The story
- BeforeMessaging carriers one by one
- On CargadoPost a load, carriers bid
- El PasoA network built from scratch
- More crossingsTijuana and Calexico
- On the goQuotes from the mobile app
- NextMemphis, Montreal and Toronto
At a glance
- Carrier rates for a quote in 10–15 minutes
Down from 30 minutes of messaging carriers one at a time - An El Paso network from scratch
Now C.A.T.’s largest border crossing, 100% sourced through Cargado - New and reconnected carriers
Partners and industry contacts across Tijuana, Calexico, and key border markets - Market rates on hand
Fast access to competitive rates for customer quotes
Coming next: Memphis, Montreal and Toronto. Bringing Cargado to more C.A.T. Global teams after the Mexico division’s success.
About C.A.T. Global
Founded in 1997, C.A.T. Global is a full-service freight brokerage and logistics provider headquartered in Toronto, with five offices across North America. Luz Diaz opened and leads C.A.T.'s Mexico division. The company specializes in cross-border freight between the U.S., Mexico, and Canada, serving customers with dry van, flatbed, and specialized freight solutions.
Challenge
‘100 WhatsApp messages a minute’
By the time Luz Diaz opened C.A.T. Global’s Mexico division, she’d already built an extensive network of carrier relationships over more than 20 years in cross-border. She had the connections and the expertise to find capacity. What she didn't have was time.
“Before Cargado, it was 100 WhatsApp messages a minute,” Luz said. “You're sending 50, 100, or more messages to carriers, just to hear them say, 'I don't have capacity,' or 'You're too low on the rate.”
The manual process slowed the team down. On the spot market, brokers typically have 20 to 30 minutes to respond to load opportunities before losing them to competitors. But spending 30 minutes reaching out to dozens of carriers individually meant C.A.T. was already behind.
“If I take 30 minutes to send a message to all of my carriers, I'm going to lose out,” Luz said. “I'm not even going to be able to compete.”
The problem was acute in markets where C.A.T. wanted to expand but lacked established relationships: border cities like El Paso, Tijuana, and Calexico where Luz hadn't been as active recently.
“I had a lot of carriers at the borders when I was managing Laredo, El Paso, Calexico,” she said. “But it's been a while. Now I'm like, who is in Calexico? Other than one carrier I used to work with, I don't know anybody out there.”
Beyond speed, C.A.T. also lacked visibility into market rates. Without benchmarks, the pricing team couldn't verify whether their quotes were competitive or if carriers were offering fair rates. The gap between customer expectations and carrier pricing created friction across teams and impacted win rates.
Solution
Fast access to vetted carriers and market rates
What initially appealed to Luz about Cargado was its focus on Mexico.
“In the U.S., you have [other platforms], but they’re not always 100% accurate, but you have platforms where you can run a lane and get an idea,” she said. “Just to have something for Mexico, I think that was important.”
C.A.T.’s pricing and dispatch teams began using Cargado to post freight, check Cargado Market Rates for pricing benchmarks, and let carriers compete on their freight instead of chasing them individually.
For lanes where they had strong existing relationships, they continued reaching out directly. But for new markets, unfamiliar lanes, or time-sensitive quotes, they turned to Cargado.
“The beauty of Cargado is I can post a load, and carriers can fight for it,” Luz said.
The pricing team adopted Market Rates for quick benchmarking, particularly valuable during urgent customer calls or early morning hours before the full team was available. When Cargado launched its mobile app, Luz and her team could quote on the go.
C.A.T. also began using Cargado Analytics to track team adoption and load posting activity, with Luz setting monthly goals to further increase Cargado usage across the division.
Results
Cut quote times in half
“In this environment, you work off spot platforms, and you have 20 minutes to answer,” Luz said. “They say two hours, but really they cover it way before.”
With Cargado, the time it takes C.A.T. to collect carrier rates for a quote dropped from 30 minutes to 10–15. Instead of sending dozens of individual WhatsApp messages and waiting for replies, the team posts the load and competitive bids come back in half the time or less, inside the window a spot opportunity allows.
Built an El Paso network, C.A.T.’s largest crossing, from scratch
C.A.T.'s biggest success story came in El Paso, where they needed to serve a major customer award but lacked established carrier relationships. They started posting these lanes in Cargado.
“All of the carriers that we work with in El Paso came from Cargado,” Luz said. “That was one of our biggest success stories.”
The network became so reliable and comprehensive that C.A.T. rarely needs to post those lanes anymore: they'd found their core carrier base and secured consistent service. Today, El Paso is C.A.T.'s largest border crossing, powered entirely by relationships that started on Cargado.
When they occasionally post El Paso lanes again to test the market, they continue discovering new partners.
Discovered new carriers and reconnected with past ones
Beyond El Paso, Cargado helped C.A.T. expand into Tijuana, Calexico, and other strategic border crossings: markets where Luz had worked years ago but lost touch with the carrier base.
As C.A.T. posted loads and reviewed carrier bids, Luz began recognizing names and making connections.
“Once I post something and start getting bids, I'm like, 'Oh yeah, he used to be at this company.' With the borders I'm not as active on anymore, it helps me reconnect.”
She also discovered new partners out of Tijuana and several newer Laredo-based companies that emerged post-pandemic. The connections were often surprisingly personal too.
“Yesterday I talked to a Mexican carrier I found through Cargado,” Luz said. “Turns out he was born around the corner from where I grew up. It was a small world. I think Cargado makes the Mexico freight world even smaller.”
Faster quotes with market rate data
Cargado Market Rates transformed how C.A.T.'s pricing team responds to customer inquiries, especially for urgent requests or unfamiliar lanes. Now, especially with Cargado’s mobile app, Luz can pull up Market Rates, see the low, mid-, and high range, and offer a competitive rate fast.
For lanes outside their regular network or during early morning hours when the full team isn't available, Market Rates gives them a benchmark on demand.
“If it's early and I'm not going to have time to talk to a carrier, or I don't know who runs a particular lane, I'll go on Cargado and run it,” Luz said. “Now that we have the app, it's fantastic because I don't have to open my laptop. I'm still in bed,” she said. “The app works well. Logistics is supposed to be flexible. You don't have to be in front of a computer all the time.”
‘I’m here to see it grow’
In 2026, C.A.T. Global plans to expand beyond Mexico with Cargado. Teams in Memphis, Montreal, and Toronto are preparing to come on board, extending Cargado's reach into C.A.T.'s Canadian cross-border operation.
For Luz, the expansion feels like a natural evolution, with C.A.T. growing alongside Cargado as the platform itself matures.
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