Freight rates are falling and platform is just one factor

Posted by bruce zhu on April 26th, 2022

A while ago, I went on a long trip with a howo cargo truck driver, and we couldn\'t talk about the lack of cargo platforms in the middle. According to the online point of view, the emergence and development of the freight platform has an inescapable responsibility for the reduction of the current industry freight rate. Besides, does it have any other effects?

Funds and sources of goods are easy to solve. Now the threshold for freight entry is really low

The entry threshold is also an old topic. For the current urban distribution market, the entry threshold for drivers is really low. The first is the initial investment problem. In the past, most of the trucks were purchased in full. The price of heavy trucks was not discussed for the time being, and light trucks also cost a lot of money. But now the emergence of things such as zero down payment and interest-free loans has indeed solved the financial problem of new entrants. Of course, because of poor business, there are many people who are unable to repay their loans and have their cars confiscated. The bigger the car, the greater the associated risks.

When it comes to the field of urban distribution, because the vehicles are relatively small, mainly light trucks and micro trucks, the initial investment is relatively small. - Between 100,000. With the addition of a loan, the monthly repayment pressure is much less. The electric micro-faces I learned recently, the monthly rent or loan monthly payment is below 3,000 yuan.

The capital threshold and supply threshold for the freight industry to enter the industry almost no longer exist now

In addition to the capital threshold, before entering the freight industry, the source of goods was the second threshold. In the early days, a master was required to lead the door. But now even if you have no experience with the freight industry at all, you can buy a member of a freight platform and you can enter the sports car industry. This phenomenon is especially obvious in the field of urban distribution.

The third threshold for freight drivers to enter the industry is a driver\'s license, but this threshold is gradually decreasing. Not to mention the C license, the B2 driver\'s license can now be tested directly. Now the interval between B2 and A2 is shorter, and the A2 internship period has also been cancelled. Now the driver\'s license can be tested in different places, and the time cost and tuition fees have dropped a little.

Therefore, on the whole, the lowering of the threshold for freight transportation is also a whole phenomenon, and the emergence of freight platforms is only one part. Due to the low threshold for entry, the labor intensity and income of the freight industry are still satisfactory, and more and more newcomers will naturally choose to enter the industry.

• The emergence of freight platforms reduces the empty return rate of trucks The overall efficiency improvement leads to a decline in freight rates

In the early days of the emergence of freight platforms, various platforms have raised such a point of view that the empty return rate of Chinese trucks is very high, and the freight platform can solve this problem. Judging from the actual situation now, the freight platform has really solved this problem. The so-called empty return rate is the proportion of trucks returning to empty, and this proportion is particularly high in the field of short- and medium-distance transportation such as urban distribution.

As for why the empty return rate is high, it is mainly because the information on the source of goods did not want to be so transparent in the past, and it was difficult for non-local drivers to find local sources of goods, which led to the phenomenon of trucks pulling goods and returning empty. From the perspective of overall social benefits, this This situation is a waste, and it is necessary to solve the problem of high empty return rate.

The freight platform does solve the problem of the high empty return rate of trucks in my country, but it also intensifies the competition

So, how to solve the high-altitude return rate now? Everyone should be familiar with it, which is \"returning car\". In the popular freight platform now, there is a name that directly means \"saving and returning to car\".

The prosperity of \"returning cars\" has actually improved my country\'s logistics and transportation efficiency, but there are only so many sources of goods in the market. It turns out that there are 50 cargoes from place A to go to place B, and 50 cars are needed, and then they come back empty. There are also 50 goods in B to go to A, which also requires 50 cars, and then come back empty. There are a total of 100 goods in the market and 100 vehicles are needed. Now that it is no longer empty, only 50 cars are needed for these 100 goods, so the remaining 50 cars will have no food to eat?

• Low threshold for the freight industry, one more employment channel for the society

Driving and running platform goods has become the choice of many new drivers

More vehicles and less goods, the freight rate will drop, which is naturally not a good thing for logistics practitioners. But from another perspective, it actually gave many people a new job choice.

In recent years, takeaways, express delivery, and short videos have undoubtedly absorbed a lot of labor, but freight is also a big one. Now it is difficult for factories to find workers because everyone has more choices.

• As consumers and shippers, the emergence of freight platforms has made many things more convenient and affordable

For shippers and consumers, the emergence of freight platforms has brought convenience and benefits

From the perspective of consumers or cargo owners, the emergence of freight platforms has made daily transportation more convenient and affordable. Now if you want to move or ship a cargo, you will no longer have to know where to look for a car because you have no experience for the first time. You can operate it directly on the APP, and even people don’t need to go to the scene, just make a phone call.

In terms of price, the pricing of the platform is now fixed. The starting price, the amount per kilometer, and the handling fee are clearly stipulated. There is less time and energy for bargaining. spend money.

After becoming a rule maker, the freight platform naturally needs to be profitable after a large amount of investment in the early stage. Currently, there are mainly two types of monthly membership fees and commissions. For the freight platform to lower the standard shipping fee and collect the shipping fee, there has been a lot of trouble before, but it is difficult for most users to leave the platform.