Let’s Talk Logistics is a podcast that brings together some of the logistics industry’s top voices.
Hosted by Rocket Shipping’s CEO Gabe Pankonin, each episode features founders, CEOs, and experienced leaders in the space who dig into the real issues, trends, and innovations shaping the world of freight.
From supply chain dynamics to the impact of market shifts and pendulum swings, these conversations offer practical insights and a candid look at what’s happening in logistics today.
Ideal for shippers and industry pros looking to stay informed in a rapidly evolving space. Tune in and let’s talk LOGISTICS!
SEASON 2 E5 — MICHAEL CANEY
Michael Caney, co-founder of Highway, built the identity and compliance infrastructure that the freight industry should have had a decade ago — and grew from zero to 1,200 broker customers in four years because there was simply nothing else. In this episode, he breaks down the three types of freight fraud, how organized crime has turned cargo theft into a scalable operation, and why Highway is building less like a startup and more like Visa. Plus: why AI in carrier sales is the wrong first use case, what actually moves a broker’s P&L, and why posting loads in public is intelligence leakage.
Key Chapters:
(0:00) Intro to the Ep
(1:00) What People Did Before Highway — RMIS, Packets, and a Broken System
(3:00) Chattanooga, Michael’s Background, and How Highway Started
(5:00) Zero to 1,200 Customers in Four Years — The Problem Was That Bad
(8:00) Double Brokering Then vs. Now — From Margin Game to Outright Theft
(13:00) The Three Types of Freight Fraud: Direct Theft, Change of Control, Impersonation
(16:00) Email Inbox Compromise, Impersonation at Pickup, and Organized Crime Behind It All
(21:00) How Highway Was Built — Capital Efficiency and a Technical Founder
(29:00) The Problem with VC Funding in Freight Tech
(33:00) Highway’s Three Business Units and the Trusted Freight Exchange
(38:00) Risk as a Transaction Variable — For the First Time Ever in Freight
(45:00) Voice AI Security Risk and Why Carrier Sales Shouldn’t Be First
(53:00) AI Needs New Software to Work in Freight — MCP and Legacy TMS Problems
(1:00:00) How Highway Onboards a Broker — The Impact Report and the 80/20 Problem
#LetsTalkLogistics #FreightNews #FreightFraud #FreightTech #CarrierIdentity
28 Apr 2026
Let's Talk Logistics with Danielle Spinelli
SEASON 2 E4 — DANIELLE SPINELLI
Danielle Spinelli spent 8 years as a broker moving high-value freight — copper, electrical, postal — and getting hit by cargo theft enough times to make it her mission. Now Director of Partnerships at Gen Logs, she breaks down how cargo theft has evolved from smash-and-grab to sophisticated load hostages and overseas shipments, why your vetting process might be blocking good carriers while bad actors slip through, and how AI is now arming thieves faster than the industry is adapting.
Key Chapters:
(0:00) Intro to the Ep
(1:00) Danielle's Background — Broker, Carrier Sales, High-Value Freight, and Gen Logs
(5:00) How Cargo Theft Has Evolved — From Fast & Furious to Sophisticated Fraud
(7:00) Strategic Theft, Chameleon Carriers, and Fraudulent Accounting
(9:00) What Enterprise Shippers Should Be Doing to Protect Their Freight
(10:00) Load Hostage Situations and Cargo Heading Overseas
(11:00) Gen Logs vs. Highway — Two Approaches to the Same Problem
(13:00) The Red Flags Problem — Good Carriers Get Flagged, Bad Actors Slip Through
(15:00) Gen Logs' Private Camera and Sensor Network Across the U.S.
(23:00) Shipper Intelligence Tools for Mid-Market Brokers
(26:00) Non-Domicile CDLs — What the Crackdown Actually Means for Capacity
(31:00) Immigration, Supply Constraints, and the Capacity Risk Nobody's Pricing In
(36:00) AI in Freight — The Real Opportunity and the Growing Risk
(41:00) Using AI to Enhance Human Work, Not Replace It
#LetsTalkLogistics #FreightNews #CargoTheft #CarrierVetting #FreightFraud
14 Apr 2026
Let's Talk Logistics - Shannon Breen
Shannon Breen left Knight Swift as SVP of Logistics, built FreightVana into a top-100 brokerage in four years, and has a data model that explains exactly why trucking rates have to go up — regardless of what demand does. This episode breaks down the 22-26% gap between contract rates and the real cost to serve, what the non-domiciled CDL crackdown is actually doing to capacity, and why Shannon believes 15-20% rate increases are coming whether shippers like it or not.
Key Chapters:
(0:00) Intro to the Ep
(1:30) Shannon's Background at Knight Swift
(3:30) State of the Freight Market — Most Unique in 15 Years
(7:00) Fuel Dynamics — Who Wins and Who Gets Crushed
(10:30) Non-Domiciled CDLs and the Capacity Crunch
(16:30) The Cost of Trucking Theory — 3.5% Annual Inflation Since 2017
(19:00) The 22-26% Gap Between Contract Rates and Cost to Serve
(22:00) Why Cleaning Up Trucking is Hyperinflationary
(31:00) AI, Autonomous Trucking, and What's Actually Realistic
(37:00) The Three C's — Why Shannon Left Knight Swift
(42:00) Building Freight Fauna from Zero — No TMS, No Credit, No Loads
(49:00) Keeping Culture Alive as You Scale
(55:00) The "No Ghosts" Moment That Made Him Take the Leap
Who has been a guest on Let’s Talk Logistics
Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.
Charlie Saffro
Kara Brown
Clay Curran
Garrett Allen
Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
Apple Podcasts (US)
4.0 / 5
3 ratings
Podcast Authority Score: 19 / 100
A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.
Quality
25
Social presence
0
YouTube
0
Engagement
31
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