What Happens to Freight Jobs as Margins Shrink?

Andrew Leto, Founder of Emerge, GlobalTranz, and Felix AI, explains why bringing AI to carriers could be one of the biggest opportunities in trucking and logistics, and why digitizing the carrier side of freight could reshape how the entire market operates. Andrew also breaks down how AI agents could help carriers access more loads, negotiate better rates, and improve yield, why so much of trucking still runs manually, and why carriers have been slower than brokers to adopt new technology. He also shares why freight brokerage margins could fall from 12–13% to 8–9%, what that means for hiring and headcount, and how AI could change the structure of freight brokerage without necessarily triggering mass layoffs. The conversation also covers why carrier data remains a major competitive advantage for large brokers, whether AI could create more freight brokerages instead of fewer, the risks brokers take on for shippers, and why Andrew believes the next major wave of freight technology will be built around carriers. This week's episode is sponsored by Epay Manager, Bitfreighter, FreightFlex, and TrackFlo. Interested in sponsoring our podcast? Send us an email at pbj@freightcaviar.com CHAPTERS: 0:00 Intro 0:43 Andrew Leto Returns 3:45 Why AI Needs to Reach Carriers 6:22 Building a 10X Dispatcher 9:03 How Carriers Could Improve Yield 10–20% 15:11 Why Dispatchers Fear AI 20:15 Why Carriers Resist Technology 24:53 Who Should Pay for Carrier Tech? 28:09 Why Brokers Still Call Carriers 30:21 Digitizing the Carrier Market 33:26 Why Some Carriers Want Opacity 40:40 Will AI Create More Freight Brokers? 45:35 Broker Liability and Risk 48:04 Why Brokerage Margins Could Fall to 8–9% 49:08 AI, Hiring, and Headcount 50:16 Will AI Mean Fewer Freight Jobs? 55:07 Why This Is the Best Time to Build 59:30 The Biggest Opportunity in Logistics 1:00:22 Felix AI and What Comes Next