Transport Topics: Spot Market Remains Suppressed Amid Stubborn Capacity
The trucking spot market has remained in a down cycle for more than a year as the number of trucks and drivers diminished — albeit at a slower rate than the decline in overall freight demand.
Land Line Now: Podcast: The news about the spot market is not good
Load-to-truck ratios are approaching an all-time low. We’ll speak with Robert Rouse of DAT about similarities between now and how things looked during the pandemic.
The Wall Street Journal: Logistics Report: Number of the Day
Number of loads posted to DAT’s spot market truckload load board the week ending Feb. 24, down 8.6% from the week before and 59% behind the same week last year to the lowest level since April 2020, according to DAT Solutions.
Land Line: OOIDA Foundation releases January market update
Much remained the same in the OOIDA Foundation’s January market update. Rates are flat, capacity is loose, operating costs are high and volume/demand is soft, according to the report. Consequently, the overall outlook is still negative.
Shippers, know thyselves. That is the core message to shippers preparing to engage in the Request for Proposal (RFP) process with carriers. A shipper’s instinct can be to look out at the vast landscape of carriers without gazing inward first, but they cannot afford to skip the critical initial step of thoroughly understanding their own profile before negotiating a transportation contract with a carrier.
Overdrive: Ikea v. Convoy: Lawsuit reveals glimpse at contract rates, broker margins
Ikea's bombshell lawsuit against Convoy, the dead and now back again digital freight brokerage, revealed not only that many carriers remain unpaid by Convoy, but also how much Convoy charged Ikea to run certain lanes.
Transport Topics: The Changing Tides of Transportation Procurement
Status quo procurement strategies aren’t going to cut it anymore. Transportation procurement is changing rapidly, driven by market volatility, evolving consumer expectations, and supply chain disruptions.