LTL Freight News

There’s no doubt the ruse of free freight can be very attractive to buyers. Many companies insist on free freight being included in their purchasing agreements and negotiations and will also make large purchases from vendors to qualify for it. There is no such thing as free shipping. Freight is never free. Someone has to pay for it.  When sourcing products, having free freight included in the purchasing agreement may feel like a win, but you are paying for the freight cost somewhere else in the cost of the product. Free freight is often used as a psychological selling tool, with the actual freight cost simply factored into the price of the goods you ordered. Some vendors will use this to their advantage and solicit business with the lure of free freight on qualifying bulk orders knowing that companies will place larger than normal orders simply to qualify for it. The problem with placing orders big enough to qualify for free freight is that, in some cases, it requires a company to ...

It’s A Carrier’s Marketplace  The Freight-rate Climate Is The Best It’s Been In About 20 Years  Shippers Should Expect Rate Increases Up To 10%  Carriers Purging The Poorest Paying Routes In Favor Of More Lucrative Business  Higher Than 10% Rate Increases  Driver Shortage & Government Regulations Are #1 Concerns For Carriers  The Situation Is Likely To Deteriorate Further  More Government Safety Regulations Working Through The Federal Regulatory Pipeline LTL In The Middle Of The Best Market Conditions Since 2005  2013 Weighted Avg. OR Of Public LTL Carriers was 92.9 – The Best LTL OR Since 2007 Carrier, 3PL & Shipper COLLABORATION IS A MUST To Drive Efficiencies 3PLs Will Become An Extension Of The Ltl Carrier’s Sales Channels  Carriers Will Not Tolerate Bad 3PL Relationships  3PLs Must Bring Good, Profitable Business To Carriers To Be Partners  The Best 3PLs Will Get The Best Pricing  Barriers To Entry ...

The link to this article is a great summation of what's going on in the trucking industry. We predicted a capacity crunch, and driver shortage is now the driving factor causing carriers to be able to cherry pick good freight at higher yields. Shippers should be prepared for what's ahead. It is going to get worse before it gets better, for shippers that is. You can hear it from the source : http://www.joc.com/trucking-logistics/labor/shortage-drivers-may-spark-higher-peak-season-truck-rates_20140731.html