You’ve probably heard some version of the butterfly effect – the idea that a butterfly flapping its wings in a place like Texas can cause a tsunami somewhere as far away as Japan. The scientific evidence for that specific example is pretty slim, but it’s no stretch to say that the freight industry is full of butterfly effects.
Supply chains and freight markets are complicated ecosystems that rely on a multitude of interconnected pieces, and often changes in one area can have far-flung consequences. These ecosystems can become especially volatile in the face of disruption, which the COVID-19 pandemic brought into stark relief.
But now, for the first time ever, transportation professionals and analysts can access data that paints the full picture of the freight marketplace, with visibility into every dot that connects the entire supply chain.
Learn more about freight analytics products and services from DAT iQ.
DAT recently acquired the Freight Market Intelligence Consortium from Chainalytics, pairing our existing real-time spot market analytics and insights with FMIC’s world-class intelligence and rate modeling for the contract freight market.
With access to every side of the freight marketplace, we’re able to offer a 360-degree view of transportation like never before.
Providing that level of detailed visibility requires high-quality intelligence. And in order to provide actionable insights that you can trust, they need to be based on facts – not conjecture or conclusions based on incomplete data. Only then can we remove uncertainty that so often clouds the freight industry.
What does that mean for transportation professionals?
For one, you’ll be able to better serve your customers by knowing exactly what’s happening in the marketplace and why – where capacity is heading, truckload demand forecasts, where prices are trending, how margins are shifting. You’ll also be able to make the best business decisions as you anticipate and plan your next moves, with a unique perspective on how trends in one part of the freight industry have unexpected effects in another.
This massive infusion of new data and analytical horsepower bolsters the products already provided by DAT iQ. It expands our access to global market analytics on truckload, intermodal, LTL and other modes of transport, growing our freight rates database to $118 billion in actual transactions.
Combining DAT iQ and FMIC data science capabilities also means our models and benchmarking techniques can inform one another and grow, offering a full view of the entire ecosystem. We also bring together two expert teams for data privacy.
Our industry still faces many challenges, which makes this next generation of freight analytics tools all the more critical as we shine a brighter light on the path forward.
