Are You Overpaying For Freight? Find Out With A FREE Transportation Spend Analysis
A Transportation Cost Perspective from JEC Consulting Services
Transportation is one of the largest recurring expenses for many companies—and often one of the least thoroughly examined.
Freight invoices are approved and paid. Annual budgets are based on prior-year spending. Carrier agreements renew, surcharges increase, and shipping patterns change. Yet few organizations regularly step back and ask an essential question:
Are our transportation rates, carrier agreements, service levels, and operating practices still competitive?
For many businesses, the answer is no. They are paying more than necessary but lack the data, time, or specialized expertise to identify the causes.
A transportation spend analysis from JEC Consulting Services provides an independent, fact-based review of where your transportation dollars are going and where meaningful savings may be available.
Transportation Expertise From Both Sides of the Table
JEC Consulting Services founder John Curtis began his career with UPS, where he gained firsthand knowledge of carrier operations, pricing, service performance, and transportation management. He later led large-scale warehousing, distribution, transportation, and third-party logistics operations.
That combination provides an important advantage.
JEC understands how carriers structure their services and pricing—but also understands the operational realities facing shippers. This perspective helps uncover savings opportunities that may be missed during a basic rate comparison.
The objective is not simply to negotiate lower rates. It is to determine whether your entire transportation program is aligned with your customers, shipment profile, service requirements, and business goals.
Signs Your Company May Be Overpaying for Freight
Transportation overspending is not always obvious. It is often spread across thousands of shipments, invoices, surcharges, and accessorial fees.
Several warning signs may indicate that a closer review is warranted.
Your Rates Have Not Been Benchmarked Recently
Carrier pricing, discounts, service offerings, and market conditions change continuously. Rates that were competitive several years ago may no longer reflect current market opportunities.
Accessorial Charges Continue to Increase
Fuel surcharges, residential delivery fees, address corrections, liftgate charges, detention, redelivery fees, oversized-package charges, and other accessorials can quietly become a substantial portion of total transportation spending.
Your Carrier Mix Has Remained Unchanged
Long-standing carrier relationships can be valuable, but loyalty should not prevent periodic evaluation. Regional carriers, alternative modes, or a revised allocation of shipment volume may provide better cost or service performance.
Your Shipping Profile Has Changed
Growth, acquisitions, new customers, different products, and changes in distribution locations can alter the transportation profile. A carrier agreement negotiated for the business three years ago may not fit the business today.
Expedited Freight Has Become Routine
Frequent expedited shipments may indicate inventory, order-management, production, routing, or planning problems. Paying premium freight repeatedly can mask a larger operational issue.
No One Is Reviewing Freight Invoices in Detail
Transportation and finance teams are often focused on daily execution. They may not have the time or analytical tools required to examine thousands of invoice lines, validate contract terms, and identify recurring discrepancies.
If any of these conditions apply, it does not necessarily mean your transportation program is poorly managed. It may simply mean the business has not had the time or resources to conduct an independent review.
Why Transportation Overspending Is Easy to Miss
Transportation expenses are structurally complex.
Total cost can include:
- Base transportation rates
- Minimum charges
- Fuel surcharges
- Dimensional-weight calculations
- Accessorial fees
- Peak or demand surcharges
- Delivery-area charges
- Service-level premiums
- Contract exceptions
- Volume commitments
- Shipment corrections
- Claims and rebilling
Each charge may appear relatively small when viewed individually. Across thousands of shipments, however, minor pricing issues and inefficient decisions can add up to hundreds of thousands of dollars annually.
A shipment may also be billed correctly under the existing agreement while still costing more than necessary because the service, carrier, mode, or contract structure is not optimized.
That is why an effective transportation spend analysis must look beyond isolated billing errors.
What a Transportation Spend Analysis Examines
A comprehensive analysis evaluates both the rates being paid and the decisions that generate transportation costs.
Rates and Contract Terms
Current carrier agreements are reviewed to determine whether discounts, minimum charges, incentives, service terms, and pricing structures remain competitive.
Fuel and Accessorial Charges
The analysis identifies which surcharges and additional fees have the greatest financial impact and whether operational changes could reduce or eliminate them.
Billing Accuracy
Freight invoices can be reviewed for potential issues such as:
- Duplicate charges
- Incorrect shipment weights
- Incorrect freight classifications
- Unmatched invoices
- Improper accessorial fees
- Pricing that does not align with contract terms
- Credits that were not received
Carrier and Mode Selection
The review evaluates whether shipments are being assigned to the most appropriate carriers and transportation modes based on cost, service, geography, shipment size, and customer requirements.
Service-Level Utilization
Companies sometimes pay for premium or expedited services when lower-cost options would meet the customer’s required delivery date. The analysis identifies where service levels may be unnecessarily expensive.
Shipment Consolidation and Routing
Opportunities may exist to consolidate shipments, improve routing, adjust shipping frequency, or convert eligible freight to a more economical mode.
Operational Causes of Transportation Expense
Not every transportation problem begins with the carrier. The analysis may identify internal factors such as:
- Late order processing
- Poor shipment planning
- Inaccurate product dimensions
- Inefficient packaging
- Excessive expedited freight
- Weak routing-guide compliance
- Decentralized carrier selection
- Limited shipment visibility
The strongest savings programs address both carrier pricing and the operating practices that influence transportation costs.
What Kind of Savings Can Be Identified?
Savings vary based on transportation spend, shipment characteristics, existing agreements, service requirements, and how recently the program was competitively reviewed.
JEC Consulting Services has identified potential transportation savings ranging from approximately 10% to 25% in selected client assessments. Results are not guaranteed, and every operation must be evaluated individually.
In one recent assessment involving approximately $7 million in annual transportation spend, the analysis identified nearly $980,000 in potential annual savings—approximately 14% of the reviewed spend.
The opportunities included a combination of carrier pricing, parcel improvements, transportation-management strategies, and other cost-reduction initiatives.
The value of the analysis is that leadership can see the opportunities before deciding what, if anything, to implement.
Why the Initial Analysis Is Free and No-Obligation
Some companies delay transportation reviews because they expect the process to be expensive, time-consuming, or designed to force an immediate carrier change.
JEC Consulting Services removes those barriers by offering an initial transportation spend analysis at no cost and with no obligation.
You are not required to:
- Change carriers
- Renegotiate an agreement
- Purchase a transportation system
- Outsource transportation management
- Implement every recommendation
- Continue working with JEC Consulting Services
The purpose of the initial analysis is to provide an objective view of your current transportation spending and identify whether a meaningful savings opportunity exists.
Leadership can then make an informed decision based on data.
What Information Is Needed?
The initial analysis generally begins with:
- Recent carrier invoices
- Current carrier agreements and pricing exhibits
- Shipment-level data
- A description of current service requirements
- Relevant accessorial and claims information
Depending on the scope, the analysis may include parcel, less-than-truckload, truckload, dedicated transportation, final-mile services, or a combination of modes.
Every engagement begins with a mutual nondisclosure agreement to protect confidential pricing, customer, shipment, and operational information.
What Will You Receive?
The goal is to provide a clear executive-level summary—not an overwhelming collection of spreadsheets.
The findings may include:
- Current transportation-spend baseline
- Major cost drivers
- Rate and contract observations
- Accessorial-cost analysis
- Potential billing discrepancies
- Carrier and mode opportunities
- Operational improvement opportunities
- Estimated savings ranges
- Recommended next steps
- Implementation priorities
Most initial executive summaries can be completed within approximately 10 business days after the necessary data has been received.
A Review Does Not Automatically Mean Changing Carriers
Transportation savings do not always require replacing existing providers.
Many opportunities can be captured by:
- Renegotiating current terms
- Correcting billing discrepancies
- Reducing unnecessary accessorial charges
- Adjusting service levels
- Improving packaging
- Enforcing routing-guide compliance
- Consolidating shipments
- Improving carrier allocation
- Reducing avoidable expedited freight
When a carrier change is worth considering, the recommendation should be based on measurable cost, service, capacity, and risk—not price alone.
Request Your Free Transportation Spend Analysis
If your carrier agreements have not been reviewed recently—or if no one on your team has had time to analyze the invoices—you may be paying more than necessary.
A no-cost transportation spend analysis from JEC Consulting Services can help answer three important questions:
- Where are your transportation dollars going?
- Which costs are reasonable, and which deserve further review?
- What realistic savings opportunities are available?
There is no cost, no obligation, and no requirement to change carriers.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I know whether my company is overpaying for freight?
The most common warning sign is not having a clear answer.
If your rates have not been benchmarked recently, your shipping profile has changed, accessorial charges are increasing, or no one regularly reviews your transportation invoices and agreements, a spend analysis may identify savings opportunities.
What information is required for the analysis?
Most initial reviews require recent carrier invoices, current carrier agreements, and shipment-level data. Additional information may be requested depending on the transportation modes and opportunities being evaluated.
Will we have to change carriers?
No. Many savings opportunities can be achieved by improving terms, correcting billing issues, modifying service levels, or changing internal shipping practices with existing carriers.
A carrier change may be recommended when supported by the data, but it is not a requirement.
How much could we save?
Savings depend on your current rates, shipment profile, carrier agreements, operating practices, and how recently the program was reviewed.
Selected JEC Consulting Services assessments have identified potential reductions of approximately 10% to 25%. These results are not guaranteed, and each transportation program must be evaluated independently.
Is the analysis really free?
Yes. The initial transportation spend analysis and executive summary are provided at no cost and without an obligation to implement the recommendations or continue working with JEC Consulting Services.
How long does the analysis take?
Most initial executive summaries are completed within approximately 10 business days after all required transportation data has been received.
Is our transportation information protected?
Yes. JEC Consulting Services begins each engagement with a mutual nondisclosure agreement to protect confidential rates, contracts, shipment information, and operational data.
Can the analysis cover more than parcel shipping?
Yes. Depending on your operation and available data, the analysis may include parcel, less-than-truckload, truckload, dedicated transportation, final-mile services, and other transportation modes.
