What is FTL shipping? FTL is industry shorthand for full truckload, or a truckload–most often a dry van or reefer–with a dedicated shipment from a single shipper to a single location. You may also see it referred to as just TL, or truckload. The alternative is LTL, or less than truckload, which is a truckload…
Category: Shippers
Improving Supply Chain Resilience with Shipper Insights
Every day when your loads are picked up and dropped off at facilities around the country, how do you know which of your warehouses and distribution centers are performing well and which aren’t? For example, if one of your warehouses started experiencing higher detention rates, how quickly would you find out, and how easily could…
Contract, Backup, and Spot: How Convoy’s Digital Freight Network Delivers in all Market Conditions
The recent demand shocks driven by COVID-19 created a ripple effect throughout the freight market, destabilizing contract rates and driving surges in backup and spot loads. As the market quickly tightened and then just as quickly contracted to pre-crisis levels, our industry saw market conditions in a period of several weeks that normally play out…
Asset-based Carriers: 7 Things Shippers Should Know
Asset-based carriers are trucking companies that work directly with shippers and own their equipment. Asset carriers can be a reliable partner, but this depends on how well the carrier’s capabilities align with a shipper’s freight network and transportation needs.
April Industrial Production and Retail Sales: A Window Onto the “Essential”
For many U.S. households and businesses, April forced us to think hard about what’s truly “essential”. Factory output and retail sales data reported this morning by the Federal Reserve Board and Census Bureau provide a quantitative window onto those priorities. It comes as no surprise that April was a brutal month for the U.S. economy…
5 questions shippers should be asking right now to improve quality and reduce risk.
Let’s face it, there are a lot of things outside of our control right now. Despite all the ups and downs in the freight market, there is one thing that shippers should always be sure of – and that is the quality and reliability of your freight partners. Use these five questions to check-in with…
What drives spot freight rates?
The load boards that make up the “spot market” connect shippers with carriers. Regardless of your reason for tendering spot loads, understanding the forces that drive spot freight rates is useful knowledge for any shipper.
Convoy launches Green Appointment Windows to maximize shipping efficiency and reduce carbon emissions
Today we take another step toward maximizing shipping efficiency with Green Appointment Windows. This feature, available through the Convoy shipper platform, offers shippers the ability to book their freight in a flexible appointment window to get access to the best carriers at the best price while simultaneously reducing their carbon emissions. Our research uncovered that…
Freight Market Outlook: Three Questions on COVID-19 Reopening and Recovery
It has been two months since President Trump declared the national state of emergency. As states begin to reopen, questions linger around what recovery means for the freight industry. In Convoy’s mid-year market outlook for 2020, we share our latest analysis on freight rates and supply chain trends, covering the following questions: How will reopening…
10 Things To Know About Traditional Freight Brokers
Freight brokers can reduce complexity for shippers by finding drivers for their loads. Learn about the strengths and weaknesses of traditional freight brokerages, and why many leading shippers are allocating more truckloads to digital freight networks.
Why every shipper should expect real-time shipment visibility
When you order a pizza, you can track its every move, from getting placed in the oven to the minute-by-minute route the delivery car takes. And it’s not just pizza giving us real-time tracking, we know the exact location of the ride-share coming to pick us up and the status of the package we ordered…
Goodyear Interview: Helping Truckers During COVID-19
As truckers transport essential supplies across our nation, Goodyear is providing roadside services and access to equipment to support America’s truckers. Blake Winterton, Senior Manager of Commercial Services at Goodyear, joins Convoy for our latest video covering how COVID-19 is impacting the freight industry. Winterton is responsible for Goodyear’s FleetHQ Service Center, a program that helps…
10 Considerations for Shipping Contract, Backup, and Spot
The freight industry is undergoing unprecedented change. Market volatility is forcing transportation teams to adapt more quickly. Rising customer expectations are putting more pressure on supply chain efficiency. And as many businesses increase their focus on environmental impact, logistics teams are being tasked with contributing to the triple bottom line. Whether your goal is adaptability,…
6 ways a digital freight network can help shippers during COVID-19
In its April 2020 report, Gartner advised supply chain technology leaders to explore digital freight networks and associated technologies to address current challenges and further disruptions to transportation that are caused by COVID-19. According to Gartner analyst Bart De Muynck, “Digital freight networks can help companies that are looking for real-time available capacity or looking…
An Owner-Operator’s Experience of the COVID-19 Crisis
Just a few weeks ago, the freight industry saw surging transactional demand as consumers flooded grocery stores for food and household supplies. Now the demand has dried up, and as FreightWaves reports, outbound tender volume is below its average for “normal times.” What do these market trends mean for truck drivers who are on the front…
Joyin quickly responds to COVID-19 challenges using Convoy shipper platform
“Our theme always is ‘the fun starts here’ – we have everything you need – toys, party supplies, home decor, and more,” says Phoebe Chang, National Sales Manager at Joyin. Founded in 2015, Joyin has grown to become one of the fastest-growing manufacturers of toys, party supplies and seasonal products in North America. The team…
Convoy Joins Sustainable Brands to Lead the Innovation Push for a Sustainable Economy
Today we are announcing our partnership with Sustainable Brands®, a growing global community of passionate individuals who are committed to leveraging environmental and social innovation to deliver exceptional business performance. We are joining more than 70 other companies worldwide committed to leveraging their unique role in business and society to pave the path towards a…
4 Ways Shippers Save Money Using a Transportation Management System (TMS)
As the year comes to a close, shippers are planning for 2020 and setting goals to increase efficiency and cut costs. Ideally shippers have the technology and data to understand how they can improve both, but many don’t. One of the best ways to start saving money is by implementing a Transportation Management System (TMS)…
5 Ways Shippers Save Time Using a Transportation Management System (TMS)
If you work in freight, you know the value of time. More time gives you more flexibility to respond to the inevitable exceptions that occur when moving product. More time also lets you step back and figure out how to improve your freight network instead of focusing on the day-to-day operations of moving freight. So,…
MercuryGate & Convoy Now: Helping Shippers Navigate Market Volatility and Improve Lead Time
Earlier this year we launched Convoy Now, a program that gives shippers, Transportation Management Solution (TMS) providers, Managed Transportation Providers (MTPs), and other logistics companies direct access to Convoy’s automated real-time pricing and guaranteed capacity. Together with leading TMS provider MercuryGate, we deliver Convoy’s automated real-time rates to their shippers, providing savings in the cost…
