Shifting pressures in motor freight

Motor freight operations continue to move goods across the country, but the business pressures around them are changing. Shippers increasingly demand faster delivery and lower costs while carriers contend with thin profit margins, tighter regulation, low freight rates and inconsistent demand.

Although capacity and rates have become more favorable to shippers this year, overall market complexity remains high as shippers seek to control spend, carriers aim to protect profitability and brokers try to balance both sides.

Widespread technology adoption across the industry

Technology has moved to the center of responses from shippers, carriers and third-party logistics providers. Companies are adopting transportation management systems (TMS) to improve routing and visibility, 3PLs are deploying digital platforms to coordinate across networks, and carriers rely on tools such as real-time tracking, RFID and GPS to oversee assets.

Nathan Lease, research senior director on Gartner’s logistics and customer fulfillment team, notes steady progress toward platforms that reduce manual work and increase transparency. He highlights a trend of systematizing tasks that were once handled by hand, such as driver dispatching and manual data entry, into core software.

Measured gains reported in Gartner research

Gartner’s "Future of Logistics Survey 2025" finds that high-performing firms are seeing concrete returns from digital investments, including efficiency improvements, faster decision-making and better asset utilization. Lease also stresses that organizational culture matters—companies that align people and processes to technology realize the most benefit.

At the same time, Lease says the survey revealed a common obstacle: many organizations are not capturing full value from existing technology. For some, the issue is not the tools themselves but how initiatives are prioritized and supported across the company.

Spot market changes and new demands on TMS platforms

Researchers at the MIT Center for Transportation and Logistics say structural market changes are reshaping procurement approaches. Angela Acocella, Ph.D., explains that the share of freight sent to the spot market rose from roughly 5% historically to about 10% during COVID and has not returned to previous levels.

That evolution requires TMS and procurement systems that can dynamically compare contracted capacity and spot options rather than treating spot freight as a temporary fallback. Shippers are looking for tools that produce dynamic price quotes, connect more directly with broker platforms and enable autonomous or AI-supported buying decisions.

Visibility, data maturity and targeted predictive tools

Visibility technologies remain important, but adoption has been uneven. Larger organizations with clean, well-structured data have advanced visibility platforms, while smaller carriers and logistics providers often struggle because of how their data is stored or configured. Acocella notes that this limits access to the benefits of better visibility for smaller players.

There are encouraging signs: over the past three to four years more vendors have introduced diagnostic and maturity-assessment tools that help small and mid-sized companies benchmark their digital capabilities and identify practical steps to improve.

Looking forward, Acocella expects predictive freight technologies to become more focused, with AI applied where it creates measurable value. She cautions that hesitation remains among some shippers who do not yet see a clear return from broad AI deployments.

Insurance, compliance and fraud prevention

Insurance and carrier compliance have grown in importance as shippers seek to limit risk. Brian Fish, senior project manager at St. Onge Co., says it is surprisingly common for shippers to tender loads without verifying that a carrier’s insurance meets requirements.

Modern TMS platforms often include features that flag missing or expired insurance instead of relying on spreadsheets or manual checks. Brandon Hamilton, systems project manager for TMS/Transportation at St. Onge, reports that more shippers are using built-in carrier management functions to automate those checks.

Independent services also play a role: Registry Monitoring Insurance Services (RMIS) validates carrier insurance, safety ratings and operating authority, while newer providers such as Highway focus on identity verification and fraud prevention to reduce risks like double brokering.

Load board automation and operational efficiency

Automation of load boards is changing how carriers source freight. Rather than manually scanning opportunities, carriers now use platforms that can evaluate and bid on thousands of loads automatically, cutting time waste, accelerating transactions and improving pricing accuracy.

Hamilton emphasizes that automation can scale a carrier’s bidding capability—allowing a single operator to manage bids across thousands of loads—and that routing tools which lower deadhead miles can meaningfully improve margins for mid-sized carriers.

Data-driven strategy and the need for cross-functional execution

The broader outlook for freight management is shaped by how companies invest in data and systems that turn information into actionable insight. Acocella says shippers that invest in data capabilities will be best positioned to capture value and pull ahead.

Lease warns that technology initiatives cannot succeed in isolation. Decisions about TMS, visibility and AI tools affect finance, operations and customer service, so organizations must involve multiple functions rather than treating freight technology as solely an IT project.

He argues that lasting digital transformation depends on connecting people, processes and technology. Vendors may promote AI and automation, but the practical advantage comes from integrating those tools into a cross-functional operating model.