North American truckload capacity is under real strain, with carriers and drivers leaving the market and brokers purging their rosters.

In this session, Keelvar’s Dylan Alperin was joined by Chris Caplice, Chief Scientist at DAT Freight & Analytics and Executive Director of the MIT Center for Transportation & Logistics, for a practical, Q&A-style look at what it takes to compete in this market. They discussed where we are in the truckload cycle, how to build a sourcing strategy that holds up, and how automation is changing the way freight is bought.

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Key discussion points

  • Where we are in the cycle. Unlike most past cycles, which were driven by demand, this tightening is driven by capacity, and much of that change looks structural rather than seasonal.
  • Segmenting your network. Volume, variability, consistency and balance should decide whether a lane belongs in dedicated, contract or dynamic buying. Consistency often matters more than volume.
  • The real cost of ghost lanes. Putting lanes out to bid that rarely or never see freight wastes time on both sides and, according to MIT research Chris shared, can lead to higher carrier rates in the next cycle.
  • Scenario analysis in practice. Optimisation helps shippers weigh cost against operational needs such as carrier caps, incumbent preference and the number of carriers a team can manage.
  • Automation and the human in the loop. Automated bidding is already speeding up spot events. The question now is where humans add the most value across spot buying, mini-bids and the annual RFP.
  • Preparing leadership for rising rates. Chris argued line-haul rates are as volatile and uncontrollable as fuel, which strengthens the case for index-linked pricing and for preparing your CFO and CPO for increases.

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