From Acquisition to Expansion: MyFreightWorld Triples West Palm Beach Workforce
A 2024 acquisition gave the Kansas-based logistics company a foothold in South Florida. Two years later, MyFreightWorld (MFW) is nearly doubling its local office footprint and tripling its workforce in the City of West Palm Beach.
What began as an acquisition of a local freight brokerage is quickly becoming a larger South Florida operation for MyFreightWorld. The third-party logistics company is expanding its West Palm Beach presence, with plans to add 41 jobs and grow its local workforce from 20 to 61 employees over the next few years. The new positions, primarily account executive and account management roles, are expected to offer an average income of approximately $94,000.
Along with the hiring push, MyFreightWorld is increasing its physical footprint in Palm Beach County. The company will relocate from its approximately 4,100-square-foot office at 400 Clematis St. to a 7,296-square-foot space at 2090 Palm Beach Lakes Blvd., with a planned move-in date of Nov. 1.
The expansion marks another step in MyFreightWorld's growing commitment to South Florida — a market the company entered only two years ago.
From Acquisition to Expansion
Founded in 1999 and headquartered in Overland Park, Kansas, MyFreightWorld provides freight brokerage and managed transportation services to manufacturers, distributors and retailers.
The company's West Palm Beach story began in May 2024, when MyFreightWorld acquired Franklin National, a freight brokerage based on Clematis Street.
Rather than simply absorbing Franklin National's customers into its existing operations elsewhere, MyFreightWorld maintained the West Palm Beach location. That decision ultimately established a Florida foothold that is now becoming a larger piece of the company's growth strategy.
Today, the West Palm Beach operation helps manage approximately 25,000 shipments annually. The company's leadership points to the strength of the local workforce as one of the reasons South Florida has become increasingly important to its growth strategy.
“We’ve been in the West Palm Beach market for nearly two and a half years now. Due to the quality of the workforce, it’s become a key component to our ongoing growth plans at MyFreightWorld. We look forward to growing our presence here indefinitely,” said Mike Chalfant, president of MyFreightWorld.
That commitment suggests the current expansion may be only one stage of the company's longer-term plans for the region.
Technology Behind the Movement of Freight
While logistics is built around the physical movement of goods, the industry has increasingly become a technology business as companies look for better ways to manage complex transportation networks.
MyFreightWorld operates as a third-party logistics provider, or 3PL, connecting shippers with transportation providers while offering services spanning less-than-truckload, truckload, intermodal, parcel and managed transportation. Technology provides customers with greater visibility into that process, helping businesses manage shipments, carriers and transportation data across the lifecycle of a shipment.
That intersection between technology and logistics is becoming increasingly important as manufacturers, retailers and distributors seek greater visibility and efficiency across their supply chains.
According to the MyFreightWorld website, the company has worked with Port TMS for more than 20 years to automate manual processes and improve back-office efficiency, allowing its team to focus on the logistical challenges that arise each day. The platform connects directly with more than 30 less-than-truckload (LTL) carriers, along with dozens of third-party data and technology sources, helping MyFreightWorld identify and deliver transportation solutions across multiple shipping modes.
The company's technology capabilities extend beyond freight matching. Its online platform provides customers with multiple shipping options for a given route, while reporting and analytics tools allow businesses to examine historical data and supply-chain trends. MyFreightWorld's transportation management system can also integrate with customers' enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems to streamline the flow of data, while automated parcel auditing helps identify whether customers are receiving the shipping services they paid for.
Together, those capabilities reflect the increasingly technology-driven nature of the logistics industry, where data, automation and system integration play a growing role in how companies manage the movement of goods.
Growing Palm Beach County's Logistics Workforce
The Business Development Board of the Palm Beaches assisted MyFreightWorld with the expansion, including coordinating expedited permitting with the City of West Palm Beach and connecting the company with CareerSource Palm Beach County.
The expansion also brings jobs paying above the average for the county's logistics sector. According to the BDB, Palm Beach County is home to approximately 600 distribution and logistics companies employing more than 6,200 people, with an average annual salary of roughly $87,640.
MyFreightWorld's planned positions carry an average income of approximately $94,000. CareerSource has already begun helping place candidates into open positions at the company.
“Forty-one families will earn a good living here because of this decision, and that is what economic development is really about. MyFreightWorld could have grown anywhere,” said Kelly Smallridge, President and CEO of the Business Development Board of the Palm Beaches.
They chose to stay in West Palm Beach because of the people they were able to hire here, which tells you something about the talent in this county. Those paychecks will show up in our restaurants, our neighborhoods, and our schools long after the announcement.”
A Bigger Bet on West Palm Beach
For MyFreightWorld, the expansion represents significant growth in a relatively short period. Within roughly two years of acquiring Franklin National, the company is increasing its West Palm Beach office footprint by approximately 77% while planning to more than triple the workforce it currently employs in the city.
The expansion also comes as West Palm Beach continues working to attract companies and jobs across industries including technology, finance, engineering and logistics.
“West Palm Beach is building an economy that creates opportunity today and for generations to come. MyFreightWorld’s decision to expand here and create 41 new jobs reflects the confidence companies have in our city, our workforce, and our future,” said West Palm Beach Mayor Keith A. James. “As we continue attracting businesses in logistics, technology, finance, and engineering, we are strengthening our economy, expanding career opportunities, and reinforcing West Palm Beach’s position as one of the nation’s most dynamic places to do business.”
For MyFreightWorld, the move suggests its 2024 acquisition wasn't simply about entering the Florida market. It may have been the beginning of a much larger bet on South Florida.
MyFreightWorld is expanding its West Palm Beach operations, adding 41 jobs and nearly doubling its office footprint as the logistics company deepens its investment in South Florida.