Why Cheap Freight Costs More: Mike Pettrey on Trust & Expedited Trucking

On this episode of On Air with AirFreight.com, host Kevin Carpenter sits down with Mike Pettrey, CEO of C&M Transport out of Painesville, Ohio — one of AirFreight.com's most trusted carrier partners and one of the oldest expedite companies in the country, now in its 35th year. Mike shares how his father founded C&M around fair treatment of drivers and owner-operators, why straight trucks and sprinter vans became the backbone of the expedite industry, and how dedicated capacity mitigates cargo risk that traditional LTL can't. The conversation covers freight rate compression since 1991, the industry's price-driven race to the bottom, why regulatory crackdowns are (in their view) good for carriers who play it straight, and how technology — real-time tracking, proactive delay alerts — is raising the bar for customer transparency without replacing the human judgment calls that keep freight moving safely. It closes out with the On Air Gauntlet: Mike's top vacation spot, favorite Browns QB of all time, and what he wants C&M's legacy to be. Chapters 00:00 – Welcome & introducing Mike Pettrey, CEO of C&M Transport  01:11 – How C&M started: a family business built on a straight truck  02:45 – What straight trucks are and their role on the road  03:31 – Automotive lean manufacturing and the birth of expedite  04:45 – Dedicated trucks vs. multi-stop freight: mitigating cargo risk  06:05 – Dispatching at 12 years old: why Mike's dad started C&M  08:17 – Fair treatment of carriers and owner-operators  09:43 – Transparency with customers, taking care of drivers on the road  10:09 – Finding freight nationwide: the Cleveland market and beyond  10:57 – Freight rates then vs. now: testifying before Congress  12:43 – A price-driven industry and the race to the bottom  13:28 – Regulatory changes and cleaning up the industry  14:02 – Ethics as a "house of cards": why cutting corners catches up  15:28 – The fair trade food analogy: vetting carriers like sourcing  17:42 – Avoiding worst-case outcomes on time-critical freight  18:11 – The recent Supreme Court decision and industry accountability  18:34 – Held to a higher standard: fraud in transportation  20:47 – C&M's pricing philosophy: not cheapest, not priciest  21:13 – A customer's costly lesson in choosing price over quality  22:56 – Technology and transparency: live tracking and dash cam links  23:16 – Proactive delay alerts before problems happen  24:43 – From cork boards and payphones to real-time tech  25:26 – Why the human element isn't going anywhere  25:53 – Humans vs. AI agents on the phone  26:51 – The On Air Gauntlet: vacation spot, favorite Browns QB, legacy  28:41 – Closing thanks