Freight broker transparency for Shippers

Freight broker transparency for Shippers: Digital freight brokers Convoy and Uber Freight have separately launched new tools intended to make pricing options for hauling loads more transparent for shippers.

Convoy Shipper Platform 2.0 includes Market Outlook, which shows shippers current and future trends by region. Also, it adds a feature called Lane Network, which gives shippers real-time data about changes in their lanes. Convoy launched the initial platform in 2015.

“We are finally at the point where we have enough data and experience from shipping all across the country that we can roll out this product,” said Lindsay Watt, head of product at Convoy.

Watt said Convoy is trying to help shippers understand across any lanes they’re working on how pricing is going to fluctuate over an annual basis. With Market Outlook, shippers can see Convoy’s proprietary Market Supply Index, which indicates how easily a shipper can book a truck at the market rate; expert analysis of the factors currently affecting the market; and an overview of seasonal freight impacts currently influencing capacity, according to the company.

Lane Network aggregates data Convoy has collected across the thousands of shipments it services each week to show lane seasonality trends — so shippers can gain visibility in market rates at the lane level and help optimize their freight spend.

“Even if you ship zero loads with Convoy, you can still sign up and get this product. And we don’t mind that,” Watt said. “You can ship with anyone else out there. You can put all your loads into this product, all your lanes. You can check and see where all the pricing is going. We are comfortable with that.”