ShipTalkers
ShipTalkers by MyCarrier is your must-listen podcast for all things logistics. It’s a little irreverent, always entertaining, and guaranteed to leave you with fresh insights and ideas. Each episode dives into the latest shipping trends, challenges, freight news, and cool innovations, all served up by industry pros who know their stuff. Whether you’re a logistics veteran or just want to keep up with the industry, ShipTalkers is packed with tips, stories, and insider secrets to help you navigate the world of freight. It’s the perfect mix of smart and entertaining—ideal for anyone who wants to level up their shipping game.
ShipTalkers
The Dynamic Pricing Revolution Coming for LTL Carriers
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The LTL industry is sitting on a pricing problem it helped create, and Danny Loe is one of the people working to fix it. After 26+ years in the space, including a long career at ABF/ArcBest, Danny stepped out of the corporate world to found SORS (Strategic Optimized Revenue Solutions), a consultancy helping LTL carriers move away from legacy tariff-based pricing toward smarter, transactional, and dynamic pricing models.
In this episode, Danny and host Bobby Russell dig into why the old way of pricing freight doesn't hold up in a transactional world, what dynamic pricing actually means in practice, and how better data from platforms like MyCarrier is finally giving both shippers and carriers the tools to win at the same time.
Plus: Amazon just announced it's entering the LTL market. What does that actually mean for carriers, shippers, and the competitive landscape? Ryan and Danny break it all down.
Key Topics Covered:
00:00 – Intro & catching up from the ULTL event
01:30 – What is SORS and why Danny left the corporate world to start it
04:00 – Why tariff-based pricing keeps losing money on individual shipments
06:00 – The LTL industry is a big boat with a tiny rudder (and what's finally moving it)
07:00 – Why SMB shippers are the most valuable (and underserved) segment in LTL
09:00 – The "procure your way to lower cost" myth and why it always backfires
11:00 – Price neutrality between 3PLs and direct carrier reps: is it coming?
11:45 – What dynamic/transactional pricing actually looks like vs. legacy quoting
13:00 – "Putting lipstick on a pig" why some carriers are faking dynamic pricing
15:00 – How dynamic pricing simplifies (and improves) LTL customer onboarding
17:00 – Expired tariff pricing and the terrible customer experience it creates
18:30 – Why pricing by weight doesn't make sense when carriers are cubing out trailers
20:40 – Industry blind spots: carrier cost visibility and how data can close the gap
22:45 – The Moneyball analogy: why dynamic pricing is really about batting average
23:00 – Why address-level data at quote time matters more than most shippers realize
25:00 – Booking windows and how advance notice reduces carrier cost (and shipper rates)
29:00 – Shipper behavior that drives carrier inefficiency and how to fix it with workflow
31:15 – Amazon announces entry into LTL: breaking down the news
33:00 – Short-term vs. long-term risk: how to actually think about Amazon in LTL
35:00 – Why Amazon's entry will push LTL carriers to improve outward-facing technology
37:00 – Tracking visibility, APIs, and the arms race for better customer experience
39:00 – Why LTL is hard to enter (and why 20 cents on the dollar is actually great)
41:00 – M&A trends, Old Dominion's infrastructure strategy, and what comes next
41:55 – Where to find Danny and what SORS is building
Resources & Links Mentioned:
SORS Pricing: https://www.sorspricing.com
MyCarrier: https://www.mycarrier.io
Connect with Danny Loe on LinkedIn
If you found this episode valuable, subscribe so you never miss an episode of Ship Talkers. Drop your take on Amazon entering LTL in the comments — we want to hear what you think it means for the market. And if you know a shipper, carrier, or freight tech professional who needs to hear this conversation, share it with them.
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Ship Talkers is produced by MyCarrier — the freight technology platform built to make LTL shipping smarter for shippers and carriers alike.