Peter Katai: Behind the Scenes of 90s Freight Revolution

In this week’s episode of The FreightCaviar Podcast, we sit down with Peter Katai, Executive Vice President Of Sales at BM2 Freight Services, Inc., and former American Backhaulers Account Executive. He shares insights into his early days in the industry, his experience working at the company in the 1990s, and what it was like working alongside industry legends Jeff Silver and Paul Loeb.

Early Days in the Industry

Peter’s story begins in 1996, when he was recruited straight out of college to begin his training at American Backhaulers, a launching pad for many of the industry's top brokerages. At the time, the company was gaining momentum, and technology, as we know it, was just begging to emerge. This is how Peter recalls the early days of his career there.

“There were great people to be around. It was just a little bit of a free-for-all, but it was controlled chaos. People worked hard and knew their stuff. They were trained really, really well. Jeff Silver put a lot of focus on the training piece of it and I think that's what made us so good.”

Influences

He credits both, Jeff Silver and Paul Loeb as influential figures in his career, with Paul’s approach, in particular, shaping the company.

“He was in the office every single day, in a flannel shirt, driving his old beat-up Range Rover. And he was in the office on Saturday too. He wasn't the kind of owner or the kind of leader that, if he wasn't there working, he's not going to tell you to be there and he wasn't going to be there himself. A lot of it was leading by example for him, too.”

Booking Load’s in the 1990’s

When comparing the industry today and thirty years ago, booking loads looked very different in the 1990s. There was no internet, and everything was done over the phone.

“We were adding our loads manually, unless we had EDI, at the time. And it had been around forever, but there were no APIs, none of this was going on. Everything was tracked and traced by phone unless the carriers had satellite, but we were on the phones all the time.”

The introduction of the internet revolutionized the industry forever. At the time, one of the most innovative advancement were visual maps.

Technological Advancements

“You had Southern California, a hundred trucks out of there, and three trucks posted. You had to quote low because if I could get the load for a buck a mile we, knew we were going to be able to sell it for 87 cents.”

At the time, American Backhaulers hired tech professionals to help build their own program.

“They had built something that was called Express, which was created on a Microsoft Access platform. It was able to repeat loads and we were able to do all kinds of things and put it on a board and work all across a network on the internet.”

2000: Acquisition by C.H. Robinson

The new millennium not only brought along new advancements in technology but also a new chapter for American Backhaulers, leading them to what is now regarded as one of the most infamous acquisitions in the industry. In 2000, the company was sold to C.H. Robinson.

A New Millenium and Generation

Over the past 25 years, it’s not just technology that has evolved. Peter shared his thoughts on the freight scene, discussing whether or not young people should pursue a career in the industry straight out of school, and the essential qualities they need to find success today.

“Do I still think that there's an opportunity here for young people coming out of school? 100%. But I think you've got to get into the right company. You've got to get into the right training program. And you’ve got to be around good people. I was lucky to have good mentors. I think if you don't have that supporting cast or you don't have that support around you, I think it'll be tough to be successful.”

Peter's path serves as a reminder that hard work and embracing technological advancements is the way to find success not only in the industry but also also in your very own career.

Listen to the entire interview on Apple Podcasts, or Spotify, or watch it on our YouTube Channel.