What is Freight Bidding?

Let’s say you’ve got freight to move. Maybe regularly. Maybe across different lanes, or to a bunch of customers who all want deliveries on Tuesdays for some reason. You need carriers. You need decent rates. You don’t want to get burned. Enter: freight bidding. Sounds official, almost fancy. But at the end of the day, it’s just the process of asking carriers (or brokers) to quote you prices for specific freight — and then picking who gets the job. Kind of like hiring someone on a contract, but with trailers instead of résumés. Let’s unpack it a little.

So how does freight bidding actually work?

There are two main ways companies do it:

1. Spot bidding

This is the fast and dirty method. You’ve got a load. It needs to go now-ish. You throw it out to a few carriers or on a platform, and wait for offers.
Whoever gives you the best price (or fastest pickup or cleanest record — it’s not always about price) gets the job.

Great for:

• One-off loads
• Emergency shipments
• Random demand spikes

Downside? Prices can swing wildly. Especially in a tight market.

2. Contract bidding (aka RFP or RFQ process)

This is the slower but more strategic version. You plan ahead. You invite carriers to bid on lanes or volumes over a longer period — a quarter, a year, etc.

It usually looks like this:

• You send out a Request for Proposal (RFP)
• Carriers respond with rates, capacity, terms
• You compare, analyze, maybe negotiate
• You award lanes or volumes to chosen partners

Great for:

• Building relationships
• Locking in pricing
• Gaining some cost predictability

Just know: markets change. Locked-in doesn’t always mean “cheaper in the long run.”

Why even bother bidding?

Good question. Because yes — it takes time. And effort. And spreadsheets that somehow always break five minutes before the deadline.
But freight bidding, when done right, helps you:

• Benchmark rates — so you know what “good” actually looks like
• Diversify your carrier base — no more panicking when your go-to cancels
• Find hidden gems — smaller carriers who can run circles around the big guys on certain lanes
• Avoid emotional pricing — ever paid surge rates because “it felt urgent”? Yeah. Same.

Watch out for these traps

Freight bidding’s not perfect. And plenty of companies mess it up. Common mistakes?

• Choosing only based on price — cheap today can mean delays tomorrow. Or worse.
• Awarding too much to one carrier — they promise the moon, then collapse at the first holiday weekend.
• Ignoring service history — late pickups, bad communication, lost pallets. The quote doesn’t show that.
• Forgetting to audit after award — just because they won the bid doesn’t mean they’ll stick to the deal.

Pro tip: Always ask how they handled late freight last year. Their answer tells you more than their rate sheet.

Should small businesses even bother?

Honestly — yes, but keep it simple. If you’ve only got a handful of lanes or a couple of loads per week, don’t build a whole software workflow. But still get multiple quotes. Still track performance. Still review rates every few months. Freight bidding isn’t just for giant shippers with procurement teams. It’s for anyone who wants control over their transportation budget — and fewer shipping nightmares.

Final thought: it’s part math, part matchmaking

At its core, freight bidding is a weird mix of numbers, gut feeling, and grown-up dating. You're trying to find someone reliable, affordable, and hopefully not a total pain to deal with over the long haul. Do your homework. Don’t chase rock-bottom quotes. And remember — your best partner might not be the cheapest. Just the one who actually shows up when it matters.