SBC Transportation grew its new specialized fleet 40% and reduced booking time 95%

About SBC Transportation

SBC Transportation is a family-owned-and-operated carrier in Laredo, Texas, with a fleet of approximately 230 trucks. Founded 20 years ago, the company runs dry van, flatbed, step deck, Conestoga, lowboy, RGN, and other specialized equipment between the U.S. and Mexico. Their freight mix includes IT infrastructure, energy projects, and consumer goods.

‍

Results TLDR

• 40% volume growth of a new specialized equipment division in two years with only Cargado
• 13x fleet expansion, growing from 5 leased lowboys to 30 owned lowboys and 35 step decks
• 20%-25% increase in dry van lanes
• Booking time reduced from 3-4 hours to just 10 minutes
• New broker relationships—all sourced through Cargado—and even stronger relationships with existing brokers

‍

Legacy load boards weren’t built for cross-border Mexico freight

Before Cargado, SBC Transportation relied on legacy load boards, email blasts, and cold calls to find freight. The process was time-consuming and reactive, and it created a fundamental problem for a carrier running predominately B-1 drivers.

“The freight on the legacy platforms is U.S. domestic,” said Salo Verazzi, who leads operations at SBC. “That’s the problem. There are no international shipments. As time went on and B-1 work came up more and more, we needed cross-border freight to stay within the regulations of CBP and the program itself.”

The result was a constant scramble. SBC’s trucks would empty at the border in Laredo, and the team would compete with everyone else to find loads just to push equipment back into Mexico for the next shipment. Backhauls became a daily grind rather than a strategic operation.

Beyond the cross-border gap, the legacy load boards offered little visibility into broker quality.

"You don't really have a sense for the broker from a relationship standpoint," Salo said. "You don't know if they're good, if they're vetted, or if they even have the freight.”

And even when freight was available, legacy load boards weren't built for relationships, just transactions. Brokers don’t have the ability to post consistent or project freight, only spot loads.

"With a load out of a legacy load board, it's a one-time deal,” Salo said. “There's no relationship to be built there. It's just moving a truck. Somebody's getting a dollar and that's it."

For a carrier like SBC that wanted committed freight on consistent lanes, the old way wasn't working. It grew increasingly frustrating for the team.

‍

A platform built for cross-border—and for building relationships

Drawing on his previous experience in cross-border brokerage, Salo beta-tested Cargado from both the broker and carrier sides before SBC officially onboarded in February 2024.

The difference was immediate. Salo says it was “simple” and “upfront.” Unlike legacy load boards, Cargado was purpose-built for cross-border freight, with door-to-door shipments in and out of Mexico.

In addition to dry van and flatbed (step deck, extendable step deck, Conestoga), SBC runs specialized equipment including lowboys and extendable lowboys, RGN, and multi-axle units.

"I've bid and won loads for every single one of those types of equipment through Cargado,” Salo said, adding, "Once you take the time to build your profile—your areas, your equipment, your certifications, your insurance—Cargado is good at giving you just the loads that work. The system doesn’t fill my inbox with stuff I can't service. I’m seeing just my lanes, just the stuff I want to look at."

Cargado gave SBC something else legacy load boards never could: visibility into CTPAT certification and other cross-border requirements.

"The other platforms have no idea what CTPAT is," Salo said. "Unless you're doing border crossing freight, they don't know. Cargado understands that—and it's a big deal."

SBC now uses Cargado across their entire operation. In the evenings, the team looks at what’s booked in the next 24 to 48 hours and fills gaps with spot backhauls. They search for new loads and lanes two to three times a day. Salo saves searches for core lanes, which he can set for days or weeks out, then relies on Cargado’s notifications and Cargado Chat to react fast when the right freight posts.

‍

Results

40% volume growth and 13x fleet expansion built entirely through Cargado

In 2024, around the time SBC joined Cargado, a dry van customer needed to move equipment during a plant remodel. Because it was for a long-time customer, Salo signed a 12-month lease on lowboys to support the 40-day project, leaving him with specialized equipment and no customer base to fill it.

"Building a profile on Cargado put us out there as a specialized carrier with all this new equipment," Salo said. "I was able to reach customers I had no idea existed and build relationships with a new type of customer on a new type of lane. Cargado quickly allowed me to develop that."

In the two years since, SBC has grown from those 5 leased lowboys to an owned fleet of 30 lowboys and 35 step decks—and seen 40% volume growth in their specialized division, built entirely through Cargado. It drives steady, recurring freight for SBC.

"The other load boards are good if you're dry van or standard flatbed," Salo said. "But once you get into extendables, lowboys, double-drops, that starts getting difficult. I've bid and won loads on Cargado for every single type of equipment we run."

Booking reduced from 4 hours to 10 minutes

What used to take Salo and the SBC team three to four hours a day now takes 10 minutes.

"You submit your bid, you know what your rates are, and right away you get an answer whether you're in the ballpark or not. You're not wasting time on the phone. After that, you just continue to the next task."

Steady access to consistent, spot, and project freight

SBC started bidding on lanes in addition to spot loads—and it changed how the team approaches strategic capacity and business development.

"With Cargado, there's spot buys when you need them, but there's also the opportunity to bid on lanes—committed freight we know we're getting every day. We work better that way. We prepare better. We have the infrastructure and the drivers that know how to run it."

The shift has enabled SBC to be more strategic with their assets. Through Cargado, SBC has been awarded several special projects utilizing their flatbed and specialized equipment. These projects send equipment to areas where backhauls are unlikely. Salo proactively posts that equipment on Cargado before it even arrives, showing availability and signaling flexibility on nearby destinations—giving SBC the best shot at turning empty miles into revenue.

Smarter decisions on which freight to pursue

By tracking bid responses and market rates, the team can identify which lanes are worth their time and which aren't. If bids keep getting rejected or countered well below their floor, Salo treats it as a signal.

"If I know Dallas to Laredo is too cheap, I'm not going to waste my time,” he said. “I'd rather do Georgia to Dallas at $2.40 a mile than Georgia to Laredo at under $1. Cargado helps me redirect without wasting time on markets that aren't in our range."

From there, Salo evaluates if they can cut costs to make the lane work. If not, they move on. Either way, the bid feedback acts as a benchmark, showing them where the market actually is, so they're not guessing.

Making new and strengthening existing relationships

With legacy load boards, carriers don’t get much more verification than a checkbox next to a broker’s name. There's so much they don't know that working with an unfamiliar broker is a last resort.

On the flip side, Cargado displays cross-border certifications like CTPAT and Mexico's OEA (Operador Económico Autorizado), along with insurance requirements, details that matter for cross-border freight but don't exist on legacy load boards.

"It helps us make good decisions about who we want to do business with before we even bid on a load or contact them," Salo said.

That visibility gives SBC "peace of mind" when connecting with new brokers. Through Cargado, Salo and his team have built relationships with several large brokers that have driven real volume.

SBC has seen 20%-25% growth in dry van lanes since joining Cargado, built largely on consistent freight rather than one-off spot loads. On top of new relationships, SBC continues to use Cargado to work with brokers they'd known for years.

Cargado Chat has helped them have higher-quality interactions with brokers. SBC recently used Chat to add context to a rate in real time—and won the load.

"Sometimes brokers think you're way too expensive. But when you can chat about it and explain—this is 16 feet wide moving from Mexico to Detroit, two different countries, two different rules, permits, escorts, secure parking—there's a reason for that rate. You're being upfront, and you can chat about it on the fly and not just seem like you're trying to gouge a customer."

'It's going to give you the results you need'

For carriers considering Cargado, Salo's advice is: "Take the time to give it a shot. It's not your typical load board. It's a lot better. You're not going to see the same issues we see with the other load boards. Whether you're new to cross-border or trying to expand, it's going to give you the results you need."

‍