00:13:25] Where Carriers Should Use AI: An explanation of how different sized fleets can use automation to remove friction from their daily workflows.


[00:17:53] The Regulatory Side of Autonomous Trucks: Why the technology for self-driving trucks is ready but the laws are yet to catch up.


[00:26:43] Reallocation Over Replacement: Don discusses why technology should free up your staff to do more meaningful work instead of just replacing them.


[00:32:52] The Most Important Stop: A reminder that health and family are the most important metrics for anyone in the freight industry.


Behind the Freight is Truckstop’s trucking and logistics podcast for carriers, owner operators, small fleets and freight brokers. Hosted by John Howland, with new episodes every other week on freight fraud prevention, compliance, trucking technology and the freight market.
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