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 executives expect rates to keep climbing.
“From a trucker standpoint, rates have to go up,” J.B. Hunt’s Brad Hicks, EVP of people and president of highway services, said in January, according to Trucking Dive.
While rising rates will help freight firms recover margins and profitability, the scenario presents increased volatility for shippers negotiating freight rates.
Demand for freight services could fluctuate rapidly, depending on consumer spending and retail inventories. Shippers will face the challenge of navigating sudden ups and downs in demand while simultaneously determining the best freight rates.
The other side of the equation is supply. The trucking market’s recovery could lead to constrained capacity and a limited supply of available carriers. In fact, ACT noted an “exodus of owner-operator capacity.” Squeezed supply would further hinder shippers’ ability to secure capacity at a consistent rate, adding to volatile pricing.
Then there are the factors outside supply and demand that impact shippers’ ability to secure the best freight rates. Market dynamics include everything from changing fuel prices to regulatory factors to geopolitical events.
What is the “Best” Freight Rate?
Freight rates can fluctuate widely, dramatically affecting shippers’ bottom lines. The smartest shippers leverage vetted payment data to secure the best freight rates and maintain profitability.
While the best rate is different for every shipper, it comes down to the concept of “the” rate instead of “a rate.” Instead of doom-scrolling a load board, a single rate backed by real-time data is the way to go.
Leveraging Vetted, Trusted Data Analytics for the Best Freight Rates
Load boards can feel daunting, with an abundance of information and huge variations in pricing, or no pricing at all. To navigate the complex world of freight pricing, Farelanes provides real-time, vetted freight rate data. This empowers shippers to analyze pricing trends, demand patterns, and operational metrics to secure competitive rates in ever-changing market conditions.
Farelanes’ approach is three-fold:
1. Real-Time Data Sourcing
Real-time data is the best way for shippers to get an accurate picture of the market. That’s why Farelanes doesn’t guess on something as critical as pricing. We use actual invoices to create transparent data. Farelanes gathers, hygienes, analyzes, and anonymizes lane data to develop precise and real-time freight pricing. This empowers shippers to make informed decisions and adapt their strategies in response to the changing market.
2. Data Validation
Data forms the foundation of any great service – but only if that master data is accurate and error-free. Farelanes meticulously validates all the lane data we collect. The rigorous checks and verifications ensure our clients have access to the most reliable and trustworthy data. Our commitment to data validation enhances decision-making by providing shippers with trustworthy information to make critical freight decisions.
3. Client Empowerment
The more shippers know about vetted payment data, the better equipped they are to navigate this complex industry. Clients who use Farelanes’ services gain access to real-time lane rates and market trends. This gives shippers the means to optimize strategies, secure competitive rates, and adapt to market fluctuations, ensuring efficiency and profitability.
Let the Data Work For You, Harder and Smarter
As the freight market recovers, the smartest shippers will use real-time data to navigate changing conditions and secure the best freight rates.
Farelanes offers an innovative suite of products designed to revolutionize lane pricing. We have a different idea. We stand out by gathering, analyzing, and anonymizing lane data sourced from banks and factoring companies, and hygiene this data to provide a valuable solution for industry players seeking accurate and timely lane pricing.
But we don’t stop there. More than just offering transparent pricing is needed. We offer real, transparent pricing in real-time, not after the fact.
A lot of other companies claim to offer transparent pricing. We actually do it.
Farelanes offers a variety of lane pricing data to meet your specific needs:
- Silver: Unlimited line haul rates for city fair, up to three favorite lanes, and up to 27 trailer types. Farelanes Silver gives you the information you need
- when you need it.
- Gold: When you need more, upgrade to Farelanes Gold…everything silver offers, plus export level II detail, lead times, fuel surcharges, and much more.
- Bulk Data Publishing: If you already run your own backend data system, our Bulk Data Publishing allows you to plug our feeds directly into your system, giving you unlimited favorite lanes, charts and graphs, miles, export data, and much more, via a flexible API that can adapt to whatever you’re running now.
Get in touch today to discuss which service is right for you and how, together, we can remove price obfuscation from the freight industry.
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