Shippers Need to Prepare for Rising Freight Rates

6 months ago

Freight expenses often represent 2 to 10 percent of operating expenses. For shippers seeking to maintain stability in their freight spend, they should begin preparing their next freight bid or freight RFP project. An RFP allows shippers to negotiate multi-year agreements with a team of dependable business partners. These agreements can be solidified with annual […]

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A Checklist for CEOs Seeking to Control Freight Costs in 2019

6 years ago

The subject of rising freight transportation costs has come up on the earnings calls and quarterly reports of almost every publicly traded manufacturer and retailer in 2018. This has been a very challenging year as many transportation expense budgets were shattered by a host of variables including a driver shortage, the ELD mandate and a […]

LTL Shippers Need Effective Strategies to Address Rate Increases

8 years ago

Some large LTL carriers have announced rates increases this fall. Old Dominion, XPO Logistics, YRC Freight and UPS Freight have all declared 4.9 percent GRI rate increases on non-contract LTL freight that took effect in September. In survey after survey, shippers have claimed that cross reductions are their number one priority. How can these two […]

Managing Accessorial Charges – Part 2

9 years ago

Once you gather the necessary data outlined in the previous blog (http://www.dantranscon.com/index.php/blog?view=entry&id=229 ), it is time to take action. Here is a set of steps to follow to save money on accessorial charges. Set up a cross-functional team As you will realize when you review your research notes, it will often take a number […]

Managing Accessorial Charges – Part 1

9 years ago

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote a blog about the new pricing processes that LTL (and small parcel) carriers are employing to improve the profitability of their operations. I noted that freight carriers are emulating some of the activities that have been undertaken by the airlines such as dynamic pricing (i.e. adjusting rates based […]

As Fuel Surcharges Decline, Shippers Should Not Be Complacent in Managing Freight Costs

10 years ago

Here are few statistics to consider. On June 27, 2014 a barrel of crude oil cost $107.26 U.S. On the same date, a gallon of diesel fuel cost $3.91 in the U.S. or $1.35 per liter in Canada. The cross-border (Canada/U.S.) fuel surcharge was 20.1 percent on LTL, 47 percent on truckload. Last week, the […]

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As Freight Rates Go Up, an RFP is still one of the Best Ways to Control Freight Costs

10 years ago

This year, all signs point to rising freight rates. With driver shortages across North America, driver wages are on the rise. On an almost daily basis, there are reports of trucking companies offering signing bonuses and pay for performance (productivity) packages to attract more drivers (at a higher cost) to their firms. Capacity shortages, government […]

What Can Shippers Do to Mitigate the Upcoming Freight Rate Increases?

11 years ago

Freight rate increases are coming this year. The economy is on the upswing. Truck capacity is tightening as driver shortages, government regulations, cost overruns from a very challenging winter and carrier financial prudence all push freight rates in one direction – – – higher What can shippers do to mitigate the impact? A lot. Here […]

Is your Freight Transportation Strategy in Alignment with your Business Strategy?

11 years ago

One of the most enjoyable aspects of our work as consultants is that my colleagues and I have an opportunity to visit companies in a variety of industries. We typically are engaged to help businesses that have issues with freight management. While some of our clients may be Best-in-Class when it comes to manufacturing or […]

QuoteMyTruckload.com and Freightopolis – will one of these companies become the Expedia of the Freight Industry?

12 years ago

Two weeks ago I wrote about two exciting young companies (PostBidShip and Buytruckload.com) that are applying Innovation and Technology to the automated freight brokerage/freight portal space (http://www.dantranscon.com/index.php/blog/entry/innovation-and-technology-come-to-the-freight-brokerage-industry). Subsequent to that blog, I was made aware of two more interesting companies that have entered this space, QuoteMyTruckload.com and Freightopolis. I contacted each of these companies to […]