The trucking industry is in an interesting position right now. The economy is on the rise, and fleets can command higher rates from customers. Qualified drivers are seeing an increase in sign-on bonuses to fill open positions, however, there is still a gap in availability, which of course comes back to businesses paying more to get their shipments hauled to their destinations. With solutions in the pipeline to increase visibility, shippers are now looking to locate freight based on truck capacity.

The New Demand For Truck Capacity

While locating available drivers is the most immediate concern, it is only part of the puzzle. Businesses need to ship products and materials, and the first available drivers are usually the ones who get awarded the jobs. With the current driver shortage, companies are switching to smaller carriers to handle the overflow. This will eventually lead to the problem of truck capacity. Small and mid-range shippers do not offer the truck capacity to meet the needs of larger businesses. The need for a means to help locate truck capacity is wide open, and people in power are looking to the tech industry for solutions.

Logistics Software Developers Have Answers

The demand for truck capacity solutions has startups, universities, and even major logistics players like IBM (one of the leaders in blockchain technology) focusing their efforts on developing answers to the current shipping problems. Locating truck capacity is not going to enough to solve shipping issues. The solution will have to incorporate artificial intelligence and predictive technologies to to anticipate capacity loads and their locations so shippers can schedule drivers and resources accordingly.

The New Normal

Earlier this year, we started to seeing one or two reports of how much it cost some customers to use certain trucking fleets to haul goods. This is no longer out of the ordinary. Rates have increased across the board, and businesses will have to adjust. The ball is in the court of the trucking industry. Some pundits are too eager to point the finger at Amazon and e-commerce, but the truth is, in a better economy and production increasing in every industry, the demand for drivers and truck capacity is only going to rise, and everyone is going to have to pay.

Express Freight Finance is focused on offering comprehensive solutions to independent drivers and carriers of all sizes. If you want immediate access to revenue instead of waiting on your clients to pay their invoices, contact the experts at Express Freight Finance.