More than half of the 2027 FreightTech100 weren't on last year's list
Over half of the companies on FreightWaves' 2027 FreightTech100 were not included in the 2026 FreightTech100. That suggests last year's freight tech shortlists may already be dated. Shipwell pitches measurable results, while FreightWise pitches built-in analytics for mid-sized shippers. The FreightTech25 follows Oct. 26.
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Key facts, context, and what it means.
Key takeaways
When more than half of a 100-company list turns over in a single year, a shipper's freight tech shortlist from last year is already half out of date.
One listed vendor reports a customer team cut carrier-update chasing from four to five hours a day to about one, the kind of before-and-after number worth requesting from every TMS or AI vendor under review.
Vendor-reported AI claims can be probed by asking each shortlisted provider for before/after time savings and the share of customers using key features daily, since adoption may vary within customer bases.
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FreightWaves said the 2027 class marks the eighth year of the FreightTech Awards. The list spans transportation management and visibility, fleet and telematics, AI, automation and autonomous trucking.
When more than half of a 100-company list turns over in a single year, last year's vendor shortlist is already half out of date. That matters most to the transportation director or logistics procurement lead heading into a TMS, visibility or automation evaluation in the next budget cycle, since the reference set of vendors has moved even if their own requirements haven't.
A scoring rule that rewards change
Descriptions of who does the choosing vary a little. Shipwell's announcement says it was "selected from hundreds of nominations by a panel of industry experts and FreightWaves editors," while FreightWaves' own account gives the 100 to its Research team and the executive panel to the next stage.
The FreightTech100 is the first of two stages. From those 100 companies, an independent panel of more than 80 industry executives chooses the FreightTech25. Winners will be revealed in Chattanooga on Monday, Oct. 26, at the first-ever F3 Awards Dinner, where the Shipper of Choice Awards will also be presented.
Shipwell sells its AI in hours
Shipwell pointed to a customer workflow. At Airlite Plastics, a team that spent four to five hours a day chasing carrier updates now spends about one, with Shipwell automating roughly 98% of shipment updates.
CEO and co-founder Greg Price described the goal as AI that monitors, interprets and carries out transportation work for the people running it.
Shipwell's platform-wide AI claims
Shipwell via EIN Presswire
These are vendor-reported results, and the release doesn't break down which decisions make up the 80%. The shape of the claim is still useful: hours per day before and after, and the share of customers using a feature daily, is a comparison a buyer can ask every shortlisted vendor to fill in the same way.
FreightWise goes after the mid-market shipper
FreightWise made the list with a different pitch. Its Sept. 23 release on PR Newswire centers on FreightWise Intelligence, a data visualization and business intelligence tool built into its Kuebix TMS.
Kuebix earned FedEx Compatible Community Tier certification, and CEO Chris Cochran called this year one of the most active product development years in the company's history.
Put the two releases side by side and the list turns out to cover quite different needs. For a shipper without its own analytics team, reporting built into the TMS may be the closer need. For a team losing half its day to carrier status checks, execution automation of the kind Shipwell describes is the more direct fit.
The limits of a nomination list
There's a fair objection to reading too much into the turnover. The evolution criterion pushes toward new names.
A list full of AI vendors shows where the products are going.
When more than half of a 100-company list turns over in a single year, last year's vendor shortlist is already half out of date.
Twenty-five names on Oct. 26
The next marker is the Chattanooga dinner, when more than 80 executives will cut the 100 to 25. The makeup of the FreightTech25 could show whether the turnover in the 100 reflects a real change in what operators value.
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