Let’s face it: Truckload has not recovered from the long freight market downturn, and the future doesn’t look particularly bright.
A late September report by TrueNorth, titled “Forecasting North American Trucking Freight Rates for 2026,” cited FTR Transportation Intelligence models that “indicate that total truck freight volumes (Ioads) will be essentially flat through 2025 and 2026. In other words, they aren’t expecting a big surge in freight demand: volumes are projected to bump along at roughly the same level for the next couple of years. Given the tepid demand, FTR sees only modest rate increases on the horizon.”
Thankfully, LTL is another story.
Why LTL is a Smart Move for Truckload Brokers
The TrueNorth forecast pointed out that continued e-commerce growth is good for both freight rates and LTL shipping. It said the healthy e-commerce market “sustains demand for certain types of trucking services: last-mile delivery and parcel/LTL volumes, as well as regional distribution center (DC) replenishments. The more consumers buy from Amazon, Walmart.com, etc., the more trucks are needed to move goods from ports or factories to fulfillment centers, and from DCs to local sort centers or stores. This translates into steady freight demand even if other sectors (like heavy industrial or energy) are soft.”
It also translates into a growing need for freight brokers to handle all those e-commerce moves from ports or factories to fulfillment centers, and from DCs to local sort centers or stores.
For freight brokers, adding LTL shipping to your offerings opens doors to new customer segments and recurring shipments. It also provides a competitive edge. Brokers that handle both truckload and LTL become shippers’ one-stop logistics partners.
Key Challenges for LTL Freight Brokers
Still, it’s not advisable to just start telling customers, “Yeah, we do LTL.” A lot of freight brokers don’t like dealing with LTL because combining multiple shipments bound for several destinations into a single trailer is complicated and prone to delays and missed delivery windows.
Then there’s the overhaul of the National Motor Freight Classification (NMFC) system, which has made it more critical than ever to accurately determine shipments’ density, weight, and dimensions.
Adding to the complexity are the number of entities involved in LTL shipping. Multiple shippers, carriers, and brokers increase the risk of errors. Inaccurate or incomplete paperwork can delay a delivery — and all those that follow.
Manual processes — quoting, booking, and tracking — can cripple LTL shipping by further slowing operations and resulting in poor service levels and unhappy customers.
Technology Is Key to LTL Brokerage Success
Effective deployment of technology, specifically artificial intelligence, is essential to success in LTL freight brokerage. Unfortunately, there are now a lot of companies touting AI solutions with sexy demos, and it can be difficult to find the select few providers that really know what they’re doing.
Drew Herpich, chief commercial officer at Nolan Transportation Group (NTG), told Drumkit CEO Dhruv Gupta during an episode of “Beat the Buzz” that it’s important to choose an AI partner with a clear strategic vision.
“Understanding their strategic road map is going to be key long term because I think today some of the things that people are getting excited about might be table stakes in the AI world six to 12 months from now,” Herpich said.
At Drumkit, we’re staying ahead of the curve. We’re excited about innovations competitors don’t even have on their road maps. We’re winning because we’re listening. Partners like NTG are telling us that they don’t need song-and-dance demos; they need real-world solutions to better serve their customers. They want to know what Drumkit’s AI-powered freight broker software can do for them today — and what it will do for them six months from now and what it will do for them a year from now. They want to make the AI innovation journey together.
How Drumkit Accelerates LTL Success
Drumkit’s AI-assisted workflows simplify the addition of LTL shipping capabilities without any operational disruption. With Drumkit, LTL freight brokers can automate everything from rate quotes and load management to real-time tracking and customer communication. For example, Drumkit can automate appointment scheduling directly from your email or browser. Whether it’s a pickup confirmation or a delivery time change or a reschedule request at the last minute through a carrier portal, Drumkit handles it all.
Let Drumkit help design your strategic road map for successfully handling LTL in your freight brokerage. Book an introductory call.
