Where Should Shippers Focus on in a Soft Market

What Shippers Should Focus On

Simply seeking to shave a few pennies off a contracted market without making further strategic steps to improve your supply chain will result in losing out on opportunities to improve overall profitability in your business.

The Current State of the FTL Market

There are many tools to evaluate the strength of the truckload market.  A simple tool based on fundamental economic principles of Supply & Demand is the National load-to-truck ratio.

 The load-to-truck ratio is a sensitive, real-time indicator of the balance between spot market demand and capacity. Changes in the ratio often signal impending changes in rates.

• Truck = Supply
• Load = Demand

Since the decline of the COVID-19 pandemic, shippers have gradually seen negotiating leverage return strongly to their hands as freight volumes fell below the number of available trucks and the market softened drastically. 

What is a soft truckload market?

Soft Market Focus

What should shippers do to improve the supply chain strategy when truckload rates are already compressed?

Build Relationships

Develop relationships with your transportation providers, and emphasize where you need performance improvement, agility, drop trailers, and improved overall service. 

A transactional one-off carrier will leave when rates rise again, but a carrier with a strong relationship will continue to perform and will seek to deliver more reliable service even when the market flips.

Launch a Carrier Sourcing RFP with TLI

 With truckload rates at a compressed level, it becomes crucial for shippers to collaborate with a trusted partner who can help them navigate through market fluctuations, secure savings, and maintain consistent service. That's where TLI  steps in. As a leading logistics provider, TLI offers a range of benefits that make it the perfect choice for shippers looking to launch Freight Request for Proposals (RFPs) in this current economic environment.

Shippers face a unique opportunity to secure significant savings. By partnering with TLI for your freight RFPs, you can take advantage of their extensive market knowledge and expertise. TLI's team of seasoned professionals closely monitors industry trends, market fluctuations, and pricing dynamics. Leveraging this information, TLI can help you negotiate competitive rates and secure savings that align with the market bottom, ensuring your transportation costs remain optimized.

Navigate through Truckload Pricing Volatility

The transportation industry is known for its pricing volatility, with rates fluctuating between periods of high demand and lower activity. TLI's deep understanding of the market dynamics enables them to navigate these fluctuations and provide you with consistent service throughout. By partnering with TLI, you gain a strategic advantage as they help you weather the storm of pricing volatility. TLI's expertise ensures that even during busy periods when the pendulum swings back, you continue to receive reliable and cost-effective transportation services.

TLI has cultivated strong relationships with a wide network of carriers, ensuring access to reliable capacity even in challenging market conditions. When launching freight RFPs, shippers need carriers who can consistently meet their service requirements. TLI's long-standing partnerships with carriers of various sizes and capabilities mean that they can match your specific needs with the right carrier. This allows for seamless collaboration, enhanced operational efficiency, and reliable service throughout the transportation process.

Comprehensive Transportation Solutions

TLI offers comprehensive transportation solutions tailored to meet the unique needs of each shipper. Their services encompass a wide range of options, including truckload, LTL (Less Than Truckload), intermodal, and expedited shipping. By partnering with TLI, you gain access to a diverse portfolio of transportation modes that can be customized to fit your specific requirements. This versatility allows for optimized routing, improved transit times, and reduced costs, all of which contribute to a more efficient and streamlined supply chain.

Deploy a TMS System

As the logistics industry continues to evolve, embracing transportation management system technology becomes imperative for sustainable growth. TLI is committed to staying at the forefront of logistics technological advancements and invests in state-of-the-art TMS systems and data analytics tools. This data is also available to shippers through integrating the TMS into your ERP or Microsoft Power BI. By partnering with TLI, shippers gain access to innovative transportation management software, real-time shipment tracking, and enhanced visibility into their supply chain. This enables better decision-making, increased transparency, and improved overall efficiency.

TLI stands out as an exceptional choice for shippers to partner with in this economic doldrum, with TLI's ability to lock in savings at the market bottom, navigate pricing volatility, and provide consistent service when the pendulum swings back to busy periods. By partnering with TLI, shippers gain access to their extensive industry knowledge, carrier relationships, comprehensive solutions, and cutting-edge technology. Embrace TLI as your trusted 3PL partner and gain a competitive edge in the ever-changing transportation landscape.