Inside the Spot Freight Shift: How Manifold Is Simplifying a Fragmented Logistics Market
Tender rejection rates nearing 14% at the close of Q1 signal a shift back toward a carrier-favorable freight market, driving increased spot market activity. Manifold is positioning itself to simplify the fragmented spot freight landscape by giving logistics teams better tooling to manage volatility and carrier relationships. The article explores how technology can reduce friction in spot procurement as market conditions tighten.
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Key takeaways
The freight market is in the midst of a notable shift.
With national tender rejection rates approaching 14% by the end of Q1, freight conditions have shifted back in carriers’ favor, often coinciding with increased activity in the spot market.
At the same time, logistics teams are juggling an increasingly fragmented ecosystem of portals, emails,…
The freight market is in the midst of a notable shift. With national tender rejection rates approaching 14% by the end of Q1, freight conditions have shifted back in carriers’ favor, often coinciding with increased activity in the spot market. At the same time, logistics teams are juggling an increasingly fragmented ecosystem of portals, emails, and manual workflows just to compete for those opportunities. The stakes are high: inefficiency means missed revenue, lost time, and exposure to fraud in an already volatile market.
So how can brokers and carriers cut through the noise, capture more spot opportunities, and operate with greater confidence in a chaotic system?
On this episode of Hammer Down, host Mike Bush sits down with Oliver Jones, co-founder and CEO of Manifold, and Trey Griggs, Chief Revenue Officer at Manifold. Together, they unpack how their platform is tackling one of logistics’ most persistent challenges—bringing clarity and efficiency to the spot freight market—while exploring broader trends shaping the industry today.
Key takeaways from the episode…
Manifold aggregates multiple private freight portals into a single platform, giving users visibility and control over spot opportunities in one place.
The rise in tender rejections is pushing more freight into the spot market, creating new revenue opportunities—especially for carriers optimizing backhauls.
Automation, when paired with human oversight, can streamline bidding processes without sacrificing the nuance required to win freight effectively.
Oliver Jones is the co-founder and CEO of Manifold, where he applies his expertise in automated spot bidding and logistics technology to improve freight market efficiency. Previously at Convoy Inc, he led cross-functional engineering, data science, and program teams, scaling automated bidding from 40% to 90%, improving margins, and building high-performing, reliable systems for shipper integrations and shipment decisioning. With a background spanning engineering leadership and software development, including roles at Dell EMC Isilon, he specializes in blending technical and business strategy to drive operational efficiency, product innovation, and team growth in the freight and logistics sector.
Trey Griggs is the Chief Revenue Officer at Manifold, where he drives growth through automated spot freight quoting and revenue optimization strategies for trucking companies and brokers. He brings deep expertise in sales, marketing, and brand strategy, having led revenue and go-to-market efforts at firms like Lean Solutions Group and DAT Solutions, while also advising logistics businesses via his consultancy. Known for building high-performing sales processes and messaging frameworks, he specializes in helping logistics organizations increase revenue through structured strategy, coaching, and technology adoption.
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Hammer Down
Freight, trucking, and logistics told by the people running it.
About the author
Beginning his career by learning how to tell a brand’s story, leveraging marcom to build market share, utilizing PR to get people engaged, and innovating trust-based relationships between products and people, He took on diverse challenges and continually grew. Mike created the first ever SEO practice in Washington DC — generating $10M+ in revenue for 10+ clients. Throughout my career, Mike gained unique experiences such as spearheading marcom for a company after a real-time suicide (incident inspired a Law & Order SVU episode) with minimal negative publicity. And advising a client in PR best practices after an employee had committed a highly publicized terrorist attack in the US. Company was able to maintain all major financial relationships (JPM, BofA, Well Fargo, AmEx, etc.). He worked for a leader in the automotive services industry — building a reputation as nationally recognized expert on road rage (including an appearance on Court TV as a Subject Matter Expert). This included creating media that generated 100M+ impressions.
