Truck brokers

Freight brokerage software provider Parade has set up direct integration with two companies that focus on digitally enabling small carriers, which gives brokers using Parade access to that capacity.

Margin transparency is taking root among early-stage freight brokers, with cross-border 3PL Forager saying Wednesday it will provide clear pricing and service fees on any quote provided on its platform.

The long run-up in spot market truckload rates and truck freight demand may be reaching its peak, but don’t expect a quick descent, speakers at the Transplace Shipper Symposium said Wednesday.

Shippers are modifying their approach to truckload contracting, using more short-term “mini-bids” than ever before and turning to technology to improve a process that often breaks down when market prices swing quickly.

Logistics executives do not expect spot truckload rates to soar much higher, but they do not think they will drop either, forcing shippers to collaborate more.

The freight broker Transfix is providing small carriers with free standalone operational technology to align their capacity availability with needs from the company’s shipper customers.

A private equity group has plunged $500 million into Uber Freight, signaling that longer-term investors believe the business model of digital freight matching will gain traction in the years ahead.

The new rate differential tracked by DAT chief scientist Chris Caplice is rising at a faster pace, a sign that shippers will see a greater increase in truckload contract rates.

Shippers moving to mini-bids as truck capacity tightens need more detailed and near-real-time data to match freight lanes and tractor-trailers.

Criticism of the truckload broker Convoy for using venture capital to expand its market share reached a fever pitch this week based on a new offering that helps shippers sidestep the annual bid process, a product incumbent brokers claim is not as innovative as Convoy suggests.

US shippers are returning to the ‘shipper of choice’ model as a peak season unlike any other looms ahead, trucking executives told the virtual CSCMP 2020 Edge conference this week.

A new service from C.H. Robinson could replace the annual truckload bidding process with a more dynamic approach to procuring trucks and increasing savings across networks of freight lanes.

Shippers using third-party vendors to help them manage auditing and paying their freight bills see a sizable advantage in process costs versus those that manage the function in-house, new research has found.

Convoy is providing shippers an avenue to avoid what it considers unnecessary procurement costs associated with negotiating annual truckload bids that aren’t generally honored by either the shipper or carrier.

By acquiring a Chicago-based logistics provider and freight broker from R.R. Donnelley, Canada’s TFI plans to better integrate and scale US operations in freight and e-commerce.

Uber Freight on Tuesday said it is providing large shippers with tools meant to complement their existing transportation management systems (TMSs), products that might signal an evolution from broker to software provider.

The flood of imports to Los Angeles and Long Beach this summer is squeezing truckload and LTL capacity on inland truck routes, more than doubling spot rates to Chicago, as intermodal capacity and e-commerce deadlines remain tight.

Shippers need quicker access to carrier, rate information as lanes, customers, and pricing shift under COVID-19, C.H. Robinson says.

Uber Freight and CH Robinson announced links with accounting and ad hoc project software providers, a sign they need to extend their range of services to reach pools of small shippers.

A tech-enabled cross-border truckload marketplace is giving shippers access to instantly bookable contract rates for up to a year as it seeks to build density with enterprise customers.

A Miami startup intends to create a software platform that levels the playing field for small truckload carriers by giving them a backbone system that also makes their interactions with brokers more consistent.

Freight broker Convoy has enabled small carriers to bid for long-term dedicated freight contracts, expanding the pool of carriers shippers can access to secure such capacity.

Microsoft continues to build on its position as a provider of web services to the logistics industry via an expanded relationship with C.H. Robinson, North America’s largest freight broker.

US Payroll Protection Program loans, once forgiven, will give small trucking outfits a chance to invest in much-needed technology, a tax and accounting advisory firm says.

Uber Freight has expanded its network of transportation management system integrations by piping its instantly available capacity into the Blue Yonder freight execution system.

A large chunk of the US trucking sector is riding on Payroll Protection Program loans, which likely averted a capacity crunch in June and may still be shielding shippers this fall.

Werner is the latest broker to use software from Trucker Tools to tap into the app provider’s reach into the North American small carrier and independent driver population.

Lower fuel prices are helping small trucking businesses survive the worst economy since the 1930s, according to Donald Broughton, which means shippers may find more truck capacity and less pricing pressure than expected this fall.

The acquisition of ScanData gives Transplace broader supply chain reach as the COVID-19 pandemic accelerates e-commerce demand.

The acquisition of FMIC from Chainalytics helps transform DAT Solutions into a broader freight intelligence business aimed at enabling shippers, brokers, and truckers to understand freight costs and pricing.

Partnerships between digital freight brokers and TMS providers continue to be formalized, which should benefit shippers looking for extra sources of capacity in their core transportation planning and execution systems.

Tightening truck capacity will collide with rising freight demand by 2021, flipping pricing power back to truckers next year, Coyote Logistics predicts, but consumer behavior is a wild card.

Brokerage solutions maker Trucker Tools will pull parking data into an app-based platform to aid truck drivers searching for available spaces.

A 9 percent boost in organic last-mile revenue signals more consumers are purchasing goods, including heavy goods, at home, a trend XPO’s CEO thinks could be permanent.

A survey by two US trucking organizations reveals a shift in capacity to shorter haul lanes as the COVID-19 pandemic rapidly changes trucking markets and the mix of freight.

The largest US logistics provider is prioritizing technology spending as the COVID-19 pandemic demonstrates why more automation and digitization is needed.

Freight visibility provider Overhaul, fresh off a $17.5 million funding round in March, is partnering with Schneider’s broker division.

Job losses, damage to small business shippers, and diminished expectations for a fast restart for truck freight push pandemic recovery into 2021.

XPO Logistics CEO Bradley S. Jacobs believes the US and global economies will recover in “fits and starts” in the second half of 2020, and supply chains will become more resilient.

Although some hope for a strong restart for trucking within months, others believe a long, staggered recovery is more likely, thanks to layoffs and small business bankruptcies.