Episodes

In this episode, Reliance Partners Chief Revenue Officer Thom Albrecht leads a discussion that provides an insightful preview of the Fifth Annual Trucking Matters Seminar Series that will be held in Nashville, July 22-23. Thom’s guests on the podcast are Brandon Richards, the Chief Sales Officer for Reliance, and Brandon Alexander, the Executive Vice President of Sales at Reliance. They will be discussing what conference attendees can expect when making the trip to Nashville in July. As you wil...

In this Safety Matters edition of the podcast, we close out our series exploring the Seven BASICS that are part of the FMCSA’s Compliance, Safety and Accountability Enforcement Program. Reliance Partners Safety Impact Team members Mark Barlar and Daniel Vega lead us through a series of Case Studies in which they have worked with motor carriers to successfully challenge BASIC violations through the DataQ system. They will also discuss how motor carriers have implemented internal processes to impr...

Through this Safety Matters edition of the podcast, we highlight Haz-Mat Compliance as we continue our series exploring the Seven BASICS that are a part of FMCSA’s Compliance, Safety and Accountability Enforcement Program. Mark Barlar and Daniel Vega from the Reliance Partners Safety Impact Team return to the podcast to serve as our subject-matter experts. As you will hear, Mark and Daniel will provide insights on what qualifies as a hazardous load and how to properly identify a haz-mat load. Th...

For this Borderless Coverage edition of Trucking Matters, you’ll meet Mitch Carlson, who is the CEO of Green Corridors International. Mitch will be taking us inside how Green Corridors is working to transform cross-border freight movement. As he shares on the podcast, Green Corridors is taking an approach with innovative, autonomous shuttle systems designed to address congestion, security and efficiency issues in one of the busiest trade ports for the United States. Your host for this edition o...

The countdown has begun to the 9th Annual Modernization of Cross-Border Trade Conference, which will take place on June 9th in Laredo, Texas. Initially developed by Borderless Coverage and hosted by Reliance Partners, the MCBT Conference is one of the most anticipated annual forums for cross-border collaboration, serving as a powerful platform for logistics professionals, customs brokers, technology innovators and capacity providers to come together and exchange actionable insight. For this epi...

The Driver Fitness BASIC will be in the spotlight during this Safety Matters edition of our series. Mark Barlar and Daniel Vega from the Reliance Partners Safety Impact Team return to the podcast to serve as our subject-matter experts as we continue our series on the Seven BASIC that are part of the FMCSA’s Compliance, Safety and Accountability Enforcement Program. During this edition of our series, Mark and Daniel will go over how to keep Driver Qualification files (DQ files) up to date as wel...

For this Safety Matters edition of the podcast, we will be focusing on the Controlled Substances and Alcohol BASIC as we continue our series exploring each of the Seven Basics that are part of the FMCSA’s Compliance, Safety and Accountability Enforcement Program. Mark Barlar and Daniel Vega from the Reliance Partners Safety Impact Team will serve as our subject-matter experts as we look at the critical aspects of rules related to controlled substances and alcohol regulations, including how these...

Our guest for this Borderless Coverage edition of the Trucking Matters Podcast Series is Kenneth Smith Ramos, who served as the Chief Negotiator of USMCA for Mexico in 2018, playing a key role in the trade agreement’s ratification. In addition to his leadership on USMCA, Kenneth is the former Head of NAFTA from Mexico in Washington D.C. He currently serves as a partner at AGON in Mexico City, which is a full-service antitrust and regulatory group that focuses on the most complex issues in Mexico...

In this Safety Matters episode of the series, Reliance Partners Safety Impact Team Members Mark Barlar and Daniel Vega return to the podcast to highlight a collection of Case Studies they have compiled related to the work that Reliance Partners has done on behalf of clients navigating the FMCSA’s Compliance, Safety and Accountability Enforcement Program. Thom Albrecht, the Chief Revenue Officer at Reliance Partners, served as the host for this discussion that focused on real-world examples that ...

Jerry Maldonado, who is the Chairman of the Board for the Laredo Motor Carrier Association, is our guest for this Borderless Coverage edition of the Trucking Matters Podcast Series. Jerry is also part of the Management Team at Warren Transport, where he is the Director of Laredo and Mexico Operations. Jerry has over 20 years of successful management and leadership experience within the transportation industry, including serving as part of the Executive Committee and a Board Member with the Texas...

For our first Borderless Coverage episode of 2026, we will be featuring the insights of Martin Rojas, a highly respected subject matter expert with more than 30 years of experience within the cross-border sector of the transportation industry. Martin has followed up nearly 20 years in leadership roles with the American Trucking Associations by serving for the past decade as the Senior Adviser for The Americas with the International Road Transport Union. Your host for this edition of the podcast...

Ernesto Gaytan, Jr., General Manager of Super Transport International (STI), is our featured guest on this Borderless Coverage edition of the podcast. Ernesto and STI have become respected fixtures in Laredo, Texas, and within the cross-border sector of transportation in and out of Mexico. Ernesto helped lead the effort to establish the Laredo Motor Carriers Association and he is a past President of the LMCA. Ernesto has also served a term as President of the Texas Trucking Association. Over th...

In this Safety Matters edition of the podcast, we will be exploring the Crash Indicators BASIC, and we will be covering practical strategies to reduce the frequency and severity of crashes. We will also discuss the best practices for what drivers should do immediately after an accident and the critical steps motor carriers must take to ensure proper response, documentation and follow-up. Mark Barlar and Daniel Vega from the Reliance Partners Safety Impact Team will be serving as subject matter e...

Carlos Sesma, a Senior Partner at the Sesma, Sesma and McNeese Law Firm, connects with Trucking Matters from Mexico City for this Borderless Coverage edition of the podcast. Carlos, who earned the reputation as the top corporate attorney in Mexico for the transportation and logistics sector, is also a partner and co-founder of the Mexico carrier vetting and rating platform, Confianza. As you will hear, Borderless Coverage founder and podcast host Mark Vickers, who is an Executive Vice President ...

Mark Barlar and Daniel Vega from the Reliance Partners Safety Impact Team serve as our guides for a look inside the Vehicle Maintenance BASIC. This Safety Matters episode of our series continues our exploration of the Seven Basics that are part of the FMCSA’s Compliance, Safety and Accountability Enforcement Program. In addition to being our subject-matter experts as we talk through the top violations related to Vehicle Maintenance, Mark and Daniel also shared recommendations to reduce out of se...

With the debut episode of our Trucking Matters Borderless Coverage Series, Reliance Partners welcomes Werner Enterprises Chairman and CEO Derek Leathers to discuss a host of topics related to the company’s cross-border operations while exploring the evolution of trade with Mexico since the days of NAFTA. Mark Vickers, an Executive Vice President and the Head of International Logistics at Reliance Partners, is your host of the Borderless Coverage Series. Mark’s conversation with Derek takes us ba...

In this Safety Matters edition of our podcast, Reliance Partners Safety Impact Team Members Mark Barlar and Daniel Vega take listeners through a comprehensive look at the Hours of Service regulations as we continue our series examining the Seven BASICS that are part of the FMCSA’s Compliance, Safety and Accountability Enforcement Program. Through their presentation, Mark and Daniel will offer insightful perspectives on the most common HOS violations encountered by law enforcement. They will also...

In this edition of the podcast, Trucking Matters continues our look into the Unsafe Driving BASIC that is part of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s Compliance, Safety and Accountability enforcement program. Reliance Partners Safety Impact Team members Mark Barlar and Daniel Vega discuss approaches that safety managers and fleet leadership can utilize in working with drivers in preventing violations related to the Unsafe Driving BASIC. The discussion includes DataQ Challenges and ...

With this episode, Trucking Matters from Reliance Partners begins our series exploring the Seven BASICs that are covered under the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s Compliance, Safety and Accountability enforcement program. BASIC is an acronym for Behavior Analysis and Safety Improvement Category. Part 1 of our series will feature the opening segment in a detailed overview of the Unsafe Driving BASIC. Thom Albrecht, the Chief Revenue Officer at Reliance Partners, will serve as your ...

Would your trucking company be prepared if the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration notified you that FMCSA would be conducting an audit of your operation? In this episode of the podcast, Mark Barlar and Daniel Vega from the Reliance Partners Safety Impact Team offer a collection of helpful insights on preparing for and surviving an audit by FMCSA. Reliance Partners Chief Revenue Officer Thom Albrecht serves as the host and moderator of a conversation that allows both Mark and Daniel to c...

The Eighth Annual Modernization of Cross Border Trade Conference, which is hosted by Reliance Partners, took place in mid-June and it offered a number of valuable insights on what’s happening with cross-border trade between the U.S. and Mexico. Mark Vickers, the Executive Vice President of International Operations for Reliance Partners, started the conference eight years ago and he has championed its growth and evolution through the years. For this episode, Trucking Matters host Thom Albrecht, ...

Reliance Partners Safety Impact Team Members Mark Barlar and Daniel Vega return to the podcast to continue the discussion on the guidance related to the decision by the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance to make English language proficiency an out-of-service violation. In this episode of the podcast, Mark and Daniel will be responding to questions submitted by the audience members who attended the Safety Matters Webinar that Reliance held not long after the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administr...

In this Safety Matters edition of the podcast, we are joined by two members of the Reliance Partners Safety Impact Team to discuss the recent decision by the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance to make English language proficiency an out-of-service violation. The guidance from CVSA follows the announcement that the Federal Motor Safety Carrier Administration is ramping up enforcement of English language proficiency requirements for CDL and non-CDL drivers after an executive order from President T...

In our debut episode for our 2025 season, Trucking Matters will be providing listeners with a preview of what you can expect when Reliance Partners hosts the eighth annual Modernization of Cross-Border Trade Conference in Laredo, Texas, on June 17th. Trucking Matters Podcast host Thom Albrecht, who is also the Chief Revenue Officer at Reliance Partners, welcomes Mark Vickers to the podcast. Mark is the Executive Vice President of International Operations at Reliance Partners. In providing a pre...