Freight Beat

Transportation Intermediaries Association
  • 5.0 (1)
  • Business
  • Weekly

A weekly podcast from the Transportation Intermediaries that delves into the biggest topics and issues facing every link in the supply chain. Each episode a guest joins to discuss everything from cargo theft to modern regulation, the ins and outs of various forms of freight and how it's changing, and where the industry is headed. Whether you're a broker, a shipper, or a carrier, this show will deliver unparalleled insights into the people and companies that move America.

  1. 5d ago

    Building a Brokerage That Outlasts You

    More brokerages are changing hands, and a lot of owners are wondering if their company is ready for the day they're not the one running it. Doug Grawe says buyers can tell the difference between a company that's prepared and one that's scrambling to get out. Doug is founder and CEO of The Grawe Group. He talks about hiring people who are new to freight, keeping your culture intact after a sale, where he lands on Montgomery, and how family-owned brokerages can compete without selling. Chapters (0:00) Cold open (0:45) Welcome to Freight Beat (1:31) How trucking found Doug (3:16) Why new hires can't hit the ground running (6:33) What to look for when you hire (9:27) Teaching new hires to question AI (11:31) What's driving all the M&A (13:26) Selling scared or selling ready (14:49) Getting organized before you sell( 18:07) A word from TIA (19:07) Keeping your culture after a sale (20:31) The invisible leader (23:45) Has margin become everything? (25:59) How family-owned brokerages can compete (28:42) Is Montgomery an existential threat? (32:33) Why knowing your carriers pays off (33:46) A word from DAT (34:50) Where leadership in freight is headed (37:31) Grind culture without burnout (41:43) Why good buyers wait for bad markets (43:39) Know your actual story (46:42) Finding time to plan ahead (49:08) Changing a culture that's dug in (51:33) Where to find Doug This episode of Freight Beat is sponsored by DAT. Learn more at dat.com.Freight Beat is a podcast from the Transportation Intermediaries Association. Subscribe so you never miss an episode.

  2. Oct 21

    What Does All This Freight Tech Actually Solve?

    Eric Williams just won both the People's Choice and Judges' Choice awards at TIA's Shark Tank for Beagl, the company he co-founded to help brokers run a better RFP process and win more contract freight. Tech companies love to tell brokers to just give it a try. Eric says to start with the problem you actually have, because new software won't fix a process your leadership hasn't bought into. He also talks about what the last wave of freight tech got wrong and what AI will never touch. Chapters (0:00) Cold open (0:48) Welcome to Freight Beat (1:33) From financial markets to freight (3:48) The hardest stretch of starting up (6:00) Why RFPs eat up so much time (7:09) Don't price every lane (10:13) When every bid looks the same (12:49) What makes the sacrifice worth it (14:03) Advice for first-time founders (15:36) Why freight tech is booming now (18:14) What the last wave got wrong (20:42) Standing out in a crowded market (21:47) Should you "just give it a try"? (24:17) A word from DAT (25:23) What AI will and won't change (27:29) What better relationships look like (30:19) Red flags when choosing tech (32:19) Auditing your own operation (34:34) Inside TIA's Shark Tank (37:56) Why he stayed self-funded (40:08) Parting shots and where to find Eric This episode of Freight Beat is sponsored by DAT. Learn more at dat.com. Freight Beat is a podcast from the Transportation Intermediaries Association. Subscribe so you never miss an episode.

  3. Oct 13

    Tech, Trust and Freight Risk

    Thieves are pulling freight off moving trains, and fraudsters are using stolen broker identities to move dozens of loads. Brandon Arnold spent 28 years in brokerage before moving into insurance, and he thinks leaning too hard on tech is part of the problem. Recorded live at TIA Technovations, Brandon walks through the per-load math he runs before buying any tool and where a small brokerage should start when there's no risk team or lawyer on staff. Brandon is a Certified Transportation Broker and licensed property and casualty agent with SPG Cargo & Logistics. Chapters (0:00) Cold open (0:34) Welcome to Freight Beat (3:46) From brokerage to insurance (6:52) The load that changed how he saw risk (8:52) How theft and fraud keep changing (11:57) Vetting, process, and liability (16:30) The Cyber Integrity Program (17:56) When your MC gets stolen (19:18) Buying tech without wasting money (22:05) The per-load ROI math (26:30) Why relationships still matter (34:40) Why spot freight carries more risk (39:44) Why advocacy gets misunderstood (44:02) Coverage, exclusions, and your contracts (45:33) Where a small brokerage should start (50:22) SPG Cargo & Logistics and what's next This episode is brought to you by DAT: www.dat.com Register now for the 3PL event of the year! tianet.org/capitalideas Freight Beat is a podcast from the Transportation Intermediaries Association. Subscribe so you never miss an episode.

  4. Oct 5

    The Founder Mindset in Freight

    Will Jenkins co-founded a brokerage at 26 that ArcBest later bought for $235 million up front. Then he started over with no outside money and no paid marketing. Will is founder and CEO of Journey, which helps freight brokerages hire and develop their people. He talks about learning freight from the best reps at Coyote, and what he looks for in new hires. He also covers how to pressure test an idea while you still have a paycheck, and what to do with the quiet early days of a new business. Chapters(0:00) Cold open(0:42) Welcome to Freight Beat(1:56) Wanting to quit every day at Cutco(5:24) Walking into Coyote with no freight background(10:49) Moving from carrier sales to shipper sales(16:00) Reading Shoe Dog and starting MoLo(18:04) What hundreds of hires taught him(23:42) Starting over with Journey(29:00) Working with his mom(30:03) How he picks startups to back(34:02) Advice if you're risk averse(38:32) What to do with the quiet early days(41:39) Using AI without sounding like AI(45:26) What excites him about freight tech This episode of Freight Beat is sponsored by DAT. Learn more at dat.com.Freight Beat is a podcast from the Transportation Intermediaries Association. Subscribe so you never miss an episode.

  5. Sep 29

    Stoic Leadership in Freight

    Greg Sanders launched a brokerage at 55, about three weeks before Covid, with no time window to fail. He leads by a stoic's rule: you can't control what happens, only how you react to it. Greg is chairman and CEO of RDS Capacity Solutions and Treasurer of TIA's board. He talks about staying calm when the industry panics, why he gave his first partners equity, what he listens for in an interview, and why he wants to hand the company to its employees one day. Chapters (0:00) Cold open (1:03) Welcome to Freight Beat (2:35) From Arthur Andersen to the family business (6:01) Staying calm when the market swings (10:52) How Greg became a stoic (13:57) The month everyone panicked over Montgomery (15:44) Leadership in the age of AI (18:51) Building a brokerage from nothing (21:45) Handing the company to its employees (23:22) Booking 150 loads isn't a purpose (26:44) What makes a bad leader (33:26) Launching three weeks before Covid (37:55) Scaling for what reason? (44:06) The Second Mountain Freight Beat is a podcast from the Transportation Intermediaries Association. Subscribe so you never miss an episode.

  6. Sep 22

    Embracing and Leveraging Intermodal in 2026

    Truck rates are up and intermodal rates have held steady, and shippers are moving freight over to the rail because of it. Most small brokers still can't quote it. Jeff Brashares says the setup is easier than you think. Three railroads will now handle the pickup and delivery for you. He gets into which lanes and commodities actually pay off on rail, what happens to a customer relationship when a rail load goes bad, and the part of the trip he says almost nobody is watching. Chapters (0:00) Cold open (0:40) Welcome to Freight Beat (1:50) Why intermodal is having a moment (3:20) Trucking down 5 percent, intermodal up 5 (5:45) The service myth (6:40) The railroads will do your pickup and delivery (7:50) Which loads belong on rail (9:05) What an IMC actually does (10:15) A broker's first step (11:05) Why service comes before price (11:45) Montgomery and carrier vetting (13:25) Filling the empties headed west (15:55) How close you should be to the ramp (18:05) What does not belong on a railcar (20:50) Tracking a load that changes modes (22:15) Why there is less theft on the rail (23:15) Autonomous trucks and what comes next (24:55) Using intermodal to scale (26:45) Seven class one railroads (28:30) One step off the fence (31:35) Where to find Jeff Freight Beat is a podcast from the Transportation Intermediaries Association. Subscribe so you never miss an episode.

  7. Sep 16

    AI Runs the Desk. Now What?

    You've heard a hundred takes on AI in freight. Most are about the technology. This one's about the desk that has to use it. David Peckman sits with brokerages all day, from the ones just poking at AI to the ones fully deployed. The failures he sees aren't technology failures. They're SOP problems, management problems, and a desk that quietly routes around the thing the CFO just bought. Chapters (0:00) Cold open (1:21) A year in, what comes off the desk (2:50) The mistake that leaves you with nothing (3:54) Where to start: track and trace, AP, the phone tree (6:30) Vetting the vendor before your TMS becomes the problem (10:20) Human in the loop vs. human on the loop (16:44) The complacency that sets in (20:01) The CFO signs, the desk works around it (23:06) Why fraud climbs when the market tightens (27:43) Voice AI and the checks you already run (32:26) Does the carrier know it's a machine (34:34) The ROI question a CFO will actually ask (47:11) When two AIs book a load with each other This episode is brought to you by TIA Technovations, October 6 to 8 at the Marriott Marquis in Houston. tianet.org/technovations Freight Beat is a podcast from the Transportation Intermediaries Association. Subscribe so you never miss an episode.

  8. Sep 8

    Three Fights Over the Future of Brokerage

    One week out from the Policy Forum, TIA's President and CEO and the Government Affairs team walk through what members are going to Capitol Hill to ask for. Chris Burroughs on what the Montgomery decision changed and what it didn't. Daniel Hoff on a rule written in the 1980s by an agency that no longer exists, and where the update is sitting now. Mitchell Hart on CORCA, the vehicle it found in the Senate, and why the follow-up matters more than the meeting. If you're registered, this is your prep. If you're staying home, most of it still works from your own office. Chapters0:00 Cold open0:45 Three fights on the table next week1:25 What Montgomery actually changed6:37 The safety standard TIA is pushing for9:26 What to ask for in a ten-minute meeting13:35 Why Chris calls it democracy at work16:39 Where the transparency rulemaking sits20:05 Transparency or intrusion26:38 Getting engaged without coming to DC29:25 CORCA and the NDAA33:16 Fraud starts at registration35:24 Advice for a nervous first-timer40:35 What to do next week Thank you to our Policy Forum PowerHouse Sponsor, Scopelitis, Garvin, Light, Hanson & Feary, a law firm dedicated to the transportation industry. Visit them to learn more at scopelitis.com

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About

A weekly podcast from the Transportation Intermediaries that delves into the biggest topics and issues facing every link in the supply chain. Each episode a guest joins to discuss everything from cargo theft to modern regulation, the ins and outs of various forms of freight and how it's changing, and where the industry is headed. Whether you're a broker, a shipper, or a carrier, this show will deliver unparalleled insights into the people and companies that move America.

Information

  • Creator
    Transportation Intermediaries Association
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    53
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Transportation Intermediaries Association
  • Show Website
    Freight Beat

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