BLP 364: Why This 31-Year-Old Says Fancy Trucks Are Killing Owner-Operators
Release Date: 05/11/2026
BLP 364: Why This 31-Year-Old Says Fancy Trucks Are Killing Owner-Operators
Bulkloads Podcast
Watch on YouTube: Craig Broerman left a corporate mechanical engineering career, sold the money meant for his grandparents' farm, and bought a belt trailer in 2019. Six years later, he and his cousin Alan Lennartz are running 7–10 trucks across the Midwest hauling DDGs, soybean meal, cottonseed, and industrial products — and they did it before either of them turned 32. In this episode, Jared sits down with Craig and Alan on location in Portland, Indiana to talk about the BulkLoads find that changed everything, the phone call in a North Carolina cornfield that made Craig get out of the...
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BLP 363: The $500K Lesson: Inside Blackwell Trucking's Pivot to Hopper Freight
Bulkloads Podcast
Watch it on YouTube: What does it take to run a four-generation family business through cotton, cattle, pipeline restoration, AND a 7-truck hopper fleet — all at the same time? This week we sat down with Bob Blackwell and his son-in-law Jared Reaves at Blackwell Trucking in Wayne, Oklahoma. Three generations of Blackwells have worked this land. Bob started chasing pipeline restoration jobs 25 years ago when one came across his field — and built Blackwell Trucking on the side just to keep his own equipment moving. Then the last four years took a swing at them. Pipeline work went...
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BLP 362: From a Coin Flip to 750 Trucks: Inside the 75-Year Wayne Transports Empire
Bulkloads Podcast
Check this episode out on our YouTube: https://youtu.be/hc33VvhAS_I In 1950, a teenager who'd dropped out of school to save the family farm bought one truck and started hauling gasoline. Today, Wayne Transports runs 750+ trucks, moves nearly 290,000 loads a year, and posts driver turnover rates a fraction of the industry average. In this episode, we sit down with the next generation of Wayne ownership to unpack the full story — the Korean War tragedy that almost ended the company before it started, the bank loan that gave it its name, the move from Milaca to Rosemount that unlocked...
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The Heavy Haul Operator Riding the AI Data Center Wave
Bulkloads Podcast
Watch episode on YouTube: He started with one truck at 18 years old — and went bankrupt within a year. Most people would have quit. Kendal Mast didn't. Today, KM Wood Products runs 60+ trucks, hauls some of the heaviest freight in the country, and has quietly become one of the biggest players in AI data center freight — with 65% of their entire fleet dedicated to it. But the road here wasn't straight. Kendal rebuilt this company from zero multiple times, survived COVID with his family living in the truck, fired his entire driver pool to save key contracts, and learned million-dollar...
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BLP 361: She Never Planned to Run It — Now She Leads 140 Trucks | Julie Andrich of Autumn Transport
Bulkloads Podcast
Watch the YouTube Video Here: Julie Andrich didn't grow up planning to run a trucking company. But when her father — a city kid who taught himself farming, failed his way into freight, and built Autumn Transport from a single truck in 1980 — passed away in 2015, Julie stepped into the seat. Now president of a 140-unit bulk carrier out of Woodbury, Minnesota, she shares the full story: where it started, how it grew, and what it means to carry on something bigger than yourself. In this episode, Julie and Jared cover the gritty origin story, the owner-operator model that fueled four...
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BLP 360: How One Truck Puts $50,000 in Your Pocket Every Year
Bulkloads Podcast
Check out the episode on YouTube: Eric Glidewell, owner of JP Transport, sits down to share the real story behind building a 45-truck cement hauling operation from scratch — with no trucking background and no blueprint to follow. In this episode, Eric breaks down: The "$50K per truck" formula he uses to measure profitability How he grew from 2 trucks in 2009 to 45 trucks across the Midwest Why reputation in cement hauling is everything (and what "on time" actually means) The role faith played in how he leads his drivers and runs his business How bonus depreciation became a key...
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BLP 359: The Most Valuable 30 Minutes for Running a Trucking Company
Bulkloads Podcast
Watch the video on our YouTube: 109,000 new trucking companies entered the market in 12 months. That’s 300 new competitors per day. So the real question isn’t “Is trucking competitive?” It’s: How do you win anyway? This is the BEST trucking advice we’ve captured over the past few years — condensed into one powerful 30-minute masterclass for owner-operators and fleet owners who want to stay profitable, stay booked, and build something that lasts. Inside this video, experienced operators break down: ✅ Why SAFETY must be the foundation of your company (or you’re built on...
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BLP 358: Do you actually know what the Department of Ag does?
Bulkloads Podcast
Missouri Director of Agriculture Chris Chinn joins Jared for a deep dive into the realities of modern farming, livestock operations, rural policy, and how government programs actually impact producers on the ground. Whether you're a farmer, livestock producer, trucker, ag student, grain hauler, or rural leader, this episode gives you a front-row seat to the conversations shaping agriculture today. Chris shares her personal story of growing up in Missouri ag, running a diversified family farm, and balancing life between Jefferson City and the home operation. She breaks down federal aid...
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BLP 357: How Iowa 80 Truck Stop Became a Haven for Drivers Across the Nation
Bulkloads Podcast
In this episode, Jared Flinn sits down with Ben Huston from the Iowa 80 Group — home of the World’s Largest Truck Stop — to talk about the incredible history behind Iowa 80, how the company supports America’s truck drivers, and what makes their locations in Walcott, IA, Joplin, MO, and Kenly, NC a home away from home for drivers across the country. Ben shares stories from his journey in the trucking world, the legacy of the Moon family who started it all, and what it takes to run a truck stop with 900 parking spaces, 24 showers, and nine restaurants — all designed with drivers in...
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BLP 356: The Company Fueling Rural America Since World War II
Bulkloads Podcast
The Company Powering Rural America | BulkLoads Podcast What does it take to keep America’s farmers, truckers, and rural communities moving? In this episode of the BulkLoads Podcast, Jared Flinn sits down with John Ihler, President & CEO of MFA Oil, to discuss how one of the nation’s largest farmer-owned cooperatives powers rural America through fuel, propane, lubricants, solar energy, convenience stores, and more. 👉 You’ll hear how MFA Oil: Serves 40,000+ farmer members with fuel, propane, and lubricants Runs a fleet of 1,000+ trucks, making it one of the largest propane...
info_outlineWatch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/n2-i0RKCoWs
Craig Broerman left a corporate mechanical engineering career, sold the money meant for his grandparents' farm, and bought a belt trailer in 2019. Six years later, he and his cousin Alan Lennartz are running 7–10 trucks across the Midwest hauling DDGs, soybean meal, cottonseed, and industrial products — and they did it before either of them turned 32.
In this episode, Jared sits down with Craig and Alan on location in Portland, Indiana to talk about the BulkLoads find that changed everything, the phone call in a North Carolina cornfield that made Craig get out of the truck for good, the mistakes they made buying "shiny" equipment, and the insurance and scaling realities nobody warns young carriers about.
If you're an owner-operator, small fleet, or thinking about getting into bulk trucking — this one's a roadmap.
⏱ TIMECODES
00:00 – On location in Portland, Indiana
00:43 – From mechanical engineer to belt trailer owner
02:25 – Finding BulkLoads and the first direct customer
03:25 – Retiring his wife from her corporate job
04:40 – Alan's path: asphalt, COVID, and "buy a truck"
06:00 – The conversation that split the businesses
06:30 – The cornfield phone call that changed everything
09:40 – How they funded the first truck (the farm gamble)
11:00 – Why posted loads = desperation (and opportunity)
13:30 – Reading the cottonseed market before it shifted
15:30 – Playing the long game on rates and relationships
17:15 – Why Craig thinks 5 years ahead, not 5 days
20:30 – What's actually moving in/out of Ohio–Indiana ag country
22:18 – Why they can't run hoppers in this region
24:40 – The real ROI of the BulkLoads Conference
27:30 – Trust, transparency, and family in business
28:00 – Biggest mistakes: overpriced trucks and hiring too soon
31:30 – How they decide when to scale (and when to wait)
36:50 – Spec'ing equipment: powertrains, trailers, and tonnage
39:00 – 48' vs 53' Conestoga — three months of research
42:30 – DDG market shifts and lane risk
44:00 – The insurance ceiling nobody talks about
47:20 – Advice for young people getting into trucking and logistics
51:30 – Why this part of the country looks the way it does
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