How a Lane Audit Reduced Freight Spend for a Food & Beverage Shipper

For many food and beverage shippers, transportation costs quietly become “the way things are.” Loads get covered, trucks show up, invoices get paid, and over time the routing strategy simply stays unchanged.

Recently, our team at Exodus Logistix conducted a lane audit for a growing food & beverage company that believed their freight rates were simply a reflection of the market.

What we found told a very different story.

The customer had been heavily relying on over-the-road full truckload service for nearly all outbound shipments, including lanes that were highly favorable for intermodal and several shipments that didn’t actually require dedicated truckload capacity at all.

After reviewing shipment history, lane consistency, transit requirements, delivery flexibility, and shipment characteristics, we identified two major opportunities that immediately reduced transportation spend without sacrificing service.

Step 1: Identifying Intermodal Opportunities

The first thing we noticed was that a large percentage of the customer’s freight moved on predictable, repeatable long-haul lanes.

Many of these shipments:

• moved with flexible delivery windows,
• did not require team-service transit,
• had stable appointment schedules,
• and were traveling in corridors with strong rail infrastructure.

After auditing the network, we found that approximately 50% of the customer’s truckload freight could transition to intermodal service.

The result:

• lower transportation costs,
• more stable pricing,
• and reduced exposure to over-the-road capacity swings.

By strategically converting qualifying freight from truckload to intermodal, the customer achieved an average savings of 15–20% per load across those lanes.

Just as importantly, the shift created more predictability in their transportation budget during periods of market volatility.

For food & beverage shippers moving consistent freight into major markets, intermodal is often overlooked because many providers default to truckload without evaluating the broader network strategy.

In this case, the lanes were already ideal candidates — the opportunity had simply never been identified.

Step 2: Leveraging Partial Truckload

The second opportunity came from analyzing shipment utilization.

Several loads moving as dedicated full truckloads were not fully utilizing trailer space or weight capacity. In many cases, the customer was paying for an entire trailer when the shipment itself only occupied a portion of the equipment.

After reviewing dimensions, pallet counts, and delivery requirements, we determined that roughly 5% of their freight could move through partial truckload solutions instead of traditional FTL service.

Because these shipments did not require exclusive trailer use, consolidating them into partial truckload programs significantly reduced costs while maintaining service expectations.

The savings on those shipments reached nearly 50% compared to previous truckload pricing.

For shippers that move smaller-volume replenishment orders, partial truckload is one of the most underutilized tools in transportation today. Many companies automatically default to full truckload because it feels operationally simpler, even when the freight profile no longer justifies the spend.

The Bigger Takeaway

The most important part of this project was not simply securing lower rates.

It was understanding that transportation optimization starts with network visibility — not just booking trucks.

Too often, logistics providers focus only on covering freight. A true transportation partner evaluates:

• lane consistency,
• modal compatibility,
• shipment density,
• appointment flexibility,
• and overall network design.

In this case, a simple lane audit uncovered opportunities that immediately improved efficiency while lowering overall freight spend.

For shippers operating in food & beverage, reverse logistics, retail replenishment, or distribution-heavy environments, small adjustments in modal strategy can create substantial long-term savings.

At Exodus Logistix, we believe transportation strategy should evolve alongside the supply chain — not remain static simply because “that’s how it’s always been done.”

If your network hasn’t been audited recently, there’s a good chance opportunities are being left on the table.