In a US trucking market facing a capacity crunch unlike anything seen in decades, with little relief expected in the near term, digital platforms that efficiently and reliably connect brokers and truckers and simplify the process of locating and securing available trucks will win the day.
If a shipper cannot find a truck, the cost is irrelevant. Product that doesn’t move isn’t available to consumers in stores, leaving goods unsold and revenue unrealized.
Consumers flush with cash from being home-bound during the COVID-19 pandemic are buying. And they are doing more of it online. That increases pressure across the supply chain, especially in the trucking industry, which faces a shortage of 80,000 drivers, according to the American Trucking Associations.
As such, finding truckers and securing capacity is king. And the key to that objective is intuitive, mobile-based technology tools that reliably predict when and where trucks are available, not just today, but several days ahead. They use real-time location and status data drawn from truckers’ smartphones and ELDs. They combine intelligence from brokers on available freight, and then optimally — and quickly — match loads to available trucks. They eliminate wasted “where’s your truck” phone calls and stale data. And they help truckers take on only those loads which take one click on their smartphone to book, provide quality revenue and profit, and keep their downtime to a minimum.
Digital freight-matching technologies are at the core of these tools. They are multi-client and multi-user, sharing common processes among many that automate manual work, save time and toil for trucker and broker, and provide unprecedented visibility into shipments out for delivery, as well as when and where that truck is available for the next load.
The real payback from these technologies is connecting truckers, simplifying and automating processes, and providing a reliable, continuous, real-time window into capacity. Helping to keep truckers on the road by making it easier and more efficient to operate is one step toward overcoming the current capacity crunch.