Robert Kowton left a decade at Coca-Cola, walked into freight brokering in 2008 with zero customers, and built a reputation around two things most brokers avoid: LTL and US-Canada cross-border freight. In this conversation, he breaks down exactly why those shipments trip people up and what it takes to get them right.

In this episode, you'll learn:

• Why LTL freight pricing works like a la carte dining, where every carrier action from inside delivery to lift gates is a separate fee
• The cross-border documentation mistakes that route your freight to a bonded warehouse in 2026
• How Robert's "quote to execute" method means he never quotes a load without a carrier plan already in place
• Why he went broad on commodities instead of niching down, and how that protected him through every market downturn
• The cold calling approach that still works: research the commodity, trace the supply chain, follow up on the day you said you would
• Real advice for people thinking about becoming a freight agent with no experience

Watch this episode on YouTube

Links and Resources:

• Robert Kowton on LinkedIn
• CDN Freight Broker on YouTube
• SPI Logistics Freight Agent Program: https://success.spi3pl.com/
• SPI Logistics Freight Agent Podcast Series: https://digitaldispatch.io/freight-agent-guide/
• Robert's fav business tools:
  • Nozbe: https://nozbe.com/
  • File Center: https://www.filecenter.com/
  • Evernote: https://evernote.com/
  • RingCentral: https://www.ringcentral.com/

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