It’s been a bit over a month since Con-way Freight announced its TrueLTL Pricing model.  You can read the press release for the details, but in a nutshell, TrueLTL is a capped pricing model for “large” LTL shipments-i.e., shipments generally between 2,000 and 20,000 pounds that can fit in a 28-ft trailer (a “pup”).  Many of these shipments currently go via truckload or multi-stop truckload because traditional LTL pricing is costlier and more complicated (due, in part, to surcharges such as the lineal foot rule).

I recently spoke with Sean Devine, VP of Pricing/Engineering at Con-way Freight about what prompted them to launch TrueTLT pricing.  “We analyzed our freight and noticed that we weren’t hauling as many large shipments as we expected,” Devine explained.  “When we looked into why, price was the biggest factor.  Our traditional model caused our prices to be higher than necessary and they were too unpredictable.”

The complexity and unpredictability of LTL pricing is an issue I hear often from shippers, and it is part of what keeps companies like SMC3 in business.  In fact, a few days before Con-way made its announcement, I received a call from an entrepreneur seeking to “build a better mousetrap” to simplify and automate LTL rating for shippers.  So, from my perspective, any program that simplifies and clarifies LTL pricing is certainly a plus for shippers.  Will TrueLTL pricing “revolutionize” the industry?  I wouldn’t go that far, but it certainly provides an attractive alternative for shippers in the “sweet spot” for this model, particularly shippers who are impacted frequently by the 18 lineal feet rule.  Additional benefits relative to truckload include same-day pick-up and guaranteed delivery.  Also, this service will allow companies to ship more frequently instead of “batching” orders (which takes up space on the loading dock, among other drawbacks) until they have enough density to ship them truckload.

The most interesting part of my conversation with Sean, however, was his take on the “green” benefits of TrueLTL pricing.  A key objective for LTL carriers is creating density-i.e., reducing the amount of “out-of-route” miles driven to fill a truck.  If you can create more density near the point of origin, the more direct you can route a truck to its destination.  Sean used a carpooling example.  Driving to four different houses to pick up people is less efficient than loading everyone at the first house and driving straight to work.  By increasing the number of large shipments it carries, which is the main goal of this new pricing model, Con-way Freight could fill its trucks with fewer stops and miles driven in between.  The net result is fewer trucks on the road, driving fewer miles, resulting in reduced C02 emissions and road congestion.  It’s only been a month since the company launched TrueLTL pricing, but at some point I’d love to see some data from Con-way showing miles driven and C02 emissions under the new model versus what they would have been if it hadn’t introduced TrueLTL. 

And now for the social media angle: In the days immediately following Con-way’s announcement, I noticed chatter about TrueLTL on Twitter, LinkedIn, and other social media sites.  For example, here is what Craig Starnes, Logistics Manager at L.L.Bean, had to say on a LinkedIn group I belong to: “I think [TrueLTL pricing] is an interesting approach to take.  Hopefully it will catch on with more LTL providers, but I am not sure this is something that they will stay with over the long term.  This model should work well for [Con-way Freight] right now when volumes are low and they need to fill up their trucks.  But when business picks back up, I would imagine they would switch their focus back to the more profitable LTL business rather than continue to carry FTL shipments.”

There were several other postings, some more positive, others more critical.  The bottom line is that business users (just like consumers) are using social media sites to comment-vent, hype, critique, etc.-about business-related products and services.  If you don’t have a pulse on what customers and others are saying about your company-positive or negative, true or false-then you are missing opportunities to promote your products and services, or to “set the record straight” and protect your brand.

Con-way is among a growing number of logistics companies using Twitter (click here for its feed) as a way to communicate with customers and prospects.  And the company also launched a TrueLTL blog about a week ago (authored by Sean Devine) as a vehicle to address questions and comments from the public about TrueLTL, and as a way to update the market about current events and milestones.  For example, Devine posted a piece on July 9^th (“Not Just for 20,000 Pound Shipments“) that provides some interesting data on the types of shipments benefiting from TrueLTL pricing.

Simply stated, if you don’t think Twitter, blogs, and related sites have a role to play in business, think again.