If you are planning for the most effective transportation program, establishing a tailored carrier-selection process is the first step. Then, regardless of your logistics carrier management strategy, it must be monitored and adjusted in response to shipper and carrier network changes.
Expect elevated truckload shipping costs to continue through the second quarter of 2021. Fuel prices, capacity demands and carrier operating costs all add pressure on truckload shipping costs into the busy summer season for fresh produce and highway travel.
If anything, the year 2020 highlighted the ways life can veer dramatically from the expected. Along with its impact on health and the broader economy, the COVID-19 pandemic and resulting rise in online orders drove unpredictable growth and contributed to new demands on freight capacity as well as service challenges in the truckload (TL) and less-than-truckload (LTL) markets.
The unpredictability that characterized most of 2020 continues to make itself felt in many areas of business, including the truckload market. Spot rates are plateauing, but at a rate that’s about 30 percent higher than a year ago. Similarly, rates for flat bed shipments are up about 10 percent compared to a year ago, while rates for refrigerated truckloads have increased 20 percent during the same period.
