FIGURE 4. SHIPPERS RESPOND: What’s more important, your relationship with your carrier or with your broker/intermediary?
carriers honest. But it also has a say in which trucking companies are used. One challenge for shippers is differentiating carriers who act as brokers and brokers who masquerade as carriers. Most carriers also have freight forwarding authority and function essentially as brokers, or utilize brokers to their advantage. Customers needing to move freight call the carrier for quotes and service. Sales people, in turn, contact one or more brokers to get a quote, then respond to the customer with a marked-up price and try to close the deal. Still, for the majority of freight buyers, and reflecting the 50 percent tilt, working with carriers is the preferred means. “I find less control dealing with transport brokers, and more reliability when dealing with carriers directly,” reports one shipper.
carriers is most important (compared to 53 percent in 2008), while 17 percent report a higher regard for partnerships with brokers/intermediaries, and 33 percent (30 percent in 2008) perceive both relationships as equally important. Given current economic pressures, shippers see freight brokers and their networks as a practical means for finding the most competitive rates. At the same time, many carriers are relying on intermediaries themselves to fill capacity and ship fuller loads. For many companies, the freight broker serves as a complement to core carrier partnerships. “I work with carriers directly for expediting shipments, but with brokers for other loads,” says one shipper. Another freight buyer reports
Broker/ Intermediary
17%
Carrier 50%
33%
Equally Important
in developing comprehensive and sus- tainable logistics solutions.” The repercussions such oversight might bring to shippers will likely depend on the speed of economic recov- ery. A slower, more curved rebound will allow carriers to react and acquire neces- sary capacity to meet demand. A sharper and swifter upturn will only stifle eco- nomic expansion and growth. For the time being, and amid spec- ulation that the recession has turned, the former scenario appears more likely. Motor freight carriers, the leading indicators of fortune and famine, are unanimous that the U.S. economy will remain in a holding pattern for the near term. On the plus side, only five percent of respondents expect conditions to get worse. More sobering, only 32 percent see the economy improving, while 63 percent see more of the same through the end of the year into early 2010. ■ When capacity is tight, many shippers rely on brokers and 3PLs to align capacity with demand. But following last year’s trend, more companies are relying on intermediaries to locate the best pricing in spot markets and lanes, reinforcing a subtle, if important, shift in how motor freight buyers purchase space. Half of surveyed shippers acknowledge that their relationship with
that it uses third parties to review individual lane quotes and to keep
2009 TOP 100 MOTOR CARRIERS
Spotting best-of-breed trucking partners that can meet your unique challenges and take your business down new roads of innovation and efficiency requires a great deal of due diligence. Asking the right questions and finding carriers with the best answers helps align expectations and build a foundation for long-term success. Inbound Logistics ’ Top 100 Motor Carriers list is a good place to get the wheels rolling. IL editors selected this year’s pack from a pool of more than 200 companies, evaluating questionnaires, conducting online research, and talking and emailing with both truckers and shippers. The Top 100 list captures a definitive slice of the trucking market, from large TL and LTL players to regional bulk freight haulers and every stripe in between. Their diverse assets and expertise match the unique needs of over-the-road shippers. As complementary sources of information, our Trucking Perspectives market insight report and Top 100 Motor Carriers directory provide a top- down and inside-out guide to help put your cargo in the right hands and your company in the driver’s seat.
58 Inbound Logistics • September 2009
FACING LOGISTICS CHALLENGES? USE IL’S 3PL EXPERTS AND
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