Truck brokers

Insurance technology provider Loadsure plans to use an $11 million funding round to expand in the US freight market and serve forwarders managing international shipments.

A provider of technology to help brokers understand appropriate spot pricing has nabbed funding from an array of notable investors, including Tiger Global and Cambridge Capital.

Freight brokerage technology vendor Parade has landed a venture capital round to build out its tools to help truckload intermediaries automate the sourcing and management of capacity.

The acquisition of cross-border specialist Forager Group will help multi-modal logistics provider Arrive offer shippers more visibility, connections, and capacity.

Loadsmart is the latest digital intermediary to use SoftBank venture funding to surpass the $1 billion valuation barrier after announcing a $200 million round Tuesday.

Logistics providers are largely embracing a buy-and-build approach to serve their shipper and carrier ecosystems, realizing that internal development resources aren’t usually enough to cater for all their software needs.

Convoy’s recent foray into developing technology for use by other brokers hints at a future where freight procurement is centered around platforms where companies complement and compete with one another.

Redwood CEO Mark Yeager said the company’s acquisition by a new private equity firm gives the Chicago-based 3PL ammunition to compete in a market that has seen “dramatic consolidation” in 2021.

Venture capital firms have boosted the coffers of two startups aiming to empower the domestic and cross-border trucking industry in Mexico as investment into logistics technology providers continues.

The Biden administration’s COVID-19 vaccination and testing mandate for large employers will affect truck capacity and pricing, but questions about the extent of its impact remain.

A survey of independent truckers and small trucking firms by Truckstop.com and Bloomberg Intelligence found them optimistic about the potential for higher contract and spot rates next year.

Trucking companies are seeking an exemption to the COVID-19 vaccine mandate being implemented by the US government for large employers, which they say would further disrupt already tight US trucking capacity.

C.H. Robinson Worldwide is linking its less-than-truckload carrier network to the retail platform offered by SPS Commerce to help shippers get retail goods onto shelves and avoid holiday stockouts.

Choptank expands Hub Group’s refrigerated brokerage business as US shippers demand greater access to transportation capacity across modes and sectors.

project44 is moving beyond freight visibility into booking through a new product that uses carrier location data to identify when truckload capacity is soon to be available for freight brokers to book.

Vendorflow, a new platform to harmonize communications between logistics providers and the carriers they use, has secured funding from a range of venture capital investors with previous logistics expertise.

The third-party logistics market is being reshaped in a crucible of ongoing supply chain disruption and technology, Transplace CEO Frank McGuigan told the JOC Inland Distribution webcast.

The backlog of freight in Southern California is forcing more shippers to the truckload spot market as they search for any available capacity to speed goods inland.

Recent merger and acquisition activity, such as the ArcBest-Molo deal, proves many investors believe opportunity lies in third-party logistics providers.

A Chicago-based trucking platform focused on cross-border freight has launched a contract board for small carriers to find repetitive, complementary loads from large shippers.

The $235 million acquisition of MoLo Solutions will double ArcBest’s available capacity and reflects an industrywide drive to access capacity across modes and networks.

Speakers at the Coyote Logistics Digital Summit said some truckload capacity is creeping back into a very tight market, but not to expect major changes in rates, especially for shippers on the “import side.”

Although national spot rate averages are flat, significant increases in dry-van truckload volumes from US ports are tightening pricing pressure in long-haul lanes as importers rush goods further inland.

Jam-packed West Coast warehouses are pushing more freight inland earlier, raising spot prices and expedited trucking costs in lanes out of the Los Angeles region faster than expected.

Transfix’s announcement that it is going public will serve as a comparison against incumbent brokers and a reference point for other digital brokers and technology providers with public aspirations.

As shippers increasingly turn to – or are forced to – the spot market for truck capacity, automation will identify opportunities to lower costs, according to C.H. Robinson Worldwide.

The $1.3 billion acquisition of Echo Global Logistics by a private equity company will fuel an automation drive at the third-party logistics provider as shippers dealing with disruption demand more sophisticated technology.

Rather than adding terminals, XPO says it is deploying technology to better utilize existing space in its trailers and speed trucks, effectively expanding the capacity it can offer customers.

Shippers will see spot market truck rates rise in lanes across the US as Hurricane Ida’s powerful punch adds to growing supply chain disruption.

Instead of waiting for autonomous trucks, shippers starving for capacity should automate processes starting with freight pickup and delivery to save drivers time, says MIT FreightLab’s co-director.

Johnsonville Transport & Logistics, an arm of Wisconsin-based sausage giant Johnsonville, is looking to collaborate with its retail customers and other food shippers and carriers to solve truck capacity, delivery challenges.

Forget the fall, the peak US truck shipping season is under way now, trucking analysts say, with spot truckload rates elevated and contract rates still climbing.

Leaf Logistics has carved out a niche by enabling shippers to tie up forward truckload contracts, but is now aiming to help them move more volume away from static contract rates.

Tight intermodal rail capacity and a massive wave of US imports are encouraging transloading to trucks and boosting truckload spot rates from Southern California to inland distribution points.

The acquisition of third-party logistics provider Transplace will transform Uber Freight, providing greater access to shippers, as it builds a “fully-scaled” logistics platform.

Truckload rates should begin to flatten as freight volumes and networks “max out,” but shippers shouldn’t expect pricing to slip very far, Michigan State University’s Jason Miller tells JOC.com.

Truckload rates should begin to flatten as freight volumes and networks “max out,” but shippers shouldn’t expect pricing to slip very far, Michigan State University’s Jason Miller tells JOC.com.

Digital broker Uber Freight is expanding its truckload platform to encompass LTL, as strapped US shippers turn to LTL carriers and 3PLs such as BlueGrace for capacity.

A lack of truck drivers and equipment, not a cooler economy, is behind a recent drop in for-hire trucking tonnage and spot market volume, as demand overshoots supply chain capacity.

A software provider that offers visibility and freight matching tools to brokers has been acquired by a private equity firm in a move designed to grow its attractiveness to midsized brokers and small carrier fleets.