What Does a Spot Freight Capacity Aggregator Do?

The spot market continues to endure the challenges of an above-average peak season and mounting e-commerce growth. While fleet operators look for optimization opportunities, shippers will inevitably feel the pressure of tightening capacity. As reported by FleetOwner, “The extent to which constraints on equipment and driver supply ease in the coming months will largely dictate volume and rate trends. Intermodal volumes have been inching up sequentially in recent weeks as chassis turns improve, and China’s power outages will likely impact exports, so the containership backlog should ease in the coming months. Still, a low inventory/sales ratio and an early Chinese New Year in 2022 starting on February 1st support strong import demand in early 2022.” With the uncertainty surrounding volumes, shippers need to consider the very real capacity limits that will arise and how a spot freight capacity aggregator can help improve capacity procurement in several ways.

Spot Freight Capacity Aggregators Streamline Carrier Onboarding

The first advantage in a spot freight capacity aggregator comes from their existing network connections. The traditional process required extensive RFPs, delays, and contracts, but now, shippers can leverage an aggregator to access capacity without the hassle of onboarding. This dramatically reduces the total cost of capacity procurement by making carrier capacity more accessible and fully eliminates the back-office process of vetting and establishing carrier connections. 

They Leverage Tools to Keep Trucking Rates Competitive

Freight capacity aggregators also reduce costs in the spot freight market by keeping carriers competitive. This occurs using data analytics to track market conditions, including rate and volume data, to ensure carriers are posting capacity at competitive rates. Such activity curbs price gouging, dishonesty and poor service, and carriers also realize peace of mind by knowing what to accept and reject based on current rate data too.

Digital Systems Enable One-Touch, Book-It-Now Capabilities

Leveraging spot freight aggregators to source capacity is best described in book-it-now functionality. This one-touch process lets carriers fill capacity automatically by putting the power of booking and confirmation in the hands of shippers. For instance, shippers or brokers that need to find capacity can log into a given platform, review the market data, and post their freight. Next, the system can leverage its connections to find available carriers. With minimal intervention, shippers book the carrier, and they save significant resources. As a further example of this concept, one 3PL, LiVe Logistics, was able to successfully reduce the amount of time to book loads by 83%, while also lowering cost per booking 90%, by leveraging the spot freight capacity resources of newtrul. By using a single system to aggregate capacity, everything else becomes simpler and easier. 

Increased Access to Mid-Market Carriers Boosts Capacity Too

Another advantage of spot freight aggregation of carriers involves the type of carriers. Remember that the majority of carriers in operation have five or fewer trucks, but they’re often overshadowed by the big names in freight and logistics. These companies may operate in local regions and have limited capacity. However, their capacity usually fills well after the major carriers are fully booked. In other words, the mid-market carriers typically have available capacity despite the embargoes and limitations enacted by the larger players in the industry. Thus, accessing this capacity through a spot freight aggregator gives shippers a way to take advantage of local and regional carriers, regardless of mode, despite market dynamics. 

Streamlined Integration With TMS Platforms Makes Capacity Easier to Find

Since the aggregators connect to TMS platforms, carriers can seamlessly put their capacity at the forefront of shippers’ resources. This also reduces the back-office costs for carriers and helps them procure high-quality loads and avoid empty mileage. Furthermore, shippers gain a larger view of carrier capacity across multiple TMS platforms that they may not be using simply by putting an aggregator to work, connecting to those distant TMS platforms and pulling that capacity into their tech stack without necessarily investing in that specific TMS. It can be confusing, but it works wonders to increase capacity and make it easier to find in tight markets. 

Choose the Right Spot Freight Aggregator to Increase Your Access to Capacity

The modern supply chain relies on technology, and the next innovation of technology is here in the form of spot freight capacity aggregators that leverage connectivity to pull together carriers from all backgrounds and locations. Of course, that depends on also having the infrastructure in place to connect to countless TMS platforms and work across all systems, which are defining qualities of newtrul. Learn how your team can put the power of an advanced spot freight capacity aggregator like newtrul to work now by requesting a demo.