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Group: Moderators
Last Login: 6/13/2008 4:39:30 PM
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| The Transportation Price Index (TPI) tracks monthly changes in prices paid for transportation services. The TPI uses proprietary, transactional data from the uShip marketplace and encompasses domestic (US) shipments across our categories/commodities. The TPI is expressed in terms of US$ per ton-mile. View the Transportation Price Index (TPI) to learn more. As always, uShip welcomes your questions and discussions on this exciting new tool.
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Group: Forum Members
Last Login: 8/10/2007 10:16:16 PM
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| It's a good start but you still have to lose that estimator. I ran a few comparisons using this new feature and the estimator based on the commodity and the findings revealed your new tool seems to contradict your very own estimator. While I realize your estimator bases everything on historical figures it appears to be even more confusing to the customer when compared to this and complicates the process as a whole. Get rid of the estimator and I believe this new feature will aid the customer in realizing the real time figures of transporting. It will also simplify things and make them less confusing to guage. Let the consumer review the chart and compare the bids recieved to it instead of having to do that and compare those bids and figures to the estimators figures as well. If you think what I just said was confusing try doing a number crunch using this new tool and the estimator. It's enough to make Donald Trump start sporting his real hair and quit squinting!
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Group: Forum Members
Last Login: 8/10/2007 10:16:16 PM
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| For the sake of comparison I just ran the numbers again and they are just not jiving. Run a 25ft boat from Seattle to Boston through the estimator and compare the figures to the new chart. Do the same thing with a 25ft RV going the same route. They are both towables but the numbers are different (granted....RV vs boat) but when you figure in the numbers on the chart, there is almost a 30 cent per mile per ton difference. Granted, 70 cents per mile per ton on the new chart is still low but at least it gets closer to real figures than the estimator does but you can see the confusion created by the two features being active at the same time. I like the new tool but get rid of that estimator.
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Group: Administrators
Last Login: 9/21/2009 1:43:25 PM
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| The purpose of these two tools is very different. The TPI's main purpose is to reveal changes in prices over time as opposed to the SPE's main purpose of estimating the cost of a specific shipment. While you can use the TPI's price per ton-mile to estimate the cost for a particular shipment, it will not be as accurate as using the SPE. The SPE takes much more into account than the TPI does by just averaging prices across all shipments in the same category. The reason for this is that the details of the particular shipment in terms of origin, destination, total distance, actual size/weight, number of items, etc. are all important in determining the price. For example, certain cities and city combinations have more TSP's that service those areas which might lead to more competition and lower prices. You can imagine that shipments that start in Manhattan cost more than other shipments because of the logistics associated with a pick-up in that city. In general, cost per ton-mile decreases as distance increases due to the fact that some costs associated with transporting are fixed rather than on a per ton-mile basis. Hauling a 40 foot boat 2,500 miles will probably not cost exactly 5 times what it costs to haul it 500 miles. While the Shipping Price Estimator is not perfect, we are confident that the estimates are very good (it's hard to argue with using actual prices paid for similar shipments as estimates) and feel that the value of the SPE far outweighs any drawbacks. It allows cutomers who are just looking for general estimates to get those without having to list and potentially wate TSP's time with bidding when they are may not beo going through with a purchase, for example. It also allows us to partner with other websites whose buyers need to get estimates - which allows us to gain a lot of shipments listings for TSP's llike yourself to bid on and win as customers. That said, we're in the process of making some improvements to the Shipping Price Estimator to make it more accurate. Thanks for your comments!
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Group: Forum Members
Last Login: 8/10/2007 10:16:16 PM
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| Thanks for replying. I understand completely what you are saying. But I think the real problem that creates the confusion for the customer is going to be when they try to decipher the two figures coming from the both tools. You take historical figures out of the equation of the estimator and incorporate this new tool on a general average per region I think, and I'm sure many others will agree, you will have the closest thing to a perfect tool for everyone and a huge increase in revenue all in one feature. One may say " well if you take the historical data out of the equation then you no longer have anything to base the estimator on". My rebuttal to that would be " there is a way to factor what they went for in the past and post todays operating costs into it( by perhaps using this new tool) to provide a much accurate figure to the consumer with out confusing them with various charts and tools". That's why I like this new tool. It's the closest thing we have had to correct this problem of low figures. I say simplify things a little bit and incorporate the two tools, while eliminating the literal historical data aspect of the estimator and factor regions and watch what happens.
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Group: Administrators
Last Login: 9/21/2009 1:43:25 PM
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| That is a great suggestion. One of the changes that we're making to the SPE very soon is to adjust the prices of historic transactions using the TPI. Another thing we plan to do is show a recent price trend along with the current estimate within the SPE tool, rather than showing just a static price estimate. These two tools are very complimentary.
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Group: Forum Members
Last Login: 8/10/2007 10:16:16 PM
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I appreciate you and your staff taking the time to listen to us and me harping you all about these issues and responding. I do see this new feature having great possibilities along with the improvements you mentioned. My brother-in-law is a computer techie and was working on a new system for me to base my bidding on compared to my expenses (ins, pmts, repairs, maint, fuel, legal) and surprisingly what he came up with some time ago was a system similiar to this new tool you just announced (only with slightly higher numbers and factoring gas in averages from region to region). He came up with a way to incorporate previous shipments per region based on actual expense and again surprisingly the numbers were not very far from what your new tool shows (mine shows a 31 cent increase on the very low end). At any rate this new tool is welcomed by me as it is a sign of future improvements and potential. Thank you again (and I'll lay off the estimator griping for a while )
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Group: Forum Members
Last Login: 9/29/2007 4:04:34 PM
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| . Most people do not haul by the ton mile they only haul by the mile only. There is a big difference between the two. It makes no difference which way I charge ( by the ton mile or by the mile only ) if another TSP underbids my lowest bid ... I'm done ... and they win. bumpus
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Group: Forum Members
Last Login: 12/2/2007 12:59:51 PM
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matt@uship.com (5/7/2008)
That is a great suggestion. One of the changes that we're making to the SPE very soon isto adjust the prices of historic transactions using the TPI. Another thing we plan to do is show a recent price trend along with the current estimate withinthe SPE tool, rather than showing just a static price estimate. These two tools are very complimentary.
I think that that statement may be one of the best thing I've heard one of you guys say yet!!!!
I understand that historical data should, in most scenarios, be a good prediction of what should happen next, but our market has become WAY to volatile for that! We have been asking and asking for something better than the Guestimator for quite some time, something that will take into account the drastic changes in operating costs!!! I haven't looked into this new tool extensively, but if it is getting its data from current fuel costs and actual transportation rates/costs etc. then i feel that incorporating that into the estimator might actually do some good!!!
Maybe put a disclaimer of some sort that says that current market rate based on US data bla bla is XYZ, and recent shipment similar to yours through UShip (with adjusted fuel; etc of course) have moved for xyz... then the shipper will have a reasonable expectation of somewhere in the middle and they MIGHT get a really good deal...
Just my $0.02.
Laterz,
Gator
>|--|~
Gator >|--|~ 
Kinetic Freight Services, LLC
Now "Hot-Shotting" for ACME
Love your Freight? Check your carriers AUTHORITY!!!
USDOT: 1680208 MC-617460 TXDOT: 6295987C
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Group: Forum Members
Last Login: 5/16/2009 6:41:11 PM
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| How do you calculate the ton/mile? I.eE.. if you have a 65 pound pet, traveling 300m, how much would you charge?
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