In the first full week of the new year, volumes across the country are gaining traction, with national volume up 69% since the start of the year. It typically takes a week for volume to come back into the network after the holidays, and it picks up steam well into January. It should come as…
Category: Industry Insights
Weekly Freight Roundup: Local Capacity Aplenty
As we head into the Christmas holiday, national freight volume remains low. The market has been trending down since November, and hasn’t seen the characteristic holiday freight increase that was expected. Carrier Capacity Lowers Tender Rejection Rates Capacity is plentiful in most regions, with tender rejections very low. In the week before Christmas in…
FreightWaves: December Market Trends
Thanks to all who attended FreightWaves’ December monthly webinar, sponsored by Convoy. December 2018 Market Trends We discussed how demand has been cool for the holiday season because 1.) shipping had been relatively uninterrupted by hurricanes or other major storms this fall, and 2.) the economy has begun to plateau. With tariffs pushed back a…
6 Ways to Make Your Shipping Facilities More Carrier Friendly (And Why It Matters)
The trucking capacity crunch, driver shortage, and electronic logging device (ELD) mandate are working together to create a carrier’s market right now. In a world where carriers can be more selective about who they work with and the business they take on, shippers need to find ways to make their facilities stand out (for good…
Sustainable pricing: Is the traditional freight RFP dead?
September/October 2018 Market Update We’ve said this before: volatility in the freight market has been unprecedented. Over the last 12 months, hurricanes, tariffs, and electronic logging device (ELD) regulations, combined with ongoing shortages have significantly impacted the freight industry. As a result, many of the traditional methods in supply chain aren’t working anymore. This year,…
July/August Freight Market Update: Planning for seasonality and market shifts
From the first DOT week with ELDs to unprecedented load-to-truck ratios in California to the start of the summer season, the past few weeks have been overwhelming for many shippers. Companies are paying more than ever to move their products and carriers are failing on loads or rejecting primary freight, leading to a very hot…
Q2 Carrier Snapshot Report
In June 2018 Convoy surveyed over 300 small and mid-sized trucking companies across the United States to collect a snapshot of the industry. Survey participants include dispatchers and owner-operators. All the results are self-reported by the participants. Survey highlights: On average, 93% of dispatchers and owner operators use a mobile app to book loads. There…
Tackling the Future of Transportation with Greylock’s Reid Hoffman and Simon Rothman
Recently, our friends at Greylock Partners hosted an invite-only event in San Francisco on The Future of Transportation. The event brought together a mix of tech startup founders and press to talk about the impact of technology on the transportation landscape and the role of autonomy over the next few decades. Panels featured insights from…
May/June market update: Preparing for produce season
Produce season happens every year, starting in March in southern states like Florida and Texas, and progresses north throughout the summer as fruits and vegetables become ready for harvest. As a result, there are more loads outbound from these produce hubs, causing capacity constraints and allowing carriers to demand higher rates. Inbound loads, on the…
April/May report: get ahead of freight trends and seasonality
Convoy’s April/May Market Update highlights trends we’ve seen recently and expect to see this spring. The driver shortage, while nothing new to the freight industry, has become a hot topic in the news since the ELD mandate officially went live on April 1, 2018 after a 3-month grace period. But what does this actually mean…
Carrier Snapshot Report Q1 2018
For both the 30 year veteran and the new owner-operator, 2017 proved to be a memorable year. The perfect storm of driver capacity crunches, hurricanes, and federal mandates created a market where truck prices surged and marketplace balance shifted. While this meant increased driver earnings across the country through the latter half of the year…
March/April report: get ahead of freight trends and seasonality
If you’ve ever talked to experienced carriers, they talk about freight in seasons: produce season, Christmas tree season, potato and onion season, etc. Carriers understand the cyclical trends that affect freight in the United States and change their strategy to accommodate these shifts. Whether Chinese New Year is affecting L.A. imports or there are capacity…
