Nailing down the best freight rates is so critical, yet so challenging. The volatility of the freight market, the lack of transparency in freight pricing, and the intricate negotiation processes between shippers, brokers, and carriers all add up to create a complex freight pricing environment for shippers. But finding the right truck freight rates is paramount to maintaining efficient operations and a healthy bottom line. That’s why Farelanes is introducing a three-part guide to helping shippers find the best freight rates. In this first part of the guide, we’ll take a look at the obstacles standing between shippers and the best freight shipping rates for their businesses. The Challenge of Finding the Right Freight Rate Freight shipping rates are full of complexities. The freight market can go up and down in the blink of an eye. Carrier capacity is unpredictable and can change dramatically due to a geopolitical event, a natural disaster, or even a sudden … [Read more...] about The Farelanes Guide #1: The Challenge of Finding the Best Freight Rates
Freight Pricing Made Simple: You Can’t Trust Your Pricing Without Trustworthy Data
The famed “Meet the Parents” movie involves a circle of trust, in which one of the main characters attempts to win over his father-in-law and make it inside the circle. But trust isn’t only a concept for Hollywood films. Real-life relationships – from personal to business – are built on trust and maintained by continuing that trust. For shippers, creating a relationship with their brokers and carriers requires data for freight pricing that all parties can trust. Good quality and trustworthy data are the cornerstone of effective decision-making in freight pricing. This kind of data enables shippers to navigate market complexities with confidence and precision. Accurate, timely, and reliable data empowers shippers to optimize pricing strategies and enhance competitiveness in the dynamic freight industry. Despite this critical need, shippers often struggle to access fair, clean, and reliable data. Market volatility, data inaccuracies, and opaque pricing methodologies present … [Read more...] about Freight Pricing Made Simple: You Can’t Trust Your Pricing Without Trustworthy Data
Freight Pricing at Your Fingertips: The Right Price Starts with the Right Solution
Fair, accurate, reliable freight pricing used to seem far out of reach and like a pipe dream for many shippers. That’s no longer the case today, with solutions available in the marketplace that put freight pricing at your fingertips. The key is finding the right solution, ultimately leading to the right freight price. For Today’s Shippers, Status-Quo Pricing Leaves a Lot to be Desired Shippers face myriad complexities and challenges in determining optimal freight rates. Market volatility, rapidly changing demand, and variable carrier capacity can cause freight rates to change in the blink of an eye. For example, fluctuating diesel prices can raise or lower freight trucking rates. On the capacity side, it’s cherry season in California, and shipping the fruit adds more than 20% of volume in the refrigerated trucking market — something shippers across several industries will need to take note of as they plan their freight shipments. Shippers not only have … [Read more...] about Freight Pricing at Your Fingertips: The Right Price Starts with the Right Solution
Finding the Best Freight Rates Shouldn’t Require a Crystal Ball: Three Strategies to Demystify the Truckload Rating Process
A new invention is out on the market: a supply chain crystal ball, which shippers can look into and see freight demand, capacity, and rates of the future … ah, if only! Seeking out the best freight rates is often easier said than done. Everything from market volatility to fluctuating demand to variable carrier capacity can make finding the best freight rate a daunting task. A crystal ball certainly seems like a solution to the problem. But psychic tools aren’t needed to make it easier to find the best freight shipping rates. There are plenty of ways to demystify the truckload rating process, with tools that navigate the ups, downs, and sideways of the trucking market. The Complexity of Truckload Rating Day to day, markets can fluctuate rapidly. One moment, freight capacity might be swiftly flowing and readily available. The next moment, a natural disaster hits, carriers redirect their capacity to relief efforts, and shippers are left with a market of tight supply and … [Read more...] about Finding the Best Freight Rates Shouldn’t Require a Crystal Ball: Three Strategies to Demystify the Truckload Rating Process
Real-Time Rating: Take the Guesswork out of Freight Pricing
If someone offered you the choice to make a decision either based on real-time, current data or based on information that’s two weeks old, it seems like a no brainer to pick the former. Yet in the world of freight pricing, shippers too often continue to use the latter. Many businesses use historical, static data that doesn’t account for rapid changes in the market, especially in an industry as dynamic as freight and logistics. Shippers that use traditional freight pricing are playing a guessing game and not optimizing their business for efficiency, accuracy, and profitability. The Problem with Traditional Freight Pricing Using traditional lane pricing methods comes with tons of limitations. Traditional freight pricing uses historical data rather than real-time insights, and manual processes instead of automation. The past doesn’t always reflect the present or the future, and using data from the past and manual methods can lead to inaccuracies and … [Read more...] about Real-Time Rating: Take the Guesswork out of Freight Pricing
How to Make Your Data Work Harder: Farelanes delivers REAL Pricing in Real-Time
Supply chain professionals, always on the hunt for the best freight rates, have enjoyed a shipper’s market for months — but the glory days won’t last forever. Trucking rates are slowly beginning to climb. In this recovering market, it’s more important than ever for shippers to find optimal shipping rates. However, finding the best rates can be challenging as shippers grapple with fluctuating demand, capacity constraints, and market dynamics. The solution? Let your data work for you, using real-time analytics to find the best freight rates. Survival of the Smartest Shippers Several indicators suggest the trucking market is on the road to recovery. ACT Research predicts shippers will bolster safety stock to combat disruptions surrounding the Red Sea and Suez Canal. Imports are rising, and demand for trucking to move those goods will likely follow. The Cass Freight Index shows rates rose slightly from February to March, and trucking … [Read more...] about How to Make Your Data Work Harder: Farelanes delivers REAL Pricing in Real-Time
How to Navigate Shippers Extending Freight Payment Terms (via Denim)
Leaders constantly balance two goals: building strong client relationships and keeping their business stable. This balance gets tested when customers like Fortune 100 companies ask for longer payment terms. The Fed's rate hikes this year have constricted financial liquidity for businesses. Many shippers rely on bank loans, so when the Fed rates increase, they grapple with higher bills, straining their budgets. To handle these money pressures, shippers are thinking differently. Some propose longer payment terms, from the usual 30-day cycle to 60 or even 90 days. This shift can help their bottom line, making their financial reports look better or allowing them to make better offers to their clients. For brokers, it's about tactful negotiation. They aim to keep clients happy and close. But they also need to watch their company's financial well-being. Striking the right balance is an essential skill. Read the entire article … [Read more...] about How to Navigate Shippers Extending Freight Payment Terms (via Denim)
Not your ‘70s Convoy any more…
Convoy was one of those ‘70s flicks capitalizing on the public’s newfound obsession with CB radios, and the romance appeal of long-distance trucking. But the trucking business is nothing like the movies. One company created to ‘disrupt’ the industry was Convoy, an outfit valued at over 3.8 billion dollars, with aspirations to remake freight as we know it. Didn’t work. They went bankrupt last week, leaving a trail of broken promises, unpaid carriers, and disillusioned brokers. Read this insightful article, which spells out how it all started, how it ended, and why it was doomed to failure: Convoy's collapse: Was the tech worth the hype? … [Read more...] about Not your ‘70s Convoy any more…
