Flatbed spot rate APIs now available
At the F3: Future of Freight Festival in Chattanooga, Tennessee, last week, FreightWaves Chief Data and Technology Officer Daniel Pickett announced the release of flatbed spot rates via API. FreightWaves publishes daily flatbed spot rates from key market area to key market area based on transactional data provided by the largest transportation and logistics providers […]
Is the Juice Worth the Squeeze? Assessing FreightWaves SONAR vs. the Competition
Supply chain resilience and responsiveness go hand in hand
Supply chain optimization is often presented as a choice between resilience and responsiveness — between being able to withstand and operate normally under conditions of disruption and stress and being able to quickly flex capacity and throughput up or down opportunistically. “Resilience” can sound like redundancy, contingency planning, higher operating costs and underutilized capacity waiting […]
How leading supply chain teams invest in technology
The best supply chain teams invest in technology as part of their continuous holistic operational improvements, not simply in reaction to temporary crises. Investing in technology to improve the capabilities of your supply chain team as part of a strategic initiative yields better results throughout all phases of the freight market cycle. Retailers, manufacturers and […]
Brokers cannot afford to go without high-frequency data, expert insights
Brokers are faced with a wide range of challenges every day. Many of these tough situations arise from a lack of market visibility, including uncertainty surrounding the bidding process, inability to analyze trucking capacity and a general lack of advanced technology to manage daily workflows. When
High-quality freight data is vital for supply chain automation
Third-party supply chain and freight market data has become an important tool for retailers, manufacturers and suppliers who want to redesign their networks, improve strategic planning, benchmark their transportation spend and the service they’re getting in return, and measure the efficiency of their facilities. Leading supply chain organizations are using data on freight rates, volumes, […]
SONAR now has spot to contract rate spread
SONAR now contains a spot to contract rate spread index (RATES) to help users understand the short- and long-term relationships between transactional and long-term truckload pricing trends.
How quickly the market turns
Earnings season is upon us and executives of publicly traded transportation companies are providing their results from the first quarter. They are also providing updates on current market conditions and what they see ahead. The first major player to report earnings was J.B. Hunt, the largest domestic intermodal player in the industry. As expected, earnings […]
Why do carriers expect pricing momentum to continue into 2022?
Earnings season is here and the general theme across truckload carriers is carrying higher rate momentum into 2022. Carriers have benefited from increased freight rates across the board, but not every carrier experienced record revenue in the fourth quarter. Market conditions are still quite favorable for carriers, but driver retention and recruiting continue to be […]
Tough sledding ahead for 2022 bid season
Shippers are facing a tough road in 2022. A relief valve to remove all the pressure on transportation networks isn’t coming, at least in the near future as capacity constraints are seemingly endless. The semiconductor shortage, a tight labor market, increased consumer spending and congestion at the ports are all constraints that haven’t improved over […]
What is expected during peak season?
All three major modes of transportation – maritime, intermodal and truckload – all have very different peak season timelines. The maritime sector has been operating at peak season-like levels for much of the past year. Traditional maritime peak season has passed, with goods needed for the holiday season already stateside. Traditionally, intermodal volumes peak in […]
Building a bridge between ocean and domestic transportation markets
Understanding ocean shipping trends is vital to understanding the freight flows in domestic transportation markets. The easiest identifier is linking rises (and falls) in import volumes that are clearing U.S. Customs in port markets with increases (and decreases) in both truckload and intermodal volumes in the markets. The free white paper, Ocean markets drive the […]
Using data aids shippers in holding carriers accountable
Shippers are at a disadvantage in negotiations with carriers and brokers unless they have adequate data and real-time information surrounding the freight market. Shippers’ main focus isn’t moving freight, it’s manufacturing the goods to be moved. Then shippers enter negotiations with carriers and brokers, who live and die by the freight market, putting them on […]
Apparel companies shifting to air freight to offset congestion at ports
Shippers are facing supply chain challenges from all sides – sourcing, manufacturing, global shipping and domestic transportation networks. Domestic transportation networks receive a great deal of attention, but shippers are having to make expensive decisions before products even arrive on U.S. shores. As peak retail season approaches, shippers in the retail space are focused on […]
How freight markets react amid weather-related chaos
Major weather storms have been prevalent throughout the years and 2021 is no exception – the major winter storm that swept the nation in February, multiple hurricanes with the latest, Hurricane Ida, ravaging the Gulf Coast. These major weather events affect transportation markets in the days leading up to the event and following the events […]
Maritime Market Madness
You’ve heard of “March Madness.” Well, the maritime market is in the middle of its own “August madness.” The maritime market madness has caused some retailers to wonder if Christmas is going to be canceled. While it may be premature to say Christmas is canceled, any company having to purchase capacity on the ocean is […]
Identifying freight market trends across all modes
Short-haul volume growth shines a light on current trucking trends Understanding freight trends from the beginning of the supply chain all the way through to delivery is important for all parties involved. Current market conditions are among the most difficult that the industry has faced in recent years. The capacity constraints across all modes haven’t […]
RFP management made easy with SONAR SCI
Over the past two years, RFP management has been extremely challenging as freight rates have risen to new all-time highs, giving rise to mini-bids. Developing and reviewing RFPs is a tedious process with limited visibility into the whole market. However, understanding the market dynamics in a shipper’s network helps ease the stress of the RFP […]
Rising input and freight costs impacting paper and packaging companies’ bottom line
Last year, FreightWaves estimated that the top five paper and packaging companies in the U.S. spent a whopping $7 billion and $9 billion on transportation in 2019. Despite revenue declines across the industry in 2020, we estimate that freight spend was as high as pre-pandemic levels due to growth in packaging demand and elevated freight […]
Using SCI to evaluate the efficacy of transportation spend
Find out how CPG companies can apply SONAR Supply Chain Intelligence (SCI) Platform to their business. SONAR SCI is an expansion of the SONAR platform, the only freight forecasting platform. SONAR SCI subscribers have access to $80 billion of shipper-to-carrier freight spend. These invoices are submitted every evening and include what shippers actually pay carriers, […]
