Blackbox Logistics used Cargado’s marketplace and expert team to launch its Mexico business without any in-house experience. Now that they’ve seen revenue growth, they’re investing in Mexico, putting their money where the freight is.
Results TLDR
- Launched Mexico operation within 36 hours of signing up for Cargado
- Became profitable on day two with Blackbox’s first covered load
- Grew Mexico load volume by 800% in four months
- Increased Mexico revenue by more than 1,400% since an August launch
- Built a Mexico team from 1 to 6 people as revenue grew
- Won new volume with existing customers through a a differentiated service offering
- Gained confidence to grow Mexico operations without needing internal expertise
The challenge: “We don’t have anybody with Mexico experience. We just don’t know what we’re doing.”
In its first five years of business, Blackbox Logistics stayed away from Mexico freight. The brokerage had long served Canada, but Mexico felt fundamentally different—riskier, more complex, and harder to insure. Cofounder Will Hopkins worried about the team’s lack of internal expertise, but he also didn’t have the bandwidth to hire experts or train a dedicated team. And he didn’t want to gamble with service quality or customer trust. So anytime a customer brought a promising Mexico opportunity, Blackbox turned it down.
Will shared his concern with Cargado CEO Matt Silver in June.
“To be frank, we just don’t have anybody with Mexico experience,” Will had told him. “We just don’t know what we’re doing. Matt told me, ‘You actually don’t need Mexico experience. That’s what I’m for. That’s what Cargado is for.’”
The partner: Within 36 hours of starting with Cargado, Blackbox moved its first Mexico load “without a hitch” and became profitable on day two
Blackbox subscribed to Cargado in August, designated an existing team member to manage the operation, and by coincidence, received a Mexico load opportunity from a customer that same week. This time, they accepted the load. Within 36 hours of going live, they booked it.
“The first one went off without a hitch,” Will said. “I was wowed with how easy it was to source the capacity.”
Blackbox joined a Slack channel with the Cargado team for real-time guidance. When they encountered an unfamiliar term, process, or requirement, they asked, and the Cargado team walked them through it.
“They held our hand through the first few loads,” Will said. “We basically just borrowed the Cargado personnel for that knowledge. They taught us a lot. If they weren’t there, it probably would not have gone as smoothly.”
Cargado’s marketplace made sourcing vetted Mexican carriers easy. Cargado Market Rates has helped Blackbox quote confidently and competitively, even without prior lane knowledge. The desktop app delivered even faster access to pricing and visibility.
As someone who calls himself a hard sell, Will was skeptical at first, but he’s since become a believer. “Look, I’ve been told things are simple and that companies would help us in the past for all kinds of builds. I’m a tough sell, and I’ve been pleasantly surprised. You’ll see me post Cargado hats and stuff all over LinkedIn because I’m a big, big fan of Cargado.”
“Within 36 hours of starting with Cargado, we moved our first Mexico load without a hitch. I was wowed with how easy it was to source the capacity.”
—Will Hopkins, cofounder, Blackbox Logistics
The result: Building a profitable, fast-growing Mexico division fueled by inbound demand
That very first Mexico load generated three times the cost of Blackbox’s monthly subscription, making them profitable on day two. Since then, Mexico has become one of the company’s strongest and most promising growth areas. In the four months since Blackbox started using Cargado, the team moved more than 20 loads and grew revenue by more than 1,400%.
Cargado enabled Blackbox to ramp volume and uncover market share with existing shippers. They’ve moved steel, apparel, agricultural products, generators, air conditioners, drainage tanks, and more—simply by offering a service their customers needed but that Blackbox previously couldn’t provide. Demand hiding in plain sight.
Blackbox’s Mexico operation now runs with a small, specialized team that grew only when revenue justified the investment. “We added bodies as the revenue grew,” Will said. “We were never in the red.”
Because Mexico freight was a new initiative, it started as part of Blackbox’s Special Projects team, which covers other growing divisions like international and intermodal. “And Mexico has actually been the easiest out of all those,” said Will, “which is ironic, because going in, I thought it would be the hardest one, but it’s been really easy because of Cargado.”
Along with dry van freight, Blackbox has moved complex open-deck freight, including shipments so large they required escorts and a full road shutdown arranged by the carrier in Mexico City.
“We actually shut down a one-way road and routed the driver out the opposite direction,” said Will. “If not, he was going to take down a light pole. We had Mexico City officials out there. The carrier knew what they were doing and handled it. And we sourced them through Cargado.”
That customer shared an appreciation with Will for Blackbox handling that load. These kinds of moves have strengthened Blackbox’s relationships with shippers and helped to differentiate them.
“It’s not a domestic dry van load, where anybody can do it,” Will said. “We’re really adding value. When customers have a Mexico opportunity, they’re always ecstatic to hear that we can handle it.”
Expanding into Mexico has energized Will’s salesforce and opened a new strategic direction for the business.
“It’s exciting,” Will said. “I love having something I can build around. Cargado gives us a clear roadmap of how to get exposure and how to execute it, which makes it easy for us. I’m really looking forward to seeing where it goes next.”
For now, Blackbox is only handling inbound opportunities instead of actively selling Mexico, intentionally building experience before selling aggressively. Demand is growing, and the opportunity is there. Now, Will sings a different tune from just a few months ago. “We are confident that if and when the opportunities come to us, we can handle it.”
About Blackbox Logistics
Founded in April 2020, Blackbox Logistics is a Birmingham, AL-based freight brokerage founded by Will Hopkins, Logan Dyer, and William Graves in a basement office with the goal of bringing transparency, around-the-clock communication, and a hassle-free customer experience to the table. Blackbox serves shippers across industries with services spanning domestic and Canadian truckload, flatbed, LTL, reefer, heavy haul/oversized, expedited, automotive, and recently Mexico.