Everything is Logistics

Trade headlines tell you how much freight is moving between the U.S. and Mexico. They tell you much less about whether a carrier can find an eligible driver or get a truck through a crowded crossing.

I’m joined by FreightWaves cross-border logistics reporter Noi Mahoney to connect those headlines with the operating challenges underneath them. We discuss driver enforcement and its effect on capacity, along with how companies approach cargo security. Noi also shares the border infrastructure projects he’s following and explains why finding southbound loads matters for carriers hauling Mexican exports north.

This conversation is part of CargoRex’s Mexico Cross-Border Freight Guide.

Links from the show:

• Watch the original CargoRex interview with Noi
• Connect with Noi on LinkedIn
• Follow Noi’s reporting at FreightWaves
• Explore FreightWaves on CargoRex
• Read the full Mexico Cross-Border Freight Guide

Related episodes:

• What Logistics World Showed Me About Mexico Trade
• Why WhatsApp Is Still Doing Mexico TMS Work

-----------------------------------------

THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS!

SPI Logistics has been a Day 1 supporter of this podcast which is why we're proud to promote them in every episode. During that time, we've gotten to know the team and their agents to confidently say they are the best home for freight agents in North America for 40 years and counting. Listen to past episodes to hear why.

CargoRex is the search engine for the logistics industry—connecting LSPs with the right tools, services, events, and creators to explore, discover, and evolve.

Digital Dispatch maximizes and manages your #1 sales tool with a website that establishes trust and builds rock-solid relationships with your leads and customers. 

The load is delivered. The carrier still has to bring back the paperwork, wait for someone to review it, and hope a missing stamp doesn’t restart the process. Fuel for the next trip can’t wait that long.

I’m joined by Jaime Tabachnik, co-founder and CEO of Solvento, to explain how payment delays put pressure on Mexico’s trucking companies. We discuss why longer cross-border trips require more working capital and how a payment dispute can affect a carrier’s other customers. Jaime also explains how Solvento connects delivery documentation with faster payment options and financing.

This conversation follows the cash flow behind freight capacity and is part of CargoRex’s Mexico Cross-Border Freight Guide.

Links from the show:

• Watch the original CargoRex interview with Jaime
• Connect with Jaime on LinkedIn
• Explore Solvento on CargoRex
• Read the full Mexico Cross-Border Freight Guide

Related episodes:

• Why WhatsApp Is Still Doing Mexico TMS Work
• What Logistics World Showed Me About Mexico Trade

-----------------------------------------

THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS!

SPI Logistics has been a Day 1 supporter of this podcast which is why we're proud to promote them in every episode. During that time, we've gotten to know the team and their agents to confidently say they are the best home for freight agents in North America for 40 years and counting. Listen to past episodes to hear why.

CargoRex is the search engine for the logistics industry—connecting LSPs with the right tools, services, events, and creators to explore, discover, and evolve.

Digital Dispatch maximizes and manages your #1 sales tool with a website that establishes trust and builds rock-solid relationships with your leads and customers. 

Grace Sharkey and I traded five cargo crime stories for a Halloween edition of Freight Friends. Every one of them turns on the same weak spot: the moment freight changes hands, and the question of who is really holding it.

We start in Turfan on the Silk Road in the 670s. A merchant vanished on the road to Kucha, and his brother sued for 275 bolts of silk with no contract and only two witnesses. Grace takes us to Chicago in 1982, when someone laced Tylenol capsules with cyanide and Johnson & Johnson pulled about 31 million bottles off the shelves. That recall is the reason pill bottles come sealed today.

From there it's Henry Every's 1695 raid on the Mughal treasure ship Ganj-i-Sawai, worth around $4 million per pirate in today's wages. Grace follows with the ghosts of the St. Lawrence River: the Empress of Ireland sinking in 14 minutes, the villages flooded for the Seaway in 1958 and the freighter that later sank near them. I close with the Reno Gang, who robbed a moving train outside Seymour, Indiana in 1866.

Each story ends with how the same crime looks now, from container theft on China-Europe freight trains to break-ins at rail yards in Chicago, Los Angeles and Memphis.

In this episode

• Why a Tang dynasty court gave two witnesses the same weight as a signed contract
• How the 1982 Tylenol recall led to tamper-evident packaging and the Federal Anti-Tampering Act
• How much each pirate took home from the Ganj-i-Sawai
• The captain who caught a murderer by wireless, then survived the Empress of Ireland
• Why the Renos robbed a moving train out in the country instead of a depot
• Who's in our upcoming Cargo Crime guide on CargoRex

Coming soon: the Cargo Crime guide

At the IANA Intermodal Expo in Long Beach, I recorded six interviews with people who fight cargo crime for a living. They're the heart of our Cargo Crime guide, coming to CargoRex Research the first week of November.

• Scott Cornell, SPG Cargo & Logistics and TAPA
• Joe Ohr, NMFTA
• Bernardo Mendez Arista, GateIn AI
• Reed Loustalot, Truck Parking Club
• Jared Palmer, EPIC Insurance Brokers
• Kristy Knichel, Knichel Logistics
• Cargo Crime guide on CargoRex Research

Links from the episode

• Grace Sharkey on LinkedIn
• Orderful
• NMFTA Threat Report Portal, for reporting cargo crime and fraud anonymously
• Freight fraud and identity verification companies on CargoRex
• More Source to Porch stories

Companies mentioned on CargoRex

• SPI Logistics
• Orderful
• NMFTA
• GateIn AI
• EPIC Insurance Brokers & Consultants
• Knichel Logistics

Related company listings on CargoRex

• Arviem
• CargoNet by Verisk
• MarineTraffic
• Amsted Digital Solutions

Related episodes

• Freight Friends: State of Cargo Crime, South American Logistics, and Wicked Dolls
• What I Learned at IANA Expo 2026: Cargo Crime, Rail and Autonomous Freight
• The Business Case for Paranoia: Best-Of Cargo Crime & Fraud Prevention
• $13B Halloween Supply Chains, China's Rare-Earth Grip, and Should You Even Start a Podcast?

Sources for the stories

• At Legal Crossroads: Tang Law and Foreigners in Seventh-Century Turfan, China Hands
• Chicago Tylenol murders, Wikipedia
• Henry Every, Wikipedia
• Ganj-i-Sawai, Wikipedia
• RMS Empress of Ireland, Wikipedia
• Lost Villages, Wikipedia
• Reno Gang, Wikipedia
• China-Europe freight train trips up 10.8-fold in a decade, CGTN
• Maritime piracy in 2026 fell to 1992 levels despite Somalia, Yemen surge, The Maritime Executive
• Freight train robberies cost millions, Fortune

-----------------------------------------

THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS!

SPI Logistics has been a Day 1 supporter of this podcast which is why we're proud to promote them in every episode. During that time, we've gotten to know the team and their agents to confidently say they are the best home for freight agents in North America for 40 years and counting. Listen to past episodes to hear why.

CargoRex is the search engine for the logistics industry—connecting LSPs with the right tools, services, events, and creators to explore, discover, and evolve.

Digital Dispatch maximizes and manages your #1 sales tool with a website that establishes trust and builds rock-solid relationships with your leads and customers. 

A customs entry might take minutes to prepare while the truck waits days to cross. José Miñarro explains how that disconnect happens when nobody coordinates the paperwork with the freight.

I’m joined by José, Managing Director at CustomsNet, to walk through what shippers need to settle before their first Mexico shipment moves. We discuss the information importers must provide and how proper onboarding catches problems before they reach the border. José also explains why keeping accurate records matters long after delivery.

This conversation is part of CargoRex’s Mexico Cross-Border Freight Guide.

Links from the show:

• Watch the original CargoRex interview with José
• Connect with José on LinkedIn
• Read the full Mexico Cross-Border Freight Guide

Related episodes:

• What Logistics World Showed Me About Mexico Trade
• Why WhatsApp Is Still Doing Mexico TMS Work

-----------------------------------------

THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS!

SPI Logistics has been a Day 1 supporter of this podcast which is why we're proud to promote them in every episode. During that time, we've gotten to know the team and their agents to confidently say they are the best home for freight agents in North America for 40 years and counting. Listen to past episodes to hear why.

CargoRex is the search engine for the logistics industry—connecting LSPs with the right tools, services, events, and creators to explore, discover, and evolve.

Digital Dispatch maximizes and manages your #1 sales tool with a website that establishes trust and builds rock-solid relationships with your leads and customers. 

A security policy can look great on paper. The harder question is whether everyone handling your freight actually follows it.

I’m joined by Joe Hurst, co-founder and president of Veroot, to explain CTPAT, the Customs Trade Partnership Against Terrorism, and what it takes to get certified and stay compliant. We discuss how companies document their security practices and keep checking their freight partners after onboarding. Joe also shares examples of security failures that reveal why training and follow-through matter. If your compliance program depends on one employee knowing where everything lives, this conversation gives you plenty to consider.

This conversation is part of CargoRex’s Mexico Cross-Border Freight Guide.

Links from the show:

• Watch the original CargoRex interview with Joe
• Connect with Joe on LinkedIn
• Explore Veroot on CargoRex
• Read the full Mexico Cross-Border Freight Guide

Related episodes:

• The Business Case for Paranoia: Best-Of Cargo Crime & Fraud Prevention
• Why WhatsApp Is Still Doing Mexico TMS Work

-----------------------------------------

THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS!

SPI Logistics has been a Day 1 supporter of this podcast which is why we're proud to promote them in every episode. During that time, we've gotten to know the team and their agents to confidently say they are the best home for freight agents in North America for 40 years and counting. Listen to past episodes to hear why.

CargoRex is the search engine for the logistics industry—connecting LSPs with the right tools, services, events, and creators to explore, discover, and evolve.

Digital Dispatch maximizes and manages your #1 sales tool with a website that establishes trust and builds rock-solid relationships with your leads and customers. 

Your freight crosses into Mexico. If something happens to it there, do you know whose insurance responds and what it actually covers?

I’m joined by Mark Vickers, Executive Vice President and Head of International Logistics at Reliance Partners, to examine the coverage assumptions that can turn a lost load into an expensive argument. We discuss why carrier liability and cargo insurance need separate attention, what a shipper might mean when they say they’re self-insured, and how contracts affect the conversation after a loss. Mark also explains how carrier vetting and shipment tracking fit into risk management.

This conversation is part of CargoRex’s Mexico Cross-Border Freight Guide.

Links from the show:

• Watch the original CargoRex interview with Mark
• Connect with Mark on LinkedIn
• Explore Reliance Partners on CargoRex
• Read the full Mexico Cross-Border Freight Guide

Related episodes:

• The Business Case for Paranoia: Best-Of Cargo Crime & Fraud Prevention
• What Logistics World Showed Me About Mexico Trade

-----------------------------------------

THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS!

SPI Logistics has been a Day 1 supporter of this podcast which is why we're proud to promote them in every episode. During that time, we've gotten to know the team and their agents to confidently say they are the best home for freight agents in North America for 40 years and counting. Listen to past episodes to hear why.

CargoRex is the search engine for the logistics industry—connecting LSPs with the right tools, services, events, and creators to explore, discover, and evolve.

Digital Dispatch maximizes and manages your #1 sales tool with a website that establishes trust and builds rock-solid relationships with your leads and customers. 

Your customer asks if you can handle their Mexico freight. Before you say yes, you need to understand who will move it and what happens when the shipment changes hands at the border.

I’m joined by Matt Silver, co-founder and CEO of Cargado, to walk through moving that first cross-border load. Matt explains how a trailer can stay loaded while the truck and driver change, how to find carriers that serve the right lanes, and why introductions to the customs broker matter. We also discuss how Cargado uses carrier bids to inform pricing and brings freight conversations out of scattered WhatsApp chats.

This conversation is part of CargoRex’s Mexico Cross-Border Freight Guide.

Links from the show:

• Watch the original CargoRex interview with Matt
• Connect with Matt on LinkedIn
• Explore Cargado on CargoRex
• Read the full Mexico Cross-Border Freight Guide

Related episodes:

• What Logistics World Showed Me About Mexico Trade

-----------------------------------------

THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS!

SPI Logistics has been a Day 1 supporter of this podcast which is why we're proud to promote them in every episode. During that time, we've gotten to know the team and their agents to confidently say they are the best home for freight agents in North America for 40 years and counting. Listen to past episodes to hear why.

CargoRex is the search engine for the logistics industry—connecting LSPs with the right tools, services, events, and creators to explore, discover, and evolve.

Digital Dispatch maximizes and manages your #1 sales tool with a website that establishes trust and builds rock-solid relationships with your leads and customers. 

A trip through Sri Lanka makes it hard to look at tea and cinnamon as ordinary groceries. You see the farms, meet the people, and start following the journey those products take beyond the island.

Grace Sharkey and I talk about what I noticed during my visit, including the Port of Colombo and Sri Lanka’s place in Indian Ocean trade. We also discuss the work behind artisanal tea and the hospitality that made this trip feel so personal. This is the Sri Lanka conversation from our July Freight Friends episode.

In this segment:
• Tea farming and the people behind the finished product
• Cinnamon and Sri Lanka’s trading history
• Colombo, Indian Ocean shipping and observations from the trip

Listen to the full Freight Friends conversation:
https://everythingislogistics.com/freight-friends-edi-fees-ai-hype-vs-reality-and-totos-ceramics-that-secretly-power-chip-manufacturing/

-----------------------------------------

THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS!

SPI Logistics has been a Day 1 supporter of this podcast which is why we're proud to promote them in every episode. During that time, we've gotten to know the team and their agents to confidently say they are the best home for freight agents in North America for 40 years and counting. Listen to past episodes to hear why.

CargoRex is the search engine for the logistics industry—connecting LSPs with the right tools, services, events, and creators to explore, discover, and evolve.

Digital Dispatch maximizes and manages your #1 sales tool with a website that establishes trust and builds rock-solid relationships with your leads and customers. 

Seven containers were waiting near an Antarctic ice shelf’s edge when a blizzard changed the plan. The ice broke away, carrying the cargo out to sea.

Grace Sharkey brings this story to Freight Friends, and we talk through the difficulty of supplying a research station in such an unforgiving place. The conversation leads into Shackleton’s survival story and the challenge of operating on moving ice. Even getting supplies to the edge of the world takes an extraordinary amount of coordination.

In this segment:
• How containers ended up drifting on an iceberg
• Research-station resupply and waste removal
• Moving ice, survival and the limits of recovery

Listen to the full Freight Friends conversation:
https://everythingislogistics.com/freight-friends-edi-fees-ai-hype-vs-reality-and-totos-ceramics-that-secretly-power-chip-manufacturing/

Links mentioned:
Reporting on the container incident: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-05-23/tasmania-iceberg-breaks-away-with-shipping-containers-on-board/106710726

-----------------------------------------

THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS!

SPI Logistics has been a Day 1 supporter of this podcast which is why we're proud to promote them in every episode. During that time, we've gotten to know the team and their agents to confidently say they are the best home for freight agents in North America for 40 years and counting. Listen to past episodes to hear why.

CargoRex is the search engine for the logistics industry—connecting LSPs with the right tools, services, events, and creators to explore, discover, and evolve.

Digital Dispatch maximizes and manages your #1 sales tool with a website that establishes trust and builds rock-solid relationships with your leads and customers. 

The rocket gets the glamor shot, but a launch is only one leg of a much larger network. Before anything leaves Earth, hardware has already moved through factories and specialized facilities. After launch, somebody still has to manage fuel, communications, maintenance, replacement parts, materials, and the trip back.

In this solo episode, I follow five pieces of the emerging space supply chain: Rocket Lab’s deployable GHOST launch concept, the recurring resupply needs behind SpaceX’s Moon-base ambitions, Dawn Aerospace’s Loop refueling interface, Cascade Space’s deep-space communications capacity, and Anatar’s advanced textiles and material traceability. These efforts are at different stages. The logistics question is how to make each handoff dependable enough for the next mission.

In this episode:

• Why a launch site that can move changes capacity planning
• The deliveries, repairs, and reverse flows a Moon base would need
• How a common docking and fuel-transfer connection could enable orbital refueling
• Why a lost signal is a serious exception in deep space
• The manufacturing and traceability questions behind spacesuits and other soft goods

Links and resources:

• Rocket Lab GHOST: https://rocketlabcorp.com/updates/rocket-lab-unveils-ghost-deployable-launch-system-to-enable-responsive-space-missions-worldwide/
• Dawn Aerospace Loop: https://www.dawnaerospace.com/latest-news/in-orbit-refueling-loop-network
• Cascade Space: https://www.cascadespace.com/
• Anatar: https://www.anatarindustries.com/newsroom/anatar-approved-to-join-the-arm-institute
• Kaia Rhodes on X: https://x.com/kaiarhodes/status/2049959076197511561

Related episodes:

• NASA Series: Deep Space Logistics: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-everything-is-logistics-73784837/episode/nasa-series-deep-space-logistics-202946654/
• Building Warehouses in Space with Inversion: https://everythingislogistics.com/building-warehouses-in-space-with-inversion/

-----------------------------------------

THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS!

SPI Logistics has been a Day 1 supporter of this podcast which is why we're proud to promote them in every episode. During that time, we've gotten to know the team and their agents to confidently say they are the best home for freight agents in North America for 40 years and counting. Listen to past episodes to hear why.

CargoRex is the search engine for the logistics industry—connecting LSPs with the right tools, services, events, and creators to explore, discover, and evolve.

Digital Dispatch maximizes and manages your #1 sales tool with a website that establishes trust and builds rock-solid relationships with your leads and customers.