The Shipping Trend That's Quietly Draining Your Budget
You haven’t changed your carrier mix. Your shipping volume looks about the same. So why are your transportation costs quietly climbing, month after month?
It’s not a glitch—it’s a trend. And most shippers don’t catch it until the damage is done.
The Hidden Culprit: Subtle Shifts That Add Up Fast
In today’s volatile parcel shipping environment, cost creep doesn’t always come from obvious changes like rate hikes or added lanes. Instead, many shippers are blindsided by trends that unfold slowly and invisibly across millions of shipments. A few examples we’ve seen in recent months:
- Service level selections: Packages being sent Air (and paying for it) that could have been sent Ground with the same time in transit.
- Surcharge surge: Fuel or residential fees increasing quietly across zones and carriers—without notice.
- Minimum charge impacts: More shipments falling below minimum thresholds, eroding negotiated discounts.
These aren’t one-off issues—they’re patterns. But if your data is siloed across carrier portals, buried in PDFs, or stuck in Excel, you won’t see them until it’s too late.
Why Most Businesses Miss It
Traditional audit reports or carrier invoices only tell part of the story. By the time you’ve aggregated and analyzed the data—weeks or months later—the overages are already paid and the trend is baked into your P&L.
Why does this happen?
- Visibility gaps: Data is spread across multiple systems and formats
- Time lags: Monthly or quarterly reviews create blind spots
- Lack of normalization: It’s hard to compare performance across carriers or regions without harmonized data
It’s like trying to steer a ship with last quarter’s navigation charts.
How The Smart Ones Don't
More and more teams are turning to platforms like Catalyst™ by Intelligent Audit to uncover—and act on—these hidden trends before they become major budget drains. And, with real-time, automated refund recovery, if an SLA isn't met, refunds are instantly processed and routed back into your budget. It's time to ship smarter, and it's easier than ever.
Sign up for a free 90-day trial of Catalyst to see where you're overspending and plug the leaks before they hit your bottom line.
