Retailers Reverse Customer Pick-Up Arrangements, Driving Incremental Freight Rate Increases

## Retailers Shift Freight Responsibility, Pressuring Rates A notable structural shift is underway in the freight market as retailers roll back customer pick-up (CPU) arrangements and reassume control of inbound transportation, according to FreightWaves' latest SONAR Situation Report. The reversal of CPU programmes — under which retailers had previously transferred freight collection responsibility to their suppliers or third-party buyers — is contributing to incremental rate increases as carriers adjust to the reallocation of freight volumes and routing decisions. According to FreightWaves, the market is undergoing a 'rapid reallocation of transportation responsibility,' a development with meaningful implications for shippers, carriers, and logistics providers operating across the supply chain. ### Why CPU Reversals Matter Customer pick-up arrangements became increasingly common during periods of freight market softness, allowing retailers to leverage their scale and negotiate favourable rates directly with carriers. As market conditions shift, however, the economics of maintaining those programmes are changing. When retailers relinquish CPU control, freight that was previously consolidated or routed under retailer-managed contracts reverts to supplier-managed shipments. This fragmentation can reduce load efficiency and introduce additional touchpoints into the supply chain, factors that typically support higher per-unit transportation costs. For maritime and intermodal stakeholders, shifts in domestic freight allocation patterns can have downstream effects on port drayage demand, inland container movements, and the distribution of import volumes across gateway facilities. ### Market Implications The trend signals that some retailers may be recalibrating their logistics strategies in response to changing inventory cycles, import volumes, or carrier capacity dynamics. Rate pressure at the domestic trucking level can also influence decisions around near-port warehousing and transload operations — areas of direct relevance to the broader maritime supply chain. Freight market participants will be monitoring whether the CPU rollback represents a broad industry trend or remains concentrated among specific retail segments, as the scale of the shift will determine its ultimate impact on carrier pricing and capacity utilisation. *Source: FreightWaves SONAR Situation Report*