  In the for-hire truckload market, firms often experience unexpected
transportation cost increases due to contracted transportation service provider
(carrier) load rejections. The dominant procurement strategy results in
long-term, fixed-price contracts that become obsolete as transportation
providers' networks change and freight markets fluctuate between times of over
and under supply. We build behavioral models of the contracted carrier's load
acceptance decision under two distinct freight market conditions based on
empirical load transaction data. With the results, we quantify carriers'
likelihood of sticking to the contract as their best known alternative priced
load options increase and become more attractive; in other words, carriers'
contract price stickiness. Finally, we explore carriers' contract price
stickiness for different lane, freight, and carrier segments and offer insights
for shippers to identify where they can expect to see substantial improvement
in contracted carrier load acceptance as they consider alternative,
market-based pricing strategies.
