Carrier Allocation

Carrier allocation is how a shipper distributes freight volume across their carrier network. It's the strategic decision of which carriers get what share of your business, expressed through routing guide assignments and measured by actual shipment data. A shipper might allocate 60% of volume on a lane to their primary carrier, 25% to a secondary, and 15% to a third – balancing cost optimization against the need for backup capacity and carrier relationship management.

Allocation decisions are driven by several factors: negotiated rates, carrier service quality, capacity reliability (especially during peak seasons), geographic coverage, equipment availability, and risk diversification. Concentrating too much volume with a single carrier creates dependency risk – if that carrier faces operational issues or decides to reprice aggressively, the shipper has limited alternatives. Spreading volume too thin means no carrier has enough commitment to prioritize your freight, which can hurt service and negotiating leverage.

The gap between planned and actual allocation is one of the most revealing metrics in freight management. If your routing guide allocates 60% to Carrier A but actual shipment data shows they're only moving 40% of your freight – with the rest going to spot or backup carriers – that tells you something is broken. Either Carrier A is rejecting tenders (a compliance problem), or your team is bypassing the guide (a process problem). Both cost money, and neither is visible without tracking actual allocation against plan.

Smart allocation strategy also considers the carrier's perspective. Carriers price based on expected volume. If you commit 200 loads per month in the RFP but actually tender 100, the carrier may reprice or deprioritize your freight. Honest volume forecasting during procurement – and then delivering on those commitments – builds the carrier trust that translates into better rates and priority service when capacity tightens.