Freight Load Payments: Looking Back at How Far We’ve Come

There is no doubt the trucking industry today is very different from just a decade ago and nothing like what it was like throughout most of the 20^th century.

The trucking industry has adjusted to legislative and technological changes and even a transformation in how a lot of people do business. Just last month, it was reported that e-commerce overtook brick-and-mortar businesses.

Yet at the end of the day, the trucking industry comes down to moving goods and getting revenue from customers. The premise has remained constant, but the methods by which the trucking industry handles freight load payments have changed drastically.

Cash Wasn’t Always King

For most of the 20^th century, freight load payments were made in cash. This would seem like a simple concept, but problems arose when large sums of paper money were being transported as payment for goods delivered.

Payments were stolen, and sometimes the temptation for employees to dip into funds that were not theirs caused a number of issues within larger trucking companies. The trucking industry needed a more secure way to handle freight load payments.

The Check’s in the Mail, We Promise

As an alternative to cash, many trucking companies started to insist on checks or similar forms of payment for deliveries. While a check was certainly more secure than bundles of cash, other problems arose.

Checks could get lost in the mail. Checks could bounce. Customers could forget to pay. In order to have security with freight load payments, especially when dealing with the unique challenges of the trucking industry, such as long waits on staggered payment schedules, ensuring a reliable and steady cash flow for trucking fleet became paramount.

Consequently, cash flow across the board became a lot slower, necessitating strategic financial management to address the intricacies of the industry.

Factoring Changes Everything

The United States, and the world at large, do business much faster these days. The trucking industry always has to be a few steps ahead of the logistics game to ensure goods and raw materials are picked up and delivered on time to keep the economy moving.

However, old payment methods simply can’t keep pace. The industry needs solutions for freight load payments that are both secure and efficient.

Express Freight Finance is a leader in factoring services for the trucking industry. We provide cash for invoices within 24 hours so trucking companies can maintain cash flow, and we provide a host of tools to keep your accounts manageable and secure.

Freight load payments have come a long way, and Express Freight Finance is helping trucking companies across the country stay ahead of the changes.