Before you pay spot rates, check what your network already has
When contract rates fall behind the market, carriers reject more tenders and shippers end up paying spot prices for capacity they may already have. This checklist walks through where to look first.
Rising spot rates and tender rejections are pushing more freight onto the spot market, often at prices budgets weren't built to absorb. Before pricing new capacity, it's worth checking whether your own network already has room to absorb the volume.
This nine-point checklist covers the levers that recover capacity without new contracts or new carriers — backhauls, multi-stop routing, cross-docking, digital freight matching and mode alternatives — so you can find what's already available before going to spot.
What's inside
Nine checks to run against your own network before pricing new capacity
Backhaul, consolidation and multi-stop routing opportunities most teams miss
Where digital freight matching and mode alternatives fit in
A short explainer on why each lever matters, not just what to check
