Freight-matching app battle heats up
This article came from the FreightWaves Daily Watch, a newsletter for SONAR subscribers published every weekday. The tech battle among load boards, freight brokers and digital freight-matching platforms is heating up.
UBS published its annual digital freight-matching app report this week. Like previous editions, the team at UBS analyzed download metrics from both iOS and Google Play data to create its rankings. Download numbers indicate “there is not a ‘winner take all’ in brokerage,” as the competition for digital freight brokerage market share continues to fragment.
The stats do indicate there is some consolidation at the top of the rankings. XPO claimed the highest market share in 2022 with 22% of downloads, followed by TQL with 19% and Uber with 16%.
One of the most interesting takeaways in the chart above details how traditional freight brokerages that have built and marketed their own apps have taken the lead in downloads over third-party load boards. Almost half of all digital freight-matching apps downloaded in 2022 so far are from traditional freight brokerages, compared to only the mid-20% range for load boards. This reversal of positions this year is good news for all freight brokerages that have invested the time, money and perseverance to build tech from the ground up. After years of hard work, it seems the risk is paying off in a big way.
Meanwhile, digital freight broker startups have seen their market share of downloads stabilize over the past 24 months in the high teens. It seems like the digital revolution these firms began is now firmly mainstream.
Kodiak Robotics tests third-party trucking capacity
Kodiak Robotics is keeping busy. In a pilot program with Werner Enterprises, Kodiak recently completed four autonomous round trips from Dallas to Lake City, Florida, a total of over 152 hours of nonstop transit. This is in addition to running autonomous truck pilot programs with U.S. Xpress, 10 Roads Express and Ceva Logistics.
One challenge encountered was swapping drivers. While the tractors themselves operated independently, they still required a trained driver on duty. After each driver’s 11-hour driving clock expired, the pilot truck stopped and swapped in a new driver with fresh hours.
FreightWaves’ Alan Adler said the pilot appears successful, writing, “The autonomous trucks recorded 100% on-time delivery performance across eight unique trips. Werner prepared trailers for Kodiak self-driving trucks to pick up on both ends. The carrier’s local drivers completed the first-mile pickups and last-mile deliveries.”
Another topic to monitor will be the trucks usage in fleet operations. So far, it appears that the hub-and-spoke method, a popular strategy for less-than-truckload carriers, may win the day. Adler wrote, “The hub-to-hub model pervades autonomous testing. It is one way autonomous trucking developers combat the perception that robots will take over trucking jobs. Driverless trucks are aimed at the over-the-road routes that have the greatest driver turnover. Jobs created in first- and last-mile driving replace the long-haul positions that few drivers seem to want.”
Market update: Logistics pros are nervous about peak season
FreightWaves Research recently completed a shipper survey asking carriers and freight brokers their thoughts on the upcoming peak season. Below are some excerpts from the survey.
“Carriers and freight brokers are pessimistic about load volumes for the 2022 holiday peak season. According to the latest FreightWaves Research survey report, 62% of carriers and freight brokers expect to see fewer loads this peak season than the past two years. This might be expected since the pandemic drove a splurge of spending by consumers who were in shutdown mode. The real question will be if upcoming peak load volumes sink below 2019 levels.”
Regarding the question on load volume strength for specific industries, the survey added, “Respondents rated the retail industry as the second-weakest industry for load volumes so far in 2022. This doesn’t bode well for the retail industry’s performance going into its busiest quarter of the year. With inventory levels stacking up and weakening consumer demand, retailers are closely monitoring transportation costs. Carriers and freight brokers are already seeing this; two-thirds say that linehaul rates have become the most important factor in negotiations, while 39% say shippers are already cutting the number of transportation providers in their portfolios.”
FreightWaves SONAR spotlight: Hurricane impacts on outbound tender volumes
Summary: Hurricane Ian’s landfall on Wednesday is causing disruptions in outbound tender rejection levels. The Lakeland and Jacksonville, Florida, and Savannah, Georgia, markets all experienced tender volume declines from Hurricane Ian.
Important factors to consider this coming week is the extent of the damages and disruption to local infrastructure as warehouses and distribution centers will conduct inventory checks to determine spoilage and restocking needs. Expect high inbound load volumes into the Lakeland region as FEMA disaster-relief supplies and inventory replenishment begin once basic infrastructure is brought back online.
Additionally, as of Friday, Hurricane Ian is making landfall again, this time on the South Carolina coast as it moves inland over the weekend. This can be expected to cause service disruptions as drivers are rerouted to their homes to assess the damage following the storm. Open-deck truckload capacity may also be impacted due to rebuilding efforts.
The Routing Guide: Links from around the web
Federal Trade Commission joining independent contractor fray (FreightWaves)
Railroad executives want to eliminate conductors — and exhausted rail workers are terrified (FreightWaves)
Annual 3PL study released at CSCMP Edge highlights a need to get ‘back to basics’ (Logistics Management)
Big 3 carriers suspend service amid Hurricane Ian’s aftermath (FreightWaves)
The latest on Ian’s impact on the supply chain (FreightWaves)