The U.S Federal Reserve cut interest rates in September by a half point for the first time in four years and is expected to lower interest rates at their meetings on Nov. 6-7. This interest rate cut comes as inflation is down to 2.4% in the United States. These levels of inflation and interest rates […]
How will the U.S. election impact Shippers and Carriers?
10 Freight Bid Tips
2 months ago
The Labor Day weekend signals kids going back to school, the start of the NFL season, and the preparation of budgets for the coming year. For manufacturers and distributors, this process incorporates the construction of the annual freight transportation budget. For many shippers, this involves the execution of an annual freight bid. To help companies […]
Some shippers believe that once all the bids are in, the routing guide has been prepared, and the carriers have been notified of their awards, the freight bid exercise has been completed. This explains why many manufacturers that conduct these projects are disappointed with the results they achieve. Success does not take place automatically. There […]
After the final round of freight bids have been submitted and analyzed, it is time to prepare a routing guide. This important document contains the preferred carriers by mode, by lane, and their approved rates. The contents of a routing guide can be entered into a shipper’s TMS system to guide the carrier selection process. […]
After analyzing the completed carrier questionnaires, and the bid rates, it is time to eliminate those carriers that don’t meet expectations in terms of service, coverage, rates, and other key variables. It is also the time to identify a short list of potential bid award winners to discuss their proposals in more detail. This blog […]
Analyzing the Results of a Freight Bid – Part 1
4 months ago
There comes a time during each freight bid when the full package (the shipping characteristics documents, fuel surcharge formulas, accessorial charge template, pricing instructions, carrier questionnaire, key milestone dates and data entry tools) is sent to a designated list of asset-based carriers and non-asset-based transportation providers. At this stage, it is valuable to arrange a […]
Securing competitive rates from carriers is a fundamental component of each freight bid. To construct accurate bids, carriers require good quality shipping data. Inaccurate or superficial data can invalidate the entire bid process. Poor quality data also reflects badly on the credibility of the manufacturer or distributor. What Data Does a Shipper Need to Prepare? […]
This is one of the most frequently asked questions we receive from our shipper clients. Here is our perspective. The Forces that Shape our Views on this Subject For 20 years, during my early years in the transportation industry, I led asset-based carriers and non-asset-based freight broker organizations. My colleagues and I were on the […]
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 […]
This has clearly been the year of the large M & A deal in the freight industry with TFII’s purchase of UPS’ LTL business (https://www.dantranscon.com/index.php/blog/entry/the-first-big-transportation-deal-of-the-year-tfii-s-purchase-of-ups-freight ) followed by Knight Swift’s acquisition of LTL operator AAA Cooper Transportation (https://www.dantranscon.com/index.php/blog/entry/why-are-large-ltl-trucking-companies-such-attractive-m-a-targets ). The Uber Freight purchase of Transplace for $2.25 billion is different from the other two acquisitions. […]