Oh the shippers you'll find
Let's do a deep dive on the types of shippers out there.
I’m writing this somewhere over the Great Lakes on my way to Montreal — home to BRP, the company behind Ski-Doo, Can-Am, and Sea-Doo.
They’re the perfect example of why understanding who you’re calling matters. BRP designs in Canada, builds engines in Mexico, assembles in multiple regions, and ships finished products across the U.S. and Canada. One brand, dozens of factories, hundreds of suppliers, thousands of truckloads.
This post isn’t just about how supply chains work — it’s about how to sell into them.
The Smarter You Get, the Easier It Gets to Sell
Every new rep in freight starts out chasing logos — the big brands they recognize. But the real game isn’t about that one account.
When you land a customer in any given industry, you instantly open the door to dozens more. You pick up from their suppliers. You deliver to their customers. You meet vendors, plants, DCs, importers, and distributors — and every single one of them is a potential customer too.
The deeper you go into an industry, the smarter you get about it.
The smarter you get, the more confident you feel selling into the entire ecosystem: the brands, their competitors, their suppliers, and their customers.
That’s how the best reps never run out of leads.
When I first started out in cross-border freight, I spent over three years living in San Diego focused on automotive battery freight. My boss back then was known in Laredo as “The Battery Queen.” I still know that network better than the back of my hand — every supplier, importer, and plant between Mexicali, Juárez, and the U.S. battery recycling hubs.
Once you understand one niche like that, everything opens up. You start to recognize patterns — which suppliers feed which OEMs, which plants control the outbound, where the bottlenecks happen.
The same logic applies to any industry. Go research every part that goes into a car. It’s endless. Every tire, seat, harness, sensor, and microchip has a manufacturer — and all of them ship daily. There are more tire brands alone than most brokers realize exist. Multiply that across every system in a vehicle, and you’ve got an infinite source of potential customers.
Two Buckets: Manufacturers and Retailers
Every shipper you call fits into one of two categories:
Manufacturers – they make what they sell.
Retailers/Distributors – they sell what someone else made.
If you know which bucket your prospect lives in, you’ll know how to talk to them, what matters most, and where to look for the next opportunity.
Manufacturers
Manufacturers design, source, and build their own products.
Their logistics priorities are about production continuity: no line-downs, no delays, no surprises.
If you’re selling to a manufacturer, you’re selling uptime, predictability, and precision.
Automotive & Transportation
Industries: passenger vehicles, heavy trucks, farm & construction equipment, powersports
Brands: Honda, Volkswagen, Tesla, GM, Ford, John Deere, Caterpillar, BRP, Polaris
Automotive freight never sleeps. It moves 24/7, every day of the year. The rhythm is constant — engines and transmissions northbound, parts and subassemblies southbound. It’s a living organism.
If you’ve ever handled an automotive account, you know the pressure: missed delivery windows can stop a production line. JIT shipments, customs documents, bilingual dispatching — everything has to be exact.
The smartest play isn’t chasing the OEM’s annual bid. Call their Tier 1 and Tier 2 suppliers instead — Magna, Lear, Bosch, Yazaki, Continental. They’re the ones shipping daily and they’ll actually answer the phone.
Industrial Machinery & Heavy Equipment
Industries: engines, hydraulics, power systems, mining and agriculture equipment
Brands: Caterpillar, Komatsu, CNH Industrial, Cummins, AGCO, Volvo Construction
This freight is the heartbeat of heavy industry — massive, awkward, and mission-critical. Transmissions, castings, hydraulic systems, frames — all moving between Mexico, the U.S., and Canada.
These customers aren’t impressed by sales buzzwords. They want to know you can get the load across the border cleanly, safely, and on time. Documentation precision and bilingual coordination win you the business — not a half-cent on rate.
Electronics & Technology
Industries: consumer electronics, computing, semiconductors, communications
Brands: Apple, Samsung, LG, Dell, HP, Panasonic
You know what’s worse than a late truck? A late launch. Electronics brands live on razor-thin production schedules. Their supply chains are built around speed and visibility — every shipment feeds a DC, a plant, or a product drop.
If you can provide clean customs packets and real-time tracking, you’re not just a broker anymore — you’re part of their workflow.
Appliances & Consumer Hardware
Industries: household appliances, tools, home systems
Brands: Whirlpool, GE Appliances, Dyson, Electrolux, Stanley Black & Decker
These shipments look simple on paper — until you’re managing 45,000 pounds of stainless steel refrigerators and plastic components across three border crossings. The stakes are high, and so are the damage claims if you miss the details.
They remember who kept their freight moving through the chaos of seasonality and who didn’t. Reliability and communication are your entire brand here.
Food & Beverage Producers
Industries: fresh produce, packaged foods, protein, beverages
Brands: Dole, Chiquita, Tyson, Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, Nestlé, Conagra, General Mills
These are manufacturers too — they grow or process what they sell. The difference is perishability. You’re dealing with shelf life, temperature control, and tight DC windows.
When you prove you can run a reefer network that never misses a beat, you’re not just a carrier — you’re part of their food safety chain.
Aerospace & Defense
Industries: aircraft manufacturing, avionics, precision machining
Brands: Bombardier, Safran, Honeywell, Raytheon, Pratt & Whitney
If automotive is about speed, aerospace is about accuracy. One missing form, one incorrect serial number, and your truck isn’t getting through customs.
You won’t win with flash. You win with flawless execution and trust built over time.
Vertically Integrated Consumer Brands
Industries: outdoor, lifestyle, home, and direct-to-consumer products
Brands: Yeti, Weber, Traeger, Peloton, Hydro Flask, IKEA
These companies blur the line between manufacturing and retail. They design and own their products but often outsource final assembly.
They need the dependability of a manufacturer with the flexibility of a retailer. If you can speak both languages — precision and agility — they’ll listen.
Retailers & Distributors
Retailers and distributors don’t make anything.
They move finished products from vendors and manufacturers to stores, dealers, or customers.
Their supply chains are demand-driven — built around replenishment, seasonality, and promotions.
They care about availability, OTIF, and cost per case — not line-down prevention.
If you’re calling on one of these, you’re selling consistency, communication, and calm under pressure.
Big-Box & General Merchandise
Brands: Walmart, Target, Costco, Lowe’s, Home Depot, Sam’s Club
Big-box freight is volume at scale. Thousands of SKUs moving through distribution centers that never stop. Their world runs on compliance portals, appointment systems, and seasonal surges.
If you can hit appointment windows, communicate early, and handle overflow when it rains (it always rains), you’ll keep getting calls.
Specialty Retail & Private-Label Stores
Brands: Harbor Freight, Ace Hardware, Tractor Supply, AutoZone, O’Reilly, Napa
These retailers run like clockwork — until a promotion hits. Then everything breaks loose.
Show that you can pivot, find last-minute capacity, and keep stores stocked during their busiest weeks. When you make them look good internally, you’ll get the next round of business automatically.
Grocery & Food Distribution
Brands: Kroger, Albertsons, H-E-B, Sysco, US Foods, C&S Wholesale
The grocery world runs on tight delivery windows and zero tolerance for mistakes. You either make the appointment or you don’t.
If you can master scheduling, temperature control, and proactive updates, you’ll win in this space. It’s not glamorous freight — but it’s loyal.
E-Commerce & Direct-to-Consumer
Brands: Amazon, Wayfair, Chewy, HelloFresh, Blue Apron, Shopify Brands
The pace here is unmatched. Shipments change daily, routes shift hourly, and nobody cares about your excuses. They expect flexibility, real-time visibility, and consistent recovery.
Be the calm in their chaos, and you’ll never have to sell them twice.
Wholesale & Dealer Distribution
Brands: Grainger, Fastenal, Ferguson, Genuine Parts Co., HD Supply
These networks depend on repetition — same DCs, same dealers, same routes. They just want it to run smoothly. Communicate clearly, deliver reliably, and keep your promises. That’s it.
Where the Real Freight Lives
You’re never just selling to one company.
Every manufacturer depends on dozens of suppliers.
Every retailer depends on hundreds of vendors.
When you land one account, ask who they buy from and who they sell to.
Pick up from their suppliers. Deliver to their customers.
Each contact becomes another prospect.
That’s how you turn one logo into an entire vertical.
Final Thought
Every load you quote lives in one of two systems: production or replenishment.
Manufacturers make the stuff. Retailers move it.
When you understand which system your customer lives in, you’ll stop pitching generically and start selling intelligently.
You’ll stop cold-calling blindly.
You’ll start connecting dots.
And you’ll finally see where freight really comes from.
If you enjoyed this and want to get more deep dives like it, subscribe to CongratsOnAllTheProgress.com — where I write about freight, tech, nearshoring, and everything in between. Each issue breaks down what’s changing in logistics and what that means for people building and selling in it.