While navigating shifting market conditions can be stressful, shippers that focus their attention on increasing their own operational efficiency and cost-effectiveness can thrive during this time.

The widespread adoption of digital solutions has created opportunities for scammers across the supply chain. 

Strong partnerships will be necessary to ensure carriers can keep moving — and keep getting paid — into 2024, allowing for a more measured approach for owner-operators and fleets to manage their cash flow.

Every time data has to be copied or rekeyed, the process slows down the supply chain and increases the risk of introducing errors.

On a day-to-day basis, friction is characterized by manual processes, inefficient workflows and high volumes of human involvement.

All types of cargo fraud are on the rise. Brokers, specifically, should be especially aware of two growing types of fraud: double brokering and cyberattacks.

Shippers and haulers are often positioned as disparate powers being forced to work together to achieve a common goal. Players throughout the logistics industry have accepted this perceived disconnect between shippers and haulers for far too long.

The ongoing recession has left both companies and individuals in financial turmoil, pushing existing bad actors to increase their fraudulent activities and prompting new fraudsters to enter the arena.

The transportation sector is actively looking for ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This has created increased demand for cleaner, more innovative fuel sources, like renewable diesel.

The California Highway Patrol has issued a final rule requiring ELD use by intrastate drivers on and after Jan. 1, 2024.

Many fleet owners have become laser focused on moving away from diesel fuel, which accounts for the majority of greenhouse gas emissions in the sector. Heavy-duty electric trucks are poised to be one of the primary solutions to this issue.

Next year’s transportation environment is expected to see gains in three key areas: service, sustainability and technology. Rail has made strides in all three, making it a viable, affordable option for shippers.

In light of the growing prevalence of cybersecurity breaches, the Biden administration issued a mandate requiring all federal agencies to conduct multifactor authentication as part of the government’s zero trust security strategy.

FlockDirect uses real-time data to pool freight for multiple customers going in the same direction. The solution effectively dismantles the physical hub-and-spoke constraints that have defined the supply chain for more than a century.

TRAUXIT is on a mission to modernize the trucking industry by introducing a technological offering that creates a win-win situation for carriers and shippers alike.

Truck Sail has set out to help trucking companies do just that by installing aerodynamic, drag-reducing devices on their trucks. This not only saves fuel costs, but also extends the working life of trucks and trailers through energy demand.

By providing door-to-door visibility capabilities — and paving the way for stronger connections between industry players — project44 can help shippers and logistics service providers more from reactive to proactive.

It is crucial for shippers to build flexibility into their transportation plans. This ongoing volatile environment has created an opportunity — and a necessity — for companies to take another look at how they move freight.

Jeremy Reymer, founder of DriverReach, is joined by industry friend and ally Yvonne Glover, director of operations at Tyler Technologies, an organization that builds solutions aimed at helping the public sector operate more efficiently.

While indications of a freight market shift are heartening for carriers, their strongest impacts will not be seen until well after the conclusion of the next bid season.

North American manufacturing and retailers have been focused on moving their operations out of China — and closer to home — over the past few years.

Electric vehicle manufacturing efforts have been marching south. In fact, EV manufacturing investments in the Southeast alone reached $54.6 billion in 2022 –– a 128% year-over-year increase, according to the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy.

New technologies are hitting the market daily, and these tools are capable of improving everything from driver selection to litigation outcomes.

The logistics industry is collaborative by nature, and project44 regularly embraces partnerships to create and improve data-driven solutions for their customers. Over the past few years, Google Cloud has become one of the company’s most impactful partners.

The nature of lithium-ion batteries — and the gasses they produce while burning — make it difficult for even the most prepared fire departments to extinguish these fires.

India’s population — and its designation as the most populous country in the world — is one of its biggest advantages. The sheer number of people in India contribute to both the nation’s plentiful workforce and its huge consumer market.

While phone calls can open up lines of communication, their effectiveness at creating well-rounded, nuanced connections is limited. This is especially true when conversations revolve solely around the details of doing business.

In this episode of Taking the Hire Road, Jeremy Reymer, founder of DriverReach, is joined by a great industry friend and fellow compliance nerd, Stacey Gibson. Gibson is personnel operations manager at TLC Cos.

In addition to financial benefits, rail offers shippers a simple, well-established way to ramp up their focus on sustainability and reduce their greenhouse gas emissions.

The logistics industry continues to be a strong area of focus for government leaders hoping to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and slow the progression of transportation-related climate change. As a result, legislators are driving emission-cutting regulations forward at breakneck speeds. 

Often, the final straw for drivers is simply feeling unheard, unseen or unappreciated by their carriers. The right rewards program can help solve that problem.

In light of today’s soft economic conditions and high inflation rates, companies should have plans in place for providing standout service without blowing their own budgets going into peak season.

While volatile markets are inherently difficult to navigate, they also provide an opportunity for enhanced relationship building between shippers and their transportation partners.

In this episode of Taking the Hire Road, Jeremy Reymer, founder of DriverReach, is joined by an industry friend and leader in recruiting, Jason Crowell, director of recruitment at Custom Commodities Transport.

Recruiting costs for companies with a frequent hiring need often exceed thousands of dollars per driver. In an economic environment that has left most carriers strapped for cash, this financial burden can be insurmountable.

Soft economic conditions have prompted many companies to swap out previously devised growth strategies for more conservative “stay afloat” plans. This is not the case for XPO.

Brokers know that cash flow is one of the most critical aspects of their companies’ success — or failure. Despite this, the primary focus of popular industry technologies lies in freight delivery, not necessarily extending to proof of delivery or payment collection.

By employing the China Plus One strategy, companies can hedge against the headwinds they are facing in China while still benefiting from the country’s wealth of resources and well-established supply chain processes.

During this episode of Taking The Hire Road, guest host Leah Shaver, president and CEO of the National Transportation Institute, chats with Kameel Gaines, founder, president and CEO of Rig on Wheels, a third-party driver recruiting firm.

The Yellow bankruptcy represents one of the biggest industry shakeups of the past two decades. Remaining less-than-truckload carriers and shippers alike continue to feel the impacts of the company’s shutdown.

When the ELD mandate was put into effect, fleets across the nation became vulnerable to cybersecurity threats.

At the end of the day, logistics is a relationship-driven industry. Solving widespread issues – like detention time – requires collaboration between all shippers and carriers.

Despite the growing importance of interoperability in supply chains, there are more technology companies marketing closed platforms than ever before.

LiveQuote allows brokers to send their shippers automated quotes tailored to each company’s expectations, capacity and requirements.

The market is still depressed, but recent layoffs and closures have fueled enough uncertainty to make some players wonder about changing market tides.

Issues in the yard can threaten tight delivery windows just as much as issues on the road. Every inefficiency in the supply chain creates a domino effect, but so does every improvement.

Tai has been working on email improvements utilizing AI and machine learning for over three years now. . Most recently, the company introduced a new email feature – helping brokers write emails.

Shippers are exploring new technologies to mitigate rising costs and hit sustainability goals, but to maximize results they need to have a rock-solid foundation of data and a streamlined dimensioning process.

Traveling all 41 miles of the SH 130 toll road will cost drivers about $32. The value proposition lies primarily in saved time and predictability, a commodity that invariably aligns with money in the transportation world.

For freight agents attempting to navigate today’s volatile market, partnering with the right company can mean the difference between success and failure.

The fleet management ecosystem has undergone a serious technological transformation over the past several years, leading to more data being collected than ever before.

“Waterfall tracking” means that a visibility provider, like Trucker Tools, automatically assigns the best available tracking method to each individual load based on information provided when the track was created and what the company already knows about the carrier.

Modern tour planning tools — like HERE Tour Planning API — make next-generation route visibility and optimization possible.

Jeremy Reymer, CEO and founder of DriverReach, is joined on this episode of Taking The Hire Road by a great friend and innovative leader, Justin Clarke. Clarke is the founder and CEO of F|Staff, an on-demand truck driver staffing company.

The team at Tenstreet prides themselves on being visionaries and problem solvers, always working to increase the company’s offerings while solving client pain points.

Companies that are able to make data-driven decisions gain a competitive edge over their peers in any market.

NTI works to provide carriers with actionable data and benchmarking studies, enabling them to make informed decisions about their own compensation packages.

When brokers remember their role as communicators, they are able to build stronger relationships with both their shipper customers and their carrier partners.

Cold chain failures lead to the same profit losses and headaches as other supply chain mishaps, but on a much greater scale.

The effects of dangerous weather conditions on drivers can range from minimal to detrimental, and not only when they’re driving.

PGT is well known for its innovative approach to all things flatbed. The company applies this same attitude to driver hiring and training.

CDL job platform Lanefinder pioneers new hiring model to aid trucking companies amid freight recession

Low-volume contract lanes are often overlooked due to their size, but if mismanaged, these small volumes can have a large impact on a shipper’s bottom line.

Canada and Mexico are seeing tremendous growth as a result of nearshoring efforts. This has generated significant interest in cross-border capabilities.

Partnering with Relay for digital fuel payments — and utilizing its integration through Amous — has completely eliminated fuel theft for PURE, saving the company an average of $10,000-$15,000 per month.

These new API offers from p44 represent the next step in supply chain connectivity, paving the way to a more transparent and collaborative future.

People remain invaluable in solving the unanticipated problems that arise in the course of everyday operations.

By making integrations accessible and affordable, Bitfreighter enables brokers to enter into the once-dreaded “EDI conversation” with shippers on the front end, using connectivity as a selling point.

Daylight recently opened the first LEED-certified trucking facility in Texas, proving its continued commitment to both sustainability and the people of the Lone Star State.

AI is helping the logistics industry solve a massive coordination problem to establish transportation reliability and save shippers, carriers, and brokers a serious amount of time and money.

Criminals looking to steal high-value cargo are attracted to the vulnerabilities associated with international border crossings.

The marketplace is at its most fragile when rates plummet and virtually every carrier is scouting out opportunities to earn more. Unfortunately, many of the “too good to be true” rates carriers come across in a precarious market are just that: not true.

Common misconceptions around data quality and connectivity stand in the way of maximizing value from visibility solutions and improving overall supply chain performance.

The best shipping partners are those who collaborate to cut costs without service degradation.

Gartner’s Magic Quadrant stands out as one of the clearest – and most trusted – ways to evaluate the most popular real-time visibility options.

As the popularity of online shopping increases, so do consumer expectations around shipment visibility and on-time delivery. This can lead to challenges for many retailers, especially when relying on generic carrier tracking solutions.

The more volatile and opaque market conditions become, the more opportunities scammers have to take advantage of unsuspecting companies. This is especially true when it comes to double brokering. 

Roadrunner has reduced transit times five times over the last 21 months, according to Roadrunner Vice President of Longhaul Operations Shari Leon.

In the fast-paced world of freight transportation, a carrier’s success is determined by its ability to deliver goods damage-free and on-time. But it all starts and ends with the people behind the scenes who make it all happen.

The recent explosion of freight technologies has benefited companies of all shapes and sizes, but these solutions have had an outsized effect on small and mid-sized operations. 

Generative AI is capable of overhauling the day-to-day realities of the supply chain industry by automating human-intensive processes and creating a pathway for fast-paced innovation.

Reward and incentive programs are often thought of as financial expenditures. When executed well, however, these programs can garner serious savings thanks to improved driver behavior, allowing carriers to free up cash without making sacrifices.

While every sector has seen its fair share of upgrades, challenging and shifting priorities, the ocean environment has proven especially rife for change.

At its core, Bitfreighter is an integration enablement platform. The company’s driving principle is to make integrations affordable and accessible by stepping away from the transactional pricing model and offering unlimited everything.

Current market conditions – combined with the climbing expenses of operating and maintaining a truck – have created a difficult situation for the small companies that keep America moving.

Transportation infrastructure across the U.S. is woefully underprepared to support manufacturers, retailers and logistics companies in navigating the new consumer landscape.

Most sectors, especially retail, are experiencing weakened demand and falling volumes. This is not the case for the automotive industry.

Most of the time, March brings some reprieve from the post-holiday demand slump. This year, consumers appear to be less apt to resume their normal spending habits.

Echo Global Logistics has held true to the same goal since its inception almost 20 years ago: Make transportation management simpler.

FLS Transport Services offers a free KPI scorecard to shippers.

Companies across the supply chain have been inundated with new technologies and solutions over the past several years. As a result, many leaders are underutilizing their recently adopted tools, leaving money and efficiencies on the table.

In-transit visibility options have skyrocketed over the past several years, making it easier than ever to track a shipment’s en route movements. The same cannot be said, however, for terminal visibility.

In-transit visibility options have skyrocketed over the past several years, making it easier than ever to track a shipment’s en route movements. The same cannot be said, however, for terminal visibility.

Last year’s peak retail season stands apart from previous years in that there wasn’t much of a “peak” at all.

Shippers and carriers alike have been forced to deal with the financial fallout of a global pandemic, war, rising fuel costs and the looming threat of an economic recession.

What can be done to alleviate emissions and decarbonize transportation in the ports?

Ongoing education — from short training to complete degree programs — is one of the best ways to keep employees from feeling stagnant. Companies that offer access to those opportunities will have an edge when recruiting and retaining today’s future-minded workers.

To address the ongoing climate crisis and slow global warming, governments, corporations and organizations across the globe have set their sights on a greener future.

The world’s first allogeneic T-cell therapy — a type of universal immunotherapy treatment that relies on donor blood — was approved in Europe earlier this month. This is a game changer for medicine. It is also a game changer for the logistics industry.

Tenstreet’s Job Store allows clients to post their openings across major job boards, partners, and social media websites from one central platform, seriously cutting down on the amount of time companies must spend fine-tuning, managing and checking up on listings.