Topic
The business of supply chain
8 articles drawn from The Flow Equation, its 24 industry studies and 100 companies profiles.
Explainer
How Do Freight Brokers Make Money? Margins, Cash and the Cycle
Freight brokers earn the spread between what shippers pay and what carriers are paid. Here is how that margin works, why it moves with the cycle, and what it costs.
8 min read
Guide
How to Calculate Landed Cost: Freight, Tariffs and Sourcing
Landed cost is the full cost of getting a product to your warehouse. Here is how to calculate it, step by step, with freight, duties, fees and carrying cost.
9 min read
Guide
How to Read Container Shipping Rates: Spot, Contract and Indices
A practical guide to container shipping rates: TEU vs FEU, Drewry and SCFI indices, spot vs contract, surcharges, and what the 2021 boom and 2026 spike teach.
8 min read
Comparison
LTL vs Truckload: Differences in Cost, Pricing and Risk
LTL and truckload share the same highways but are different businesses. Compare how each is priced, what drives cost, who the carriers are and when to use which.
7 min read
Explainer
The Bullwhip Effect Explained: Causes, Examples and Cures
The bullwhip effect turns small changes in consumer demand into huge swings in factory orders. Here are its five causes, real examples and what reduces it.
8 min read
Case study
What Happened to Flexport? The Software Forwarder's Hard Reset
Flexport was valued at about $8 billion in 2022, then cut about 1,300 jobs, lost a CEO and missed its profit target. Here is what happened and where it stands.
7 min read
Case study
Why Convoy Failed: What Sank the Digital Freight Broker
Convoy raised more than $1 billion and was reportedly valued near $3.8 billion, then shut down in October 2023. Here is why the digital freight broker failed.
8 min read
Case study
Why Yellow Freight Went Bankrupt: Density Without Reliability
Yellow had one of the largest LTL networks in the US and still shut down in July 2023. Here is why the 99-year-old carrier failed and who paid for it.
8 min read