Every shipper eventually faces the same question: keep buying trucks on the spot market one load at a time, or commit to a carrier on dedicated or contract lanes? Both have a place. Here is how to think about it.
What "spot" really means
Spot freight is priced and booked load by load, usually close to the ship date. It's flexible — you only pay for what you move — but price and availability move with the market. When capacity is tight, rates jump and trucks get harder to find. You may also see a different carrier, and a different driver, on every load.
What "dedicated" or "contract" means
With dedicated or contract freight, you agree with a carrier on lanes, volume and a schedule for a period of time. The carrier plans its trucks and drivers around your freight. In return you get predictable capacity, consistent service and a rate that doesn't swing every week.
Signs you're ready for dedicated lanes
- You ship the same origin and destination pairs every week
- Missed or late pickups cause real problems on your dock or job site
- You spend too much time re-booking trucks and chasing status
- Your receivers expect the same appointment windows every time
- You want one point of contact who already knows your freight
When spot still makes sense
Truly one-off shipments, unpredictable seasonal peaks and lanes you rarely use are good candidates for the spot market. Many companies run a hybrid: core recurring lanes on contract, overflow on spot.
Questions to ask a dedicated carrier
- Are you an asset-based carrier or a broker?
- How long have you been operating, and from where?
- Which lanes do you already run regularly?
- Who do I call for status, and are they reachable after hours?
- What happens if a truck breaks down on my load?
That last question matters. At R&J Transport Service Inc we run heavy towing in-house, so a mechanical problem on a contract load doesn't turn into a search for a wrecker.
How to start
Pull a few months of shipment data, group it by lane and frequency, and share it with the carrier. A good carrier will come back with a rate and a realistic capacity commitment — not just a number. We have been running freight out of Orlando since 2004; send us your lanes and we'll build a plan.