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Industry snapshot for freight bill payments
The freight bill payments sector remains robust, according to industry leaders, even as providers work to incorporate artificial intelligence without losing the human oversight needed to catch errors and control excess spend. Executives warn that buyers can be distracted by marketing buzz rather than delivery capability.
Mike Regan, founding president of TranzAct, points out that TranzAct employs roughly 250 people, a staffing level he considers important when evaluating vendors. He recalls reviewing a freight payment company that appeared strong on paper until he learned it had just 20 employees, a gap that left accounts unsupported.
Market participants and scale
Shippers choose among large, mid-sized and regional freight payment companies. Large players include Cass Information Systems and U.S. Bank; the latter processes $43 billion in freight payments annually, making it a leader among U.S.-based firms.
Mid-sized providers include TranzAct and Cleveland-based CT Logistics, the latter entering its second century of serving freight customers. Market uncertainty is a top concern for many executives, a point emphasized by Jeff Pape, senior vice president and general manager of transportation for U.S. Bank.
Core services freight payment firms provide
Freight bill payment companies aim to deliver best-practice audit and payment systems that support shippers across several key areas:
- How to understand and analyze freight spend on a global basis
- How to achieve significant audit savings
- How to optimize invoice management processes
- How to improve working capital
AI adoption and the continuing need for human expertise
Artificial intelligence has become a priority for back-office transportation teams, with more shippers using AI to detect anomalies, such as duplicate invoices, and to surface audit errors faster than manual review alone. CT Logistics CEO Allan Miner says the company is training AI to be an effective freight auditor while preserving human relationships and judgment.
Regan cautions that some vendors overstate AI’s ability to replace people; he estimates that 30% of AI value comes from prompts and another 30% depends on human involvement. Peter Latta, chairman and CEO of A. Duie Pyle, adds that technology is a major enabler of efficiency and that AI’s potential to cut costs and improve operations is both meaningful and tangible.
Data integration and ERP connectivity
Providers and shippers are focused on deeper integration of AI-derived insights with enterprise resource planning systems to achieve a fuller view of supply chain operations. TranzAct highlights the importance of combining freight data with sales information to reveal customer-level profitability.
CT Logistics explains that integration needs vary by industry. Highly competitive global sectors, like pharmaceuticals and electronics, often demand detailed analysis. CT Logistics uses its FreightSaver software to evaluate customers' top contracts—running the top 10 through the tool to identify best rates based on cost and geographic coverage and then translating those contracts to the client’s specific cost picture.
Regan stresses that modern integration is bidirectional rather than unidirectional, exchanging data both ways to reduce manual effort and increase visibility.
Primary reasons shippers engage freight payment partners
Executives say shippers typically select freight bill payment partners for three main benefits:
- To save time through automated handling and collaboration tools
- To prevent fraud and ensure compliance
- To reduce costs by eliminating manual processes
Fraud, theft and financial impact
Fraud prevention has become a central concern. Freight theft in the U.S. is estimated at $30 billion annually, with many experts believing the true figure is higher. Rising theft and fraud increase insurance costs and raise the overall cost of goods.
Jeff Pape notes that higher theft levels are driving up insurance and transportation expenses, contributing to economic uncertainty as shipment volumes contract while transportation spend increases.
Global reach, multimodal services and analytics
As companies operate across modes and borders, leading freight bill payment providers extend capabilities across ocean, air, rail and cross-border movements and seek to build global data warehouses. Miner says that, while regional subsidiaries sometimes resist centralized programs, what many organizations truly want is consolidated data and insight.
Beyond payment execution, providers now offer analytics to support cost reduction, carrier performance assessment, routing and modal optimization. Those tools help shippers identify preferred network routes and partners and respond to tariff shifts, monetary policy changes and sourcing decisions such as nearshoring.
Digital payments platforms and event-based settlement
Digital payments platforms are reshaping the market. PayCargo, which supports air cargo, ocean freight and trucking transactions, enables shippers, freight forwarders and carriers to send and receive payments electronically and is driving further digitization across modes.
Dennis Monts, president of PayCargo, says the market is entering the next phase of digital transformation: moving from automating payment execution and reconciliation toward event-based payments that link verified financial transactions to physical cargo release or delivery events.
To deliver on that promise, providers are investing in integrations with carriers, marine terminals, air handlers and intermodal systems so that payments can be tied to real-world shipment events. PayCargo’s two-sided network supports instant, verified payments with freight-lifecycle visibility, audit trails and embedded analytics, helping reduce friction and latency in settlement and enabling more predictable supply chain operations.
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