Players in the FreightTech space have continued to thrive despite challenging market conditions. Second-generation FreightTech startup Emerge led the pack in growth and ingenuity throughout 2021.

With 2021’s elevated rates and strained capacity, many shippers are holding out hope for significant rebalancing in the new year. They may need to wait a little longer, however, as experts suggest current market conditions could last well into 2022.

The stress of the pandemic made it crystal clear that supermarket supply chains will need to be streamlined and optimized to continue to meet strong consumer demand, especially during unpredictable and volatile times.

New customs formalities will require companies moving goods between the U.K. and the EU to quickly become familiar with new systems and technologies to keep their shipments flowing.

Many LTL carriers have lowered caps from 16 linear feet to 12 linear feet, either denying freight that exceeds those limits or instituting punitive pricing measures that make moving it unaffordable.

Locomation earned high marks on a third-party environmental impact report conducted by Boundless Impact Research and Analytics last month.

After a couple of oddball years, shippers and carriers alike are anxious to see how the market rebalances — or doesn’t — after the new year.

Full customs formalities will be required on goods moving into the U.K. from the EU after the new year. If you’re not prepared, expect congestion, delays and learning curves.

Relying on a single data source to predict pricing is risky in the best of times. Right now, brokers and shippers are already facing high — and highly variable — rates. A lack of true insight in the mix only makes the situation more chaotic.

The COVID-19 response, labor shortages and strained capacity will continue into the New Year, but there is hope. Jim Monkmeyer, President of Transportation & LLP, DHL Supply Chain, shares some advice on how to retain talent, where to invest and how to stay positive during this unprecedented time.

While decentralized trails seem like a win-win-win, one of the biggest concerns surrounding this model is the safety and integrity of the drug when it is shipped to the patient’s home. This direct-to-patient model relies on a robust logistics strategy to support product viability and security.

All cell and gene therapies are composed of living cells with limited life spans, making it crucial that they are transported on time and in pristine condition.

Digital RFPs allow shippers to award bids faster and perform far less manual labor, bolstering their bottom lines and allowing them to repeat the RFP process more often.

We are expecting seasonal slowdowns and a lower sense of shipper urgency following the holidays to allow easing rate pressures, however, capacity constraints are expected to remain in place.

Efficiency is the key to keeping costs low and customer satisfaction high. This becomes more and more relevant as consumer expectations shift and strengthen in light of the coronavirus pandemic.

Ultimately, utilizing digital tools to manage spot transactions drives down both transportation and labor costs.

In an industry reeling from early retirements and halted driving school programs, an effective strategy for recruiting and retaining drivers is more important than ever.

While automation offers the quickest path to increased efficiency, many companies are held down by slow-to-adapt legacy operations or siloed solutions.

While building out custom solutions is an important part of many brokerages’ road maps, some tools — especially those that require significant maintenance and regular updates — are better outsourced for maximum efficiency.

It is well known that desperation breeds innovation, and many across the logistics industry have certainly found themselves desperate for capacity this year.

Difficult application processes — including long forms and cluttered websites — tend to dissuade drivers from applying at all. In a field with more open positions than people to fill them, carriers cannot afford to lose a driver’s attention over an archaic application form.

With demand outpacing supply all year, the entirety of 2021 has mirrored peak season conditions. Despite these challenges ahead of the holiday season, there are low-cost solutions and long-term investments shippers can apply to improve operations.

When people think about security breaches, they often think about hackers in dark hoodies hiding behind computer screens. While some attacks do come from malicious outside parties, logistics companies should also be aware of threats coming from inside their own buildings.

Thanks to persistent industry headwinds, the debate surrounding how to pay drivers – by the mile or by the hour – is heating up, and Congress is taking notice.

Given how difficult it is to source capacity in today’s market – as well as the growing importance of visibility throughout the supply chain – it is not surprising to see more visibility and predictive freight matching tools entering the scene.

When shippers are using several cobbled-together solutions with hit-or-miss integrations, they miss out on opportunities to optimize their business practices and workflows.

Many of the conversations surrounding peak season headwinds center around shippers, but carriers are also faced with challenges during this time.

Sourcing capacity will likely prove difficult through at least the first quarter of 2022 as supply and demand struggle to strike a balance during the peak season.

New car inventories are down significantly from 2019 due to manufacturing slowdowns and parts shortages. Meanwhile, demand continues to surge, with multiple used car pricing indices showing prices up about 27% year-over-year.

With pharmaceutical spending reaching new heights, a single shipment can be worth millions of dollars, leading to monumental financial losses — as well as serious threats to human lives — in the event of a transportation or distribution error.

During a year characterized by historically tight capacity, shippers should enter peak season prepared for even harsher conditions.

Flock Freight’s fierce dedication to greening up the supply chain helps it stand out from its peers and attract a wealth of talent from several different backgrounds.

It is clear that shippers need to pinpoint proactive solutions to their peak season woes if they hope to safeguard their bottom lines and maintain positive relationships with their customers in the upcoming months.

There is plenty of opportunity for innovative companies to solve for industry headwinds, a prospect that excites both new investors and existing stakeholders across the industry.

Experts expect demand to continue to outpace supply through at least the first quarter of 2022.

Freight is attracting record levels of investment right now, and Emerge’s dedication to making the industry more flexible and efficient through digitization has drawn attention.

When the market shifts, flexibility is the key to acting fast and capitalizing on new opportunities. Despite this, many processes in the industry can be quite rigid.

Pent-up demand is making its way to the surface in 2021; this year has seen an explosion in M&A activity due to the large amount of money available from strategics, private equity and venture capitalists.

Tenstreet partnered with FreightWaves to better understand why drivers leave carriers and what they look for in new roles. Almost 4,000 drivers responded to a survey published by the pair earlier this month, revealing valuable insights about driver turnover and what drivers prioritize when applying for new roles.

Companies across the industry have tried various ways to attract and retain drivers, offering everything from sign-on bonuses to tuition reimbursement. Despite these incentives, it can be difficult to secure those drivers in an industry that is constantly competing with itself.

Companies spend more than 10,000 man hours rating invoices every year. Dynamic rating solutions can change that.

As visibility solutions have become more accessible, they have started to move from “perk” to “necessity.” This transition is expected to continue, getting another boost when the freight market cools down and regains equilibrium.

A perfect storm of factors has led to a historically strained market in the wake of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Shippers looking forward to market equilibrium should expect to continue waiting well into early 2022.

Insurance accounts for a large portion of fixed costs for trucking companies. There is one thing, however, that can help carriers take control of snowballing rates while still protecting insurance companies: transparency.

When people think about “environmentally conscious trucking,” they tend to think about electric vehicles and other environmentally conscious trucking operations. While these cutting edge technologies can play a role in sustainability, they often come with high price tags, long waitlists and significant barriers to entry.

Most often, hesitation surrounding autonomous vehicles centers on cost and safety concerns. Locomation set out to address these pain points with a phased approach.

The increased efficiency shippers find when using digital RFP tools will allow them to both build out their carrier networks and increase the frequency of their RFPs, giving them the power to respond to market shifts earlier.

Visibility software can all but eliminate annoying check calls, help carriers access better freight and keep trucks loaded.

Most compromised shipments result in lost time and money. Some result in lost lives.

Drivers who complete this short, seven-question survey can enter their email address for a chance to win a $70 Visa gift card.

Companies in the industry have come to expect better visibility from their partners. Just as importantly, end consumers have started expecting real-time visibility on online orders.

Hiring for virtually all roles in the logistics space is fiercely competitive. While all eyes are on the infamous driver shortage, recruiting and retaining top-notch brokerage employees is no easy task either.

Parts shortages are beginning to let up, pointing to a looming surge in vehicle production. Still, the market is expected to remain strained for the foreseeable future.

Sustainability has garnered a reputation as cutting edge and costly. There are ways to embrace environmentalism without breaking the bank. In fact, becoming more sustainable can actually drive profits higher.

A return to typical consumer spending drives conventional freight market conditions but the process of returning to normal has been anything but conventional.

The key to strong relationships can be augmented by finding companies that are willing to share in the inherent risks that come with moving inbound and outbound freight. Relationships and good risk management strategy do not exist to absolve one party of responsibility, shifting blame onto the other.

It is impossible to predict exactly when an incident will occur on the road. It is possible, however, to have a predictable system for processing safety issues and handling corrective training, driving down the odds of the same types of issues continuing unchecked.

Historically, the cultural fit between a brokerage and technology partner has been glossed over in partnership discussions. As these relationships become more collaborative and dynamic, however, the importance of culture is becoming more pronounced.

Warehouse space is more expensive than ever. In an environment where everyone is scrambling to claim their share of this finite resource, maybe the best strategy is not to use warehouse space at all.

Companies will demand a full, scalable suite of services from their partners over the next few years, leading to widespread consolidation and the emergence of a handful of clear leaders with considerable market share.

The main purpose of these agreements is preparation. Companies can revisit and revise an SLA that they find no longer serves them. If trouble comes when there is no SLA in place, however, resolving conflict can become difficult.

The instability of a global pandemic made it clear that up-to-date technology is required to survive, not just thrive.

As the push for a more sustainable planet continues to grow stronger, companies across the supply chain will be expected to have a clear plan for cleaning up their operations.

Companies want transparency from their partners, and end consumers want to know exactly when their packages are going to arrive.

Carriers of all shapes and sizes embraced technology with fervency in the face of COVID-19. In turn, technology providers have placed renewed emphasis on convenience and efficiency.

Picking up the phone before partnering up can help identify ill-suited broker-shipper relationships and avoid costly mistakes.

Every company aims for maximum profitability. For less-than-truckload carriers, that has meant lowering linear-foot caps from 16 linear feet to 12 linear feet and turning away freight that exceeds those caps.

Seeking collaboration over individualism is vital. In a world — and an industry — that grows more connected by the minute, it is impossible to do anything in a vacuum.

In an attempt to be a “shipper of choice” companies generally focus on creating carrier-friendly spaces and policies. Shippers hoping to set themselves apart should shift their focus toward innovating from within first.

Keeping out-of-date or inadequate files is a costly mistake, leading to avoidable fines and unnecessary hurdles.

Historically, digital platforms and transportation management systems (TMS) have largely existed in their own, individual spaces. Now, platform integrations are taking center stage.

During market shifts, it can be difficult for shippers to decide which modes, providers and contract/rate types will serve their business best.

The coronavirus pandemic inspired retirement-age drivers to leave the industry en masse while also shutting down driving schools for months on end, exacerbating the existing shortage.

For many companies, sourcing talent and growing their IT teams to meet new demands is both time consuming and cost prohibitive.

ARCs — paired with freight optimization services — can lead to operating margin improvements as high as 30% and utilization increases of up to 130% for carriers.

Companies that resist technological innovation or refuse to audit their current systems at this point may be risking more than just favorable rates; they may be risking the viability of their business.

How brokers and logistics providers choose to navigate the current capacity crunch will affect both their own chances of success and their relationships with their carrier partners for years to come.

Companies relying on older cellular networks to run their remote monitoring and telematics applications will soon start to experience performance issues and reliability drops ahead of widespread network shutdowns.

New Legend announced plans Monday to switch all of the company’s local running lanes to an entirely all-electric fleet by 2023.

Prior to the implementation of AI and machine learning solutions, shipment visibility was dismal, and about one in three time-critical shipments arrived late.

There may not be an end in sight for the driver shortage, but holistic supply chain solutions are well-positioned to help shippers and carriers alike weather the storm.

Driver surveys examining turnover rates have consistently shown that drivers value three things: pay, time and respect.

In a business model in which each company keeps its information to itself, data becomes siloed and consumers ultimately pay the price.

Companies need to think outside the box in order to meet consumer demand despite crowded ports and constrained capacity. Mobile warehousing and storage offers an affordable solution.

Shippers who have a deep understanding of their data, with access to comprehensive models, are the ones most likely to win in today’s shipping environment.

Most innovative solutions are inspired by seemingly insurmountable problems. That is exactly how Evotrux was born

Scientists and government leaders are pushing for a more sustainable supply chain. Consumers are paying attention.

Schneider, a premier provider of trucking, intermodal and logistics services, has expanded its digital marketplace – Schneider FreightPower® – to shippers of all sizes.

With trucking demand expected to surge in lockstep with e-commerce growth, autonomous vehicles offer an innovative solution for an industry with an already strained workforce.

Once regarded as stubbornly resistant to change, transportation and logistics is fast becoming a high-tech industry as entire supply chains reshape themselves around the demands of 21st century consumers.

The rate of technological advancement makes it nearly impossible to rely on in-house developers for every new feature. How do you choose the right third-party partner?

Changes in customer demand and rising expectations are helping force the transportation industry to evolve in order to meet the growth of this market.

In an environment as hands-on as trucking, bridging the gap between the digital and physical worlds can prove challenging.

The only certain thing about the market is that it changes. Regardless of the state of the market, however, there are certainties and uncertainties that must be acknowledged.

Sometimes the transportation industry can feel a little impersonal. A people-first mindset can help combat that.

Vaccine distribution is an inherently complex process. The process is further complicated by this specific vaccine’s short shelf life.

Competitive rates will convince a carrier to pick up a load, but the right combination of relationship and convenience will keep them coming back to the same broker over and over.

Driver turnover is consistently ranked as one of the biggest – and most buzzworthy – problems facing carriers. Research suggests that the solution may be threefold: more home time, higher wages and better treatment.

Industry expectations surrounding information access and transparency have grown. Qualified IT professionals are required to meet these new demands.

Consumers do not want their new exercise equipment delivered to their door. They want it unboxed, assembled and ready to use inside their homes. A good final-mile partner makes that possible.