Last year was huge for LTL freight shipping, with a high demand primarily driven by the rapid growth of eCommerce. This tendency requires logistics to be more flexible and follow trends to attract various businesses. Adopting these innovations can help you remain competitive in the supply chain arena.
Why choose LTL freight shipping?
Despite the constant changeability of the supply chain industry, LTL shipping remains top-rated among business owners. Characterized with high carrier capacity, the LTL shipping mode can make your delivery fast and affordable. Instead of ordering large transport units to haul your load, you may book a space in the truck and pay only for that space. It lets you save the costs of your logistics budget and schedule shipments more frequently.
In addition, LTL transportation readily accepts fresh LTL freight shipping trends, making it even more appealing for retailers. Given the vast network of LTL carriers, you can pick the most suitable service that uses modern technology and supports active communication with you. It creates a perfect opportunity for establishing long-term partnerships with reliable individuals.
LTL shipping trends of 2022
In 2022, analytics expect steady growth with a more balanced market. Besides, shippers keep noticing the significant impact of technology, especially the rise of mobile tech. More small companies and startups enter the market annually, and freight rates increase. Let’s dive deeper into 2022 LTL shipping trends and see what factors currently influence the LTL shipping industry.
Rates are going up
With a spike in eCommerce projects, the demand and popularity of LTL freight shipping have drastically grown. Also, more and more individual shippers are becoming aware of this shipping model. Over the last couple of years, increased demand has led to a steady increase in LTL freight rates. 2022 isn’t an exception. Recently, UPS announced the 2022 General Rate Increase (GRI) and stated LTL freight rates would rise by 5,9%.
However, the rate increase proves the popularity of LTL freight shipping and indicates its further growth in the upcoming year. eCommerce customers are expected to make more online purchases, thus generating more shipments. It’s a good sign for those hesitating to intensify their shipment frequency, and below we’ll explain why.
Balanced capacity demand
While in the few previous years, LTL carriers were put under massive pressure to supply shippers with the necessary capacity and equipment, things became more balanced in 2022. Overall, shipping demand is settling towards more consistent and steady growth. Eventually, carriers and shipping providers are now more prepared for a busy season. Market moderation is grounded by secure pricing changes to keep supply and demand balanced throughout the year.
How can it benefit you as a business owner? Despite the tendency for growing shipping rates, the situations of insufficient carrier capacity are getting rare. The more available carriers you see on various platforms, the more evenly they form the prices. According to the rule of demand and supply, you have a high chance of booking a capacity at a reasonable cost.
Impact of technology
There’s no surprise that technology is reshaping the logistics and transportation industry. It changes LTL as well, in its way. Since LTL freight is commonly used by individual shippers, retailers, and small businesses, the tech emphasis will be on better connectivity. There’s an expected spike in mobile apps and tools to book, monitor, and manage LTL shipments for both shippers and carriers in a better way. Besides, mobile apps are convenient for customer-side usage. Through an app, your buyers can quickly get all the crucial data on their shipment and connect faster to a customer support platform.
In terms of automation and freight spend control, advanced software like transportation management systems (TMS), electronic data interchange (EDI), application programming interface (API), and other tools will be required to manage the business. For example, transportation management systems can help you organize all the logistics data in one place and get quick access to your archives from any device. Additionally, this software offers a wide range of analytical tools you can apply to your sales data or generate financial reports.
Essentially, advanced tracking will be a must-have to keep customers updated. Shipment tracking software isn’t new in the logistics industry, but now it’s becoming more accessible and facilitated. Now, you can track your shipment from your cellphone in just a few simple steps. Also, shipment tracking is highly efficient for the shipper-customer interaction. Seeing the order’s location, status, and estimated delivery time effectively improves your buyers’ experience.
LTL freight shipping with GoShip
GoShip digital platform does its best to follow the LTL freight shipping trends and keep its customers notified of the latest changes. On our website, we provide relevant information on essential logistics updates. Besides, you can use many electronic tools to book a shipment at an affordable price. Check out our LTL freight services and get a free LTL quote today!