The Domestic Freight Wave & Why Instant FTL Quotes Matter

Why “Made (and Moved) in USA (or Canada)” Is Having a Moment

Companies announced over $400 billion in new North American factory projects since 2020, with U.S. spend alone hitting historic highs such as $108 billion in the South between March 2023‑24. The consulting world is reaching conclusions based on these facts. Deloitte notes that reshoring and tariff‑proofing strategies are now top boardroom agendas as firms seek “operational agility closer to end markets.”

Result? More freight is staying on the continent. Trucks already haul the lion’s share of U.S. goods—about 61% of all tonnage (11.3 billion tons in 2018, projected to 14.8 billion by 2050), and Canada’s 2023 annual report shows truck border crossings up 1.3% despite economic (the then already existing) headwinds, although we’ll have to wait a bit longer to confirm the newer numbers since the trade-wars began.

Truckload Rates Still Behave Like a Stock Ticker

While demand rises, pricing transparency hasn’t caught up. Market analysts put the entire North‑American truckload spend well above  $1 trillion USD, but the digital brokerage part of that was only USD 5.9 billion in 2024, allowing for a rounding error at < 1% adoption. This means that nine out of ten FTL quotes still begin with “Let me call the carrier real quick.”

How Freightera Makes A Difference

Freightera’s Quote Machine developers invested multiple human years programming and uploading direct carrier rates, implementing carrier API connections, and integrating fuel matrices and accessorial math, so you don’t have to. The payoff is one of the first platforms in North America where instant, all‑inclusive FTL pricing pops up during the user searches as fast as its LTL counterparts. No waiting, no “subject to change,” and absolutely no mystery surcharges sneaking in later.

Our Rate Defense™ protects you from unfair carrier charges every step of the way. The Automated documentation (BOLs, labels, POs) will save you precious time in generating, copy-pasting, and possible mistake-making with paperwork. You only need to print them and give the driver the correct document. And, of course, our SmartWay‑verified CO₂ data is included on every quote for every lane from certified carriers, which allows eco-conscious shippers and companies on a green mission to pick a greener transport without extra clicks or extra costs

And because algorithms aren’t as comforting as humans, our 5‑Star Client Care crew is a chat, call (800) 886‑4870 Ext. 1, or email away.

Domestic USA: From Plant Floor to Front Door, Minus the Guesswork

Instant FTL rates are more than a convenience in the United States. They’re a budgeting tool. Factory CFOs looking for the perfect time for that record‑setting wave of new buildouts need predictable freight costs to keep ROI models honest. Freightera’s Quote Machine locks in the rate before the PO even reaches the carrier, and our Rate Defense™ keeps it locked in case anything unsavory crosses anyone’s mind. One click, one price. Full stop.

Domestic Canada: Big Country, Tight Timetables

Canada’s freight industry is, for lack of a better word, chaotic. The 2023 data shows road carriers handled the turbulence better than any other mode, yet booking a truckload often still means phoning four brokers before lunch, four more after, and a few more before the shift’s over. Freightera’s instant all‑inclusive quotes swap that wasteful and unpredictable back-and-forth calling for two minutes of clicking. AND as an already mentioned bonus, those sustainability-conscious of you out there can see each carrier’s emissions reductions before you click “Book”.

Why Instant Matters Now

Nearshoring, or re‑shoring, reduces transit miles and helps you avoid export-import tariffs. This much is obvious. But it also compresses lead times; buyers expect fresh goods on their shelves straight from the factory in days, not weeks, way before their customers lose their fleeting seasonal interest. When the quote arrives in seconds, logistics managers and CEOs know their search work is done. They issue BOLs and move on. No idle times, no panicky expedites. Multiply that across thousands of loads, and the working capital starts to stack up even faster than your emissions savings with Freightera.

Final Mile of Our Argument

Domestic freight is surging for structural reasons: From policy, risk-minimization, to a domestic manufacturing renaissance. And yet… the booking experience for FTLs is still stuck in 1980s for most shippers. Freightera spent the last decade prying that door open!

Now the only thing between you and a confirmed, all-inclusive FTL is about eight seconds of keyboard time. So the next time a colleague asks how to book an FTL load that fast, feel free to shrug and say:

“Just Freightera it.”

Because moving heavy freight shouldn’t feel heavier than the freight itself.