Rate volatility is something that every broker, carrier and shipper must deal with. But, sometimes knowing how shipping rates will react to an event can be a guessing game. The I-85 bridge collapse in Atlanta is a case in point.
As many drivers and small fleets worry about the impact on productivity and cost with the upcoming mandate to install electronic logging devices, one overlooked aspect is what impact ELDs will have on their insurance rates.
Since the dawn of the shipping industry, brokers, carriers and shippers have struggled with rate price swings, sometimes due to conditions outside their control, such as weather or politics. TransFX, a Chattanooga-based company located in Freight Alley, is trying to help change that by offering “freight futures contracts.”
Weather disruptions such as Winter Storm Stella that is dumping up to 2 feet of snow on the Northeast today can have a ripple effect throughout the supply chain, driving up rates as freight pickups and deliveries are delayed and cancelled.
The required implementation of electronic logging devices later this year has created plenty of worry within industry circles. Beyond the logistics of installing the devices, though, carriers and shippers need to be worried about the business impact: specifically lost productivity and rising rates.
Those on both sides of the freight business have struggled for years with volatile shipping rates. Contracts get locked in for months or more with no assurance that the contract will reflect current prices when loads are delivered. TransVix believes part of the solution to this problem is the creation of a Trucking Futures Exchange.
“There are some trucking-specific changes that will benefit the industry in 2017. The last year and a half was a classic industry recipe for disaster.” That is Bob Costello’s summary of the past year in trucking. He is predicting a turnaround in 2017.
