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"I think this is just one more way that you can go about finding quality capacity to better run your operation.”
Jonathan McCormack and Brent Evens break down how their newest platform, OTR Select, combines trust, data, and access into a neat package to help freight brokerages run their operations more effectively.
We recently met up with the OTR team at TIA to discuss their newest intelligence platform: OTR Select. It gives freight brokers access to OTR Solutions’ verified capacity and invoice-backed rate data in one place.
Over the past decade, they have quietly been sitting on something most freight tech companies would kill for:
Real carrier data.
“OTR Select uses OTR’s factor data- $6B, maybe $7B*, this year in freight that we’ve processed through our factoring services. We package that up, and we allow brokers to access market rates, carrier capacity data, and to better run their operation at the end of the day.”
But the real value lies in the depth of OTR’s underlying network and data:
The team's goal is to build an ecosystem that allows OTR carriers to access great freight and brokers with whom they like working.
At its core, OTR Select is trying to solve a problem brokers have been duct-taping for years: where do you find reliable capacity you can actually trust?
OTR Select offers:
Will this be a must-have for brokers in a few years?
“Will there be people that won’t need it? Sure. Will there be brokers that we’re not a good fit for? Absolutely. But for the ones that are, I do think it becomes a no-brainer.”
The onboarding process is very simple:
The next step is to reach out to the carriers that OTR provides contact for - you can either do it directly or use Request for Bid - OTR’s stamp of approval of the broker.
Why Carriers Are Buying It
Jonathan says that since day one, the idea has been to support the small trucker, drivers, and fleet managers, recognizing that this was a large portion of the market that was underserved at the time.
“Reliability is the big point, right? They’re a very cost-conscious group of people, but they also really need the high level of service to be successful. It’s been fun but also tough, trying to find that balance- how to get to a price that makes sense for them but also provide a level of service that gives them what they need.”
The platform offers a trusted freight source, brokers that come with a level of validation, and more consistent, repeatable lanes.
“We have six pages worth of responses from carriers just being like, ‘This is awesome, we trust OTR.' They’ve been burned on the load-boards before. They’re looking for a new source that they can rely on to get the freight.”
It’s about trust + data + access—packaged into something brokers and carriers can actually use.
Will every broker need it? No.
But for the ones operating in that lane, it’s a no-brainer.
Listen to the full episode on Spotify and Apple Podcasts, or watch it on YouTube.
*OTR Solutions: confirmed $7B in annual factored freight.
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Bad carriers are gaming the weigh station system. Plus, C.H. Robinson's own engineer goes scorched earth on Reddit, the Ghost Truck Act gets roasted, and more in today's newsletter.
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While everyone in trucking is watching rates, capacity, and fraud, a much bigger shift may be happening quietly in the background: the future of rail.
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