Third party logistics firm Vexure is gearing up its intermodal business to compete more broadly in the spot freight market – a market that’s traditionally been dominated by truckload carriers.
“There’s a lack of truck capacity in the spot market today, so we’re trying to position our intermodal service as a good alternative to shippers in that market,” said Kathleen Motl, Vexure’s new intermodal general manager, in an interview with Fleet Owner.
“This is not your typical intermodal service either,” she explained. “We’re not the cheapest on the block, because in the spot market the market sets the rates. We’re not offering this service by contract.”
Vexure’s intermodal service has grown substantially over the last two years largely because truck capacity has gotten scarcer, Motl noted. It’s moved from an $11 million annual business in 2002 to about $28 million this year, with projections of potentially $40 million to $50 million in 2004.
“The spot freight market is a very ‘carpe diem’ type of business – you have to ‘seize the day’ because every day the freight mix changes,” Motl said from the company’s Jacksonville, Florida headquarters. “What we’re trying to do is give shippers access to more consistent capacity, to take the craziness out of their search for spot capacity.”
