Outdated Bid Strategies Leaving Shippers Exposed as Peak Season Tightens

## Shippers Warned Against Applying Soft-Market Playbooks to a Tightening Freight Environment Shippers entering peak season with bid strategies forged during the prolonged soft freight market of 2022 through 2025 are facing a rude awakening, according to industry planners tracking carrier contract negotiations. Craig Lough, Director of Strategic Planning at regional less-than-truckload (LTL) carrier A. Duie Pyle, told FreightWaves that the combination of long rate locks, steep penalty clauses, and limited flexibility — tactics that served shippers well when capacity was abundant — is now working against them in a market where conditions have materially shifted. The core problem, as Lough describes it, is one of timing and adaptability. During the extended freight downturn, shippers held significant leverage and used it to lock in favorable long-term rates while imposing punitive terms on carriers for service failures. Carriers, hungry for volume, largely accepted those terms. That dynamic is now reversing. As peak season demand builds, available capacity is tightening, and carriers are increasingly in a position to push back on contract structures that limit their operational flexibility or compress margins. Shippers who have not revisited their procurement approach risk finding themselves either paying premium spot rates to cover gaps or facing service disruptions where contracted carriers deprioritize unfavorable accounts. ### Why This Matters for the Broader Freight Market The shift signals a potential inflection point in the freight cycle — one that market participants have been anticipating but that is now beginning to manifest in real contract negotiations. For maritime and intermodal shippers in particular, the downstream effects of tighter trucking capacity can ripple through port drayage, inland distribution, and last-mile delivery, compressing the efficiency gains made during the softer market years. Industry analysts have noted that shippers who built flexibility into their 2025 bid cycles — including shorter contract windows, tiered rate structures, and collaborative capacity commitments — are better positioned to navigate the current environment without significant cost exposure. Lough's comments serve as a timely reminder that freight market cycles demand adaptive procurement strategies. The playbook that delivers results in a buyer's market can become a liability when the pendulum swings toward carriers. Shippers are advised to review existing contract terms, engage proactively with carrier partners ahead of peak volume surges, and consider whether current penalty and rate-lock structures reflect today's market realities rather than those of two or three years ago. *Source: FreightWaves / A. Duie Pyle*