Internet Could Destroy Freight Brokerage Industry -TIA

ORLANDO, Fla.[Mar. 9, 2000] – The communications technology that fostered incredible growth in the freight brokerage industry now seems on the verge of buring it.

At the annual convention of the Transportation Intermediaries Association, held March 9 to 11, brokers talked about the Internet and what it has done for them – and could do to them.

Some brokers expressed fear that increasingly complex freight-matching systems will allow shippers to post their own loads on the Internet, cutting brokers out of the market.It could destroy the brokerage industry,” said Meyer Bolnick, vice president of King Cos. in Rogers, Minn., who added that shippers are already using the Internet to solicit competitive bids from carriers. He said large carriers are using the systems to pick up backhauls at low rates.

The associated press recently reported an amalgamation of sorts between traditional competitors General Mills, Pillsbury, Land O’Lakes, and the packaging suppliers Fort James and Graphic Packaging. They are partnering to share trucks, intending to cut costs as well as the number of empty or partially-loaded miles traveled.

Technology from Nistevo.com will allow the alliance to coordinate shipments and trucks as well as track shipment
locations.