Freight Broker vs Direct Carrier: Which Approach Works Best for Your Business?

Every shipper faces this question eventually: should you work with freight forwarders who manage carriers on your behalf, or build direct relationships with hauliers yourself? The logistics industry has strong opinions on both sides, but the honest answer is more nuanced than most articles admit.

This comparison examines the real trade-offs between using freight brokers (forwarders, 3PLs, intermediaries) versus contracting carriers directly. We'll look at actual costs, hidden factors most shippers overlook, and the scenarios where each approach makes sense.

Spoiler: the best strategy for many companies isn't choosing one or the other—it's having the flexibility to use both depending on the situation.

Understanding the Two Models

Before comparing, let's clarify what we're actually discussing. These terms get used loosely in the industry, which causes confusion.

The Freight Forwarder Model

A freight forwarder (also called broker, 3PL, or intermediary) sits between you and the actual carrier. You tell them what you need shipped, they find a suitable haulier from their network, and they handle the coordination. You have one relationship—with the forwarder—while they manage potentially dozens of carrier relationships behind the scenes.

You pay the forwarder, who takes a margin and pays the carrier. That margin typically ranges from 10-25% of the transport cost, though it varies widely based on complexity, volumes, and market conditions.

The Direct Carrier Model

With direct contracting, you find, vet, negotiate with, and manage carriers yourself. You have direct relationships with each haulier, negotiate rates directly, and coordinate operations without an intermediary. The carrier invoices you directly—no middleman margin.

This sounds simpler on paper, but it requires internal resources: someone to find carriers, verify their credentials, negotiate rates, manage the relationships, and handle issues when things go wrong.

The Real Cost Comparison

Most articles simply say "direct is cheaper because you cut out the middleman." That's technically true but ignores the complete picture.

Visible Costs: The Forwarder Margin

Yes, freight forwarders add a margin. On a €1,000 transport, you might pay €1,150-1,250 through a forwarder versus €1,000 direct. That's real money, and on high volumes it adds up quickly.

However, forwarders often negotiate better base rates than individual shippers because of their aggregate volumes. A forwarder moving 500 loads per month on a route has more negotiating power than a shipper moving 20. The "direct" rate you'd get might actually be higher than what a forwarder pays, partially or fully offsetting their margin.

Hidden Costs: Your Internal Resources

Direct carrier management requires someone's time. Consider these activities:

Finding carriers: Sourcing new hauliers for routes you don't currently cover. Posting on freight exchanges, responding to enquiries, evaluating options.

Verification: Checking operating licences, insurance certificates, company credentials. Re-verifying periodically as documents expire.

Negotiation: Getting quotes, negotiating rates, reviewing contracts. Re-negotiating as market conditions change.

Coordination: Booking each shipment, communicating requirements, tracking progress, handling exceptions.

Administration: Processing multiple invoices, managing payments, resolving disputes.

If your logistics coordinator spends 15 hours per week on carrier management at a fully-loaded cost of €30/hour, that's €23,400 annually in internal costs. For a company shipping 200 loads per year, that's €117 per shipment in hidden overhead—potentially more than the forwarder margin you were trying to avoid.

Risk and Liability

When something goes wrong—damaged goods, missed delivery, carrier bankruptcy—who handles it? Forwarders typically assume liability and manage claims on your behalf. Direct relationships put the burden on you to pursue the carrier directly, which can be time-consuming and uncertain, especially across borders.

When Freight Forwarders Make Sense

Complex or Infrequent Routes

Shipping occasionally to markets where you don't have established carrier relationships? A forwarder with existing coverage makes more sense than building relationships you'll use twice a year.

Specialised Requirements

ADR hazmat, temperature-controlled, heavy haulage, multimodal—specialist freight often requires specialist carriers. Forwarders with expertise in these areas have pre-vetted networks you'd struggle to replicate.

Limited Internal Resources

Small logistics teams already stretched thin benefit from outsourcing carrier management. The forwarder margin buys you expertise and bandwidth you don't have internally.

Market Access and Flexibility

Good forwarders provide instant access to capacity you don't have relationships with. When your regular carriers are fully booked or you have an urgent spot shipment, that network access has real value.

When Direct Carrier Relationships Make Sense

High-Volume, Consistent Routes

If you're shipping 50+ loads monthly on the same corridor, direct relationships almost always make economic sense. The volumes justify the management overhead, and consistent business gets you better rates.

Dedicated or Contract Transport

Regular scheduled movements—daily deliveries to distribution centres, weekly production input deliveries—suit direct contracts with dedicated capacity. Forwarders add little value when requirements are predictable and ongoing.

Strategic Control

Some shippers want direct visibility and control over their transport providers for quality, compliance, or relationship reasons. Direct contracts give you that control; forwarder relationships don't.

Cost Sensitivity at Scale

Large shippers with professional procurement teams can often negotiate rates competitive with or better than forwarder rates. At scale, the margin savings justify dedicated carrier management resources.

The Third Option: Hybrid Flexibility

The smartest shippers don't pick one model exclusively. They use direct relationships for predictable, high-volume routes where the economics clearly favour it, and forwarders for everything else—spot shipments, new markets, overflow capacity, specialised requirements.

This hybrid approach requires tools that support both models. Traditional freight management meant maintaining separate relationships, processes, and systems for direct carriers versus forwarder partners.

Modern platforms change this equation. On Truckscanner, for example, you can manage your direct carrier network—hauliers you've vetted and work with regularly—alongside access to the broader marketplace. Post a load and choose whether to send it only to your trusted network, open it to all verified carriers, or both.

Your existing carriers can join for free, so digitising those relationships costs them nothing. When you need capacity beyond your regular network, the marketplace provides it without forcing you to go through a forwarder.

What This Hybrid Model Enables

Benchmark your rates: Compare what your regular carriers quote against market rates. Are you getting competitive pricing, or have your "trusted" relationships become comfortable for both parties?

Scale without adding headcount: Handle volume increases by accessing marketplace capacity rather than frantically onboarding new carrier relationships.

Test new carriers with low risk: Try carriers from the marketplace on non-critical shipments before adding them to your regular network.

Maintain direct relationships digitally: All your carrier communication, quotes, and transport orders in one place rather than scattered across emails and phone calls.

Making Your Decision

Start by analysing your current shipping patterns. For each major route or requirement type, assess the volume, consistency, and complexity. High-volume consistent routes are prime candidates for direct carrier development. Everything else might be better served through forwarder relationships or marketplace access.

Then honestly evaluate your internal resources. Do you have logistics staff with capacity to manage additional carrier relationships? If your team is already overwhelmed, adding direct carrier management will reduce service quality somewhere else.

Finally, consider your growth trajectory. A small company planning to scale significantly might start with forwarders for flexibility, then gradually bring high-volume routes in-house as volumes justify dedicated resources.

Conclusion

The freight broker versus direct carrier debate has no universal answer. Both models have legitimate advantages depending on your specific situation. The real question isn't which is "better"—it's which mix of approaches optimises for your volumes, routes, resources, and strategic priorities.

The best position is having flexibility: direct relationships where they make economic sense, easy access to broader capacity when you need it, and tools that let you manage both from the same platform. That's what modern freight management looks like.

Sources: European Shipper Survey 2025; Transport Intelligence 3PL Market Analysis; Truckscanner platform data; logistics industry benchmarks.