Overdependence on anything isn’t good. For shippers, overdependence on freight brokers isn’t good for business.
There are more than 26,500 freight brokerages operating in the United States, and they’re all competing for shippers’ business. It’s risky to hand over all your freight to one or two brokers – or even spread out among a variety of brokers with the majority of your spend.
- Freight brokers are not transparent in their pricing, and shippers likely won’t know what carriers are getting paid.
- Freight brokers are trying to make as much money as they can. They may even award your freight to the worst-in-class carriers just to secure the cheapest pricing. Not only are these carriers unproven, they’re likely to be unsafe and have inadequate insurance.
- It’s a one-sided relationship as brokers typically only care about themselves.
- The freight brokerage industry is crowded. Shippers can be left high and dry if they are overdependent on one freight brokerage if it suddenly shutters.
- Shippers lose visibility when going through brokers, which means a higher risk for potential freight theft.
Freight Brokers Promise — But May Not Deliver
What happens when freight brokers overpromise but underdeliver? Let’s use Convoy as an example. When the digital brokerage closed its doors in October 2023, some carriers weren’t paid for delivered freight. Some went to the shippers in an attempt to get compensated for completed work.
Ikea is one of those shippers. Ikea filed a federal lawsuit, asking a judge to decide who should pay for more than $500,000 worth of shipments brokered by Convoy. It’s a messy situation — but not an unusual one in the volatile freight industry.
Shippers Don’t Need to Depend on Brokers
There’s another way for shippers to get their freight covered without depending on brokers. Anti-brokering is a simple concept. It’s surprising that no one has done it before. But, it is possible for shippers to connect directly with tested carriers and depend on them to deliver.
Test Drive is the freight industry’s first anti-broker. Our platform enables shippers to test carrier performance, moving actual shipments via our authority. With our carrier testing, we are a strategic resource for shippers to procure trusted transportation providers.
Test Drive provides:
Cost Transparency
Freight brokers can charge hefty hidden fees. As an anti-broker, Test Drive operates with a fixed low margin. Our full disclosure platform includes a 100% pass-through of all accessorial charges to the carriers.
Vetted Carriers
Test Drive partners with tested and trusted carriers on steady lanes.. Shippers can depend on Test Drive to connect them with reliable transportation providers.
Advanced Technology
Our advanced AI technology enables optimal matching between shippers and carriers and facilitates seamless transitions to direct contracts.
Load Visibility
With Test Drive, shippers and carriers know exactly who is on the other side of the shipment. Our tools also provide real-time visibility so shippers know where that freight is. We then enable shippers and carriers to build direct relationships providing a longterm benefit to both the shipper and the carrier.
Shippers Can Depend on Test Drive
Test Drive acts in the best interests of both the shipper and the carrier — and eliminates overdependence on freight brokers. Our mission is to bring shippers and carriers together to help them find synergies that improve our industry – ultimately leading to better cost, service, and capacity metrics.
Test us. Request a quote today.