Get ahead of the changing freight market.

The tides are officially starting to change in the freight market. Shippers and carriers can gain competitive advantage and drive profit by getting ahead of this shift in rates and embracing sustainability.

This article delves into:

• tips for smartly navigating market changes & summer trends
• how to lower your carbon footprint without sacrificing profit
• two updates that help carriers instantly refill trucks & inform drivers

Plan for market changes & summer trends.

As we officially enter summer, shippers and carriers alike can make informed business decisions and maintain profit by understanding the changing market and making a plan for peak season booms.

Smartly navigate the upcoming market shift.

Heading into the third quarter of 2023:

• consumer spending is up 2.3% compared to last year, which is a good sign for future truckload capacity
• spot rates officially hit their lowest in Q1 2023 and will soon start rising – likely ending Q4 2023 5% higher than Q4 2022 before continuing to rise throughout 2024
• contract rates likely will continue dropping before hitting their lowest near the end of 2023
• both rates are expected to have flipped towards carrier favor by mid 2024

Impact on shippers.

Consider using spot rates for a bit longer while they’re still fairly low then start securing more contract rates in late 2023 before they start to rise.

Impact on carriers.

If you mainly utilize the contract market, you may face a more challenging rest of 2023 as these rates continue to drop. But as spot rates rise through this year and get even more lucrative throughout 2024, consider turning to them to fill in any gaps in profit.

Prepare for summer’s trends.

As we detailed in our June 2023 shipping trends issue, the food and beverage (F&B) shipping industry sees excessively high demand in the summer.

Joining F&B’s summertime boom is online, or ecommerce, retail shipping surrounding:

• the 4th of July: recreation equipment, appliances like grills, and outdoor furniture
• travel: luggage, travel accessories, swimwear, and beach accessories
• back to school: school supplies, child and young adult clothing, and electronics

Tips for ecommerce retail shipping.

Americans shipped 21.5 billion parcels via online platforms in 2022 alone — equating to 65 parcels for every person in the country. Since many consumers will likely order their summer goods via ecommerce platforms, a few ways online retailers can ensure their operations run as efficiently as possible include:

Inventory management.

Prevent overselling by implementing real-time inventory tracking systems, and coordinate with suppliers to ensure timely stock replenishment.

Scaleable fulfillment.

Optimize order picking, packing, and shipping workflows, plan for appropriate staffing levels, and consider outsourcing to third parties, if needed.

Retail-specific resources.

Seek out industry-specific insights to both streamline and maximize your business, such as our guides on:

• retail consolidation
• high-value electronics insurance
• wholesale distribution
• and more

→ Get all of the insights

Easily reduce CO2e emissions – without sacrificing profit.

Freight trucks are a leading contributor of the U.S. transportation industry’s greenhouse gas emissions, emitting 428 million metric tons of carbon a year.

Our recently released 2022 Impact Report unveiled exactly how we’re committed to combating this astounding statistic, including:

• making sustainability both profitable and frictionless for customers
• creating lasting, positive environmental and social impact on the world at large

Sustainability can be profitable (and easy) for all.

Far too many freight trucks travel with significant empty space – wasting profits while unnecessarily burning diesel fuel.

Believing that sustainable shipping is a pillar of an environmentally friendly economy, we created shared truckloads (STL) to make it easy for customers to reduce their CO2e (carbon dioxide equivalent) emissions.

By combining multiple shippers’ freight headed the same direction with carriers driving that way, STL lowers CO2e emissions by up to 40% compared to traditional shipping methods by:

• maximizing trailer usage to minimize the unnecessary burning of CO2e
• reducing fuel waste by finding utmost efficient routes and avoiding wasteful idling at terminals
• preventing product waste by minimizing transloading-related damage and the need to discard or reship goods

Last year alone, STL prevented 34,000 metric tons of CO2e from being released into the atmosphere — the equivalent of preventing 87,160,660 miles driven by an average gasoline-powered passenger vehicle.?

… all while cutting shippers costs by up to 20% and earning carriers up to 25% more per haul.

Every time we pool shipments and fill a truck, we prove that sustainability doesn’t need to be a sacrifice or an added expense. In fact, it’s a key driver of growth and profitability for all involved.

How else we create positive environmental and social impact.

In addition to helping others prevent and neutralize carbon emissions, a few of our favorite strides towards climate health and social we made in 2022 include:

Pursuing global commitments.

• achieving Certified B Corporation status – meeting the highest standards of social and environmental performance as one of the few in the freight industry
• signing The Climate Pledge – pledging to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2040
• becoming a mission-locked Public Benefit Corporation, protecting our purpose of reducing greenhouse gas emissions worldwide

Reducing in-house energy use and waste.

• diverting ~5,400 pounds of food waste from landfills
• running both headquarters on 100% clean energy

Assisting our local communities.

• packing over 44,000 meals and raising $12,200 to feed families in need
• restoring natural habitats

Plus, so much more.

→ View full Impact Report

Carriers: instantly refill trucks & inform drivers.

The competition to secure high-paying freight is heating up.

Because we recognize the importance of reducing booking and dispatching friction in order to keep your fleet moving and earning, we’ve introduced two new Flock platform updates that make booking and dispatching freight even faster and easier.

Reload your trucks – without searching.

Spend way less time looking for your next load. While looking at full truckloads, our platform will automatically recommend Reloads – and you can book both loads at the same time.

Send drivers load info – without a phone call.

Say goodbye to interruptive, miscommunication-prone phone calls with drivers seeking load information. You can now send your drivers all of the load details they need with one easy shareable link.

→ Get details of the new features

Follow along on our unwavering pursuit of environmental and social progress and meet the drivers who keep America’s freight industry moving by following us on Instagram .