Freight Shipments

With the “old guard” leaving the sector, new blood is moving into the freight payment industry. They are more data-driven, faster, and more international—and savvy shippers are benefiting by realizing lower, better-managed freight bills.

August’s shipment reading—at 1.278—increased 3.6% annually, and freight expenditures—at 4.614—increased 20.4%

The report’s second quarter shipment index value—at 121.6—was up 2.3% compared to the first quarter and essentially flat annually, down 0.9%. On the freight spend side, the index—at 279.6—was up 3.3% compared to the first quarter, while also posting a 19.7% annual gain.

Optimizing your freight at order-level

The report’s first quarter shipment index value—at 118.9—was down 2.2% compared to the fourth quarter and headed up 1.1% annually. As previously reported, for calendar year 2021, shipments fell 0.5% annually and were down 4.5% when compared to 2019. On the freight spend side, the index—at 270.7—was up 1.2% compared to the fourth quarter and 27.5% annually.

December’s shipment reading—at 1.208—saw a 7.7% annual increase, and freight expenditures—at 4.419—increased 43.6%.

At a time when it the current federal transportation authorization—the FAST (Fixing America’s Surface Transportation) Act—is set to expire, at the end of September, the United States Department of Transportation (DOT) this week issued a National Freight Strategic Plan (NFSP).

Freight transportation and logistics services provider Schneider and Blue Yonder (formerly JDA), a provider of AI-driven and end-to-end supply chain management services, recently announced they are teaming up on a new carrier marketplace offering that will run within Blue Yonder’s TMS (transportation management system) platform, entitled Luminate.

February shipments—at 1.085—were down 7.5% annually and up 6.2% compared to January, and expenditures—at 2.679—decreased 6.8% annually and were up 4.3% compared to January.