Conducting a Freight Bid – Should We Do It Ourselves or Seek Outside Help?

5 months ago

As outlined in previous blogs, most companies conduct a freight bid to achieve certain objectives. These may include saving money on shipping costs, upgrading the quality of their carriers, and/or improving service. Success can be measured in terms of a reduction in freight expenses, higher on-time service, greater customer satisfaction, or other metrics. To achieve […]

Shippers Need to Prepare for Rising Freight Rates

5 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 […]

Mid Year Report on Freight Transportation

6 months ago

As we approach the mid-point in 2024, here are a few observations on the current state of the freight transportation industry in North America. The Economy The consumer and media focus on the inflationary pressures on costs has masked the positive performance of the economy. Advance estimates of U.S. retail and food services sales for […]

Freight Rates, Inflation, and the Economy

2 years ago

The White House and the media are touting the tentative agreement reached last night between the major U.S. rails and their unions to avert a strike. The agreement, if ratified by union members, would help avert a work stoppage that would have crippled supply chains and passenger trains and would have restricted the movement of […]

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Shippers, will your Freight Bid Secure the Capacity you need to Move your Shipments?

4 years ago

Freight volumes are at record levels on many lanes this fall. Load rejections, freight embargoes and rate increases are now becoming the norm. Even driver shortages, which started to dwindle in the early stages of the pandemic, are once again a factor in securing capacity to move freight. Motor carriers have leverage as to the […]

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2018 – The Freight Transportation Year in Review

6 years ago

This has been a remarkable year for the Surface Freight Transportation industry in North America. Here are some of the top stories for the past 12 months. 1. The Booming Economy The booming economy was the single biggest story in the Freight Transportation industry in 2018. After years of steady but modest growth following the […]

The Truckload Freight Industry in North America in 2018 – “Maybe the Best Freight Market we have ever seen”

6 years ago

The truckload sector of the freight industry is different from the LTL and small parcel segments in two significant ways. Unlike the other two segments, anyone who can buy or finance the purchase of a tractor-trailer unit and can drive the rig, can enter the industry. Freed from the requirement to build cross-dock facilities […]

Conducting Freight Bids in 2018 – It’s a New Ballgame

7 years ago

The New Year has started off with a bang. With the stock market at record levels, unemployment at historic lows in Canada and the United States and a new U.S. tax bill that promises to put extra dollars in the hands of American purchasers, it is not surprising that consumer confidence is at a high. […]

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Shipper-Carrier Collaboration is a Challenge in this Era of Tight Capacity

7 years ago

On October 11, my company co-hosted the 2017 Surface Transportation Summit with my partners at Newcom Business Media. I am very pleased to report that we had another packed house for what has become the premier educational and networking event in Freight Transportation in Canada. The day was again kicked off by one of […]

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Shippers need to become more “Carrier Friendly” to Minimize Freight Rate Increases

7 years ago

As the long, slow recovery from the Great Recession continues, shippers and carriers have become used to modest economic growth. Demand for freight services has been steady but not robust. The muted demand for freight services has not put undo pressure on truck capacity; rate increases have been limited in recent years. This may be […]