Blog · Board and management reporting · Freight brokers and 3PLs
How a freight broker or 3PL measures the share of loads on each lane carried by its top carrier from the load ledger, sets a stated threshold per lane volume band, finds the lanes where one carrier's exit would leave shippers uncovered, and pairs the concentration with the carrier's acceptance trend so the risk is seen before the tender is refused.
A carrier sales team knows its carriers. The load ledger knows that on the Chicago to Dallas lane one carrier has moved eighty-one percent of loads this quarter and has started refusing tenders on Fridays. This guide sets out carrier concentration per lane, the threshold by volume band, the acceptance pairing, and the list.
Per lane, per period:
Top-carrier share = loads with the largest carrier ÷ loads on the lane Carriers used = distinct carriers with at least one load Top-carrier acceptance = tenders accepted ÷ tenders offered to that carrier, trailing eight weeks
Shipper and carrier identifiers only.
loads per lane = Σ carriers' loads on the lane
A load with no carrier, which is a load still uncovered or covered off-system, fails it and is listed.
| Loads per month | Concentration threshold |
|---|---|
| Under 10 | Not assessed |
| 10 to 50 | 85% |
| 50 to 200 | 70% |
| Over 200 | 55% |
Stated on the report. A lane over its band's threshold is on the list.
| Lane | Loads/month | Top carrier share | Carriers | Acceptance now | 8 weeks ago | Shipper revenue exposed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CHI to DAL | 210 | 81% | 6 | 79% | 96% | $410,000 |
| ATL to MIA | 140 | 74% | 4 | 97% | 98% | $190,000 |
| LAX to PHX | 60 | 88% | 2 | 91% | 93% | $84,000 |
The Chicago to Dallas lane is the finding: over threshold, one carrier, and that carrier's acceptance has dropped seventeen points. Atlanta to Miami is concentrated with a carrier who is accepting everything, and that is a partner lane the report shows without alarm.
One threshold for all lanes. Every small lane is a finding. Band by volume.
Concentration without acceptance. Facts without the warning.
Carrier subsidiaries counted separately. One carrier group looks like three. Roll up by group.
Uncovered loads dropped. They are the lane's current risk, not a data error.
Mapped once, the load ledger, the tender log and the lane master produce concentration, carriers used, acceptance trend and the list every week. Covirage builds this from the exports as they are. The freight page describes the setup, and the lane share guide covers the shipper-side measure this sits beside.
It depends on lane volume. A lane with four loads a month will always be concentrated, and that is fine. A lane with two hundred loads a month at 80 percent with one carrier is exposure. Set the threshold per volume band, state it, and revisit it.
Because concentration is a fact and falling acceptance is the warning. A dominant carrier that accepts 98 percent of tenders is a partner. One that has slipped to 80 is about to hand the lane back, and the concentration says how much.
At the shipper revenue on the lane times the share with the top carrier, or, where the broker tracks it, at the spread between the carrier's contracted rate and the current spot rate times the loads. The second is the cost of the lane going to spot; the first is what is exposed.