Steve Talamo arrived in Tampa, FL not knowing what to expect. He, alongside his business partner Clint Abernathy, opened Cleve’s Logistics in January 2022 after spending years as a “cog in the corporate wheel”. As a brand new drayage carrier, based in Charleston, SC, Cleve’s relied heavily on freight brokers to find loads to haul.
By July, however, the freight market was in turmoil. Spot rates had collapsed, freight broker / motor carrier relationships were in the toilet, and the economy seemed to be on the brink of disaster.
In October of 2023, after biting and clawing for loads, Steve heard about the Broker Carrier Summit in Tampa, FL. To him, the possibility of making meaningful connections with honest brokers is what made the Summit atractive. Steve places a high value on trust. It is central to how Cleve’s does business and, for Steve, is the key building block to building successful partnerships.
At the Tampa Broker Carrier Summit, Steve met 2 broker partners and hit it off right away. After a few conversations they had agreed to do business together whenever possible.
It is now, July of 2024 and Steve runs almost exclusively with the brokers he met at the Summit! When we asked him what he likes about working with them, Steve said “They have the same desire I do… “They are good hearted people who are running good hearted companies.”
Steve will be bringing his team to the upcoming Ft. Worth Summit this October.
