March 21, 2025
Let’s be honest. That annual freight contract you signed? It’s not working out — time for the talk.
Markets are going haywire. Supply chains stretch to breaking. Consumer demand zigs when you expect it to zag. All while you sit there, stuck in last year’s agreement while the world burns around you.
The proof? A recent Freightos survey found that 80% of BCOs renegotiated their long-term ocean contracts in 2023 when market rates dropped. During 2021’s peak volatility, 35% of contracted containers got rolled. And after facing contract failures, 77% of shippers and forwarders completely changed their procurement strategy.
Those numbers tell a story. When contracts fail, businesses adapt or die. No wonder over three-quarters of shipping pros revamped their entire approach.
Supply chain flexibility means actual survival when things get weird. And things are definitely getting weird.
Annual shipping contracts once felt safe. Now, they lock you into yesterday’s reality while today changes at warp speed. Pay-as-you-ship models offer an escape from these restraints, but making the switch demands a clear understanding of what you gain — and what you leave behind.
Market rates are crashing, but you’re stuck paying yesterday’s premium prices. Sound familiar?
Your finance team watches in frustration as spot rates keep dropping while your fixed contracts keep bleeding money month after month. Meanwhile, your competitors that embraced pay-as-you-ship models are riding these market waves to significant savings instead of drowning under outdated agreements.
The numbers tell the story: Companies using flexible, index-based contracts are pocketing 5-10% more of their transportation budget. And it gets better — shippers that have switched to flexible dedicated capacity aren’t just saving up to 40%; they’re actually improving customer service at the same time.
Want even more dramatic results? Look at what happened in Q2 2024, when intermodal spot rates ran 23.4% below truckload rates. The smartest companies — those nimble enough to adapt their approach — have seen savings approaching 100% on certain shipments just by knowing when to pivot their routing strategy.
Why keep paying premium prices when the market offers discounts?
Your contract swore it would be there for you. Funny how that works out. Peak season hits, and suddenly, your “guaranteed” containers get bumped while your competitor’s stuff sails through. Then business slows down, and guess what? You’re still paying for empty space nobody’s using.
Look, flexible shipping flips the script. Need more room when sales boom? You got it. Business slows? You’re not stuck with the bill for ghost containers. The big retailers figured this out years ago — they mix long-term deals with spot options and laugh all the way to the bank. Meanwhile, the rest waste weeks every year haggling over annual contracts that’ll probably fall apart anyway. The old way makes as much sense as buying all your groceries for the year in January.
Q4 shipping turns normal people into screaming lunatics. Black Friday looms, warehouse space vanishes, and suddenly your freight costs triple. Then January hits, and tumbleweeds roll through your logistics department. Perhaps that’s why innovative companies have ditched the annual panic attack for something that actually works — supply chain flexibility.
Q4 freight madness hits like a sledgehammer. Your contract prices skyrocket with peak surcharges while your guaranteed space mysteriously disappears. Meanwhile, flex-model shippers pay surcharges only on what they ship, not what they predicted last February. Dynamic pricing keeps you competitive — seasonal rate adjustments balance out, so you pay more during Christmas chaos but catch big breaks during slow months. The beauty of flexible models? You spread shipments across multiple carriers, which slashes your risk when one carrier drops the ball. Your cash flow thanks you too — pay as you go means no massive upfront commitments strangling your budget right when you need capital most for holiday inventory.
January through September, your warehouses sit half-empty while you keep paying full freight prices. Flexible shipping eliminates that nightmare. Just-in-time shipments match your actual inventory needs, not some fantasy forecast from last year’s planning meeting. Your warehouse manager stopped pulling their hair out because real-time pricing encourages leaner operations — ship what you need when you need it. Your accounting department loves the smooth cash flow between feast and famine seasons. Best part? When summer sales surprise you, you can grab space without begging carriers that have already sold your “guaranteed” slots to someone else. The days of shipping air and paying for emptiness died with your last annual contract.
Want to scale your business without your freight costs eating all your profits? Keep your options open, move fast, and don’t get locked into long-term commitments that’ll come back to haunt you.
The writing sits on the wall in big neon letters. Flexible, on-demand shipping models win while rigid annual contracts crash and burn. Pay-as-you-ship strategies slash costs during slow times, scale instantly during crunch periods, and match your actual business needs instead of last year’s crystal ball guesses. Your competition already figured this out — dynamic pricing puts money back in your pocket while giving you the agility to pounce on opportunities or duck when problems arise. Smart shippers pay for results, not promises, and they sleep better at night knowing their supply chain bends instead of breaks.
FRAYT leads this freight revolution with guns blazing. Our 30,000 drivers across 50+ cities give you instant quotes without the usual smoke and mirrors. You pick the right vehicle for each job, pay only for what you use, and track everything in real time. No minimum volume requirements, no long-term commitments — just shipping that works. The system plugs directly into your existing operations, scales on demand during holiday madness, and lets you choose your favorite drivers through our Preferred Driver Program. While your peers wait for containers that never arrive, FRAYT customers jump between same day, last mile, and middle mile options faster than you can say, “My annual contract failed me again.”
So, sign up with FRAYT today. You won’t regret it.
