FreightTech Friday: FreightVana debuts fleet payment card; tech earnings in

Bloomberg and Truckstop’s carrier survey shows mixed feelings on the marketplace

Grace Sharkey

6 months ago

Logistics provider FreightVana recently announced it has partnered with fintech provider AtoB to offer fleets a payment card and platform to manage driver spending over the road.

“The small carriers and owners just don’t have the benefits or purchasing power like their large competitors,” Shannon Breen, co-CEO and co-founder of FreightVana, told FreightWaves. “We can leverage our brand, our partnerships and our debt capabilities to reduce costs. … Anything we can do to pass along some savings when everybody in this industry is fighting to survive is significant to us.”

Employing FreightVana’s Visa fuel card, powered by AtoB, not only enhances carriers’ financial efficiency but also boosts their time productivity.

With card usage, carriers have seen an average savings of 47 cents per gallon of fuel, as reported by the company. Moreover, membership grants access to FuelMap, an app that strategically plans drivers’ routes by pinpointing the most cost-efficient diesel fueling stations.

“Our network and business model is predicated on building these types of partnerships, and the more work we can put into that keeps us from being seen or utilized as a transactional traditional broker,” Breen explained.

Since FreightWaves first spoke with FreightVana out of stealth mode in 2021, the company repeatedly highlighted the challenges of trucking that stem from freight brokers prioritizing their interests in the short term. Even then Breen said this would hinder genuine partnerships that bring value.

One year later, the company announced plans to purchase dry van trailers to grow a new power-only offering for both carriers and shippers, another network built to help get drivers empty and back on the road making money.

That network and offering grew when FreightVana announced it would leverage its power-only network to support trailer manufacturer Wabash’s new offering, Trailers-as-a-service. These services empower shippers to minimize daily load management, enhancing their operations’ flexibility and efficiency over time.

While the freight market remains in an unfavorable state, Breen explained that these partnerships will remain and will positively impact FreightVana’s driver network.

“I think FreighVana will be able to survive the current freight market, and when the market shifts we will be able to keep that capacity on the road and working with us, keeping our shippers happy as well. I think that is special compared to a traditional brokerage model that exists today,” said Breen.

Brief Bytes

SPS Commerce Inc. (NASDAQ: SPSC) completed on Thursday the acquisition of Traverse Systems, a SaaS platform specializing in retail supply chain management. Traverse’s solutions are aimed at fostering collaboration between retailers and suppliers, enhancing overall supply chain performance and improving the consumer experience. The acquisition, valued at around $25 million in cash and $4.3 million in SPS Commerce stock, is anticipated to contribute approximately $600,000 in revenue for the second quarter of 2024 and approximately $2.9 million for the fiscal year. Projections indicate a revenue increase to $5 million by fiscal year 2025, accompanied by adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization of approximately $1.5 million.

On Monday, robotics technology Symbotic Inc. (NASDAQ:SYM) announced strong financial performance for Q2 2024. Revenue reached $424 million, with a net loss of $41 million and adjusted EBITDA of $22 million. CFO Carol Hibbard noted accelerated solutions deployment with three operating system starts and completions. CEO Rick Cohen highlighted progress in innovation and customer service. For Q3 2024, Symbotic anticipates revenue between $450 million to $470 million and adjusted EBITDA of $27 million to $29 million.

The latest Bloomberg-Truckstop survey, released Wednesday, indicates improved sentiment among North American carriers in the truckload spot market, although concerns have persisted. Despite a challenging quarter, 33% of carriers expect freight demand to rise in the next three to six months, with Truckstop’s Market Demand Index up 9% from last year. However, uncertainty looms, with 44% unsure of their status in six months and 9% considering leaving the industry. Elevated interest rates have impacted business, with 78% citing increased costs. The survey, sampling 225 owner-operators and small fleets, offers insights into the spot market’s health.