On this week’s episode of Check Call, David Spencer, director of business intelligence at Arrive Logistics, joins host Mary O’Connell to dive into the August market update.
Key quotes from Spencer:
“We have seen a decisive move from carriers away from spot business to contract market. The big reason for that is what we’ve seen in the volatility in fuel this year and what contract rate offers to a carrier, the FSC protection. High-density, high-volume, easy-contract freight is always going to be sought after by carriers and brokers.”
“We’re seeing shippers putting the focus on service and additional value add. We’re seeing shippers getting used to more frequent Request For Proposal cycles; maybe they’re going quarterly a lot, are moving away from annual RFPs and that allows them to put emphasis on additional value add.”
“Through the summer peak season, we saw tender rejections remained extremely low, and coming out of that peak season it’s been the lowest we’ve seen in a long time. I think that’s an indicator of what shippers are going to see as we go into the fourth quarter and retail peak season. It’s certainly going to be a big part of what they’re looking for in terms of the providers to select as they’re getting into the softer part of the seasonality cycle.”
“Shippers are in a different position than they have been over the last two years. I would not be surprised to see them really put a focus on what their desires are. Again every shipper is different in what they value, but high-quality service is going to be one of those they value most.”
Got any pain points or things you wish were better in the supply chain and the world of transportation? Contact O’Connell to be on a future episode of Check Call.