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Nearly 60% of Freight Brokers still use Paper Checks but most think Digitalization would Improve Operations

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Nearly 60% of Freight Brokers still use Paper Checks but most think Digitalization would Improve Operations

Denim, the leading financial enablement platform for the freight and logistics industry, has released its inaugural Freight Broker Pulse Report in partnership with Ascend2. With insights from 168 freight brokers, the report highlights the importance of time efficiency in operations and how the industry benefits from digitalization.

According to the report, freight brokers spend too much time on broker operations, including invoicing, collections, and payments. Over half of respondents (52%) report that their organization spends 25% or more of their time working on broker operations, which totals 480 hours a year based on the average 40-hour work week. Considering this significant time investment — 78% agree that their business would be more successful if they spent less time on broker operations.

The report also highlights the need for digitalization in the freight industry. Nearly 60% of those surveyed still pay carriers and shippers with paper checks, despite over two-thirds (68%) saying eliminating paper checks would improve their business operations.

Additional findings from Denim’s report include:

  • 84% of freight brokers are optimistic for 2023

  • 74% of enterprise freight brokers (average $2 million in monthly revenue) are prioritizing improving overall efficiency in the year ahead.

  • Rising gas prices was the top challenge (63%) of freight brokers in 2022

  • Over half (58%) of freight brokers use invoice factoring to finance freight and receivables.

  • 97% of freight brokers agree that building trust with carriers and shippers improves business.

The Freight Broker Pulse Report follows the announcement of the company’s rebrand and $126 million Series B funding round, which will enable Denim to continue scaling its team and fueling product expansion efforts to meet the growing needs of freight brokers.

About Denim

Denim is a financial enablement platform for the logistics industry that offers an ecosystem of intelligent financial products, operations tools, and time-saving automation. Its proprietary technology enables freight brokers to simplify their financing operations and easily access the working capital they need to grow in the competitive, $2 trillion logistics market. Denim automates invoicing, collections, and payments — ultimately reducing daily payments and collections tasks by 75%. A remote-first company, Denim has been named a Best Place To Work by Built In and Best Workplace for Innovators by Fast Company.

About Ascend2

Organizations partner with Ascend2 to produce high-quality original research studies, supplement their marketing content, build thought leadership, create media coverage, generate leads, and engage prospects to drive demand. Ascend2 performs research for Oracle, Brightcove, Act-On, The Pedowitz Group, HubSpot, and more. Our clients’ research is regularly featured by MarketingProfs, Insider Intelligence, Forbes, Media Post, Search Engine Land, Marketing Land, Convince & Convert, and more.

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Global Imports of Printing Paper Fall Dramatically, but China Increases Its Purchases

IndexBox has just published a new report: ‘World – Printing and Writing Paper – Market Analysis, Forecast, Size, Trends and Insights’. Here is a summary of the report’s key findings.

Digitalization has put pressure on the world’s trade of printing and writing paper. Over the past decade, global imports of printing and writing paper dropped from 47M tonnes in 2010 to 31M tonnes in 2020. In value terms, imports declined to $27.6B. The U.S., Germany and France remain the largest importers of printing and writing paper worldwide. China features as the only county that boosted its paper imports last year. In 2020, the average printing and writing paper import price fell by -3.2% y-o-y to $899 per tonne 2020. Germany, Indonesia, Finland and Sweden constitute the largest exporters of printing and writing paper.  

Global Imports of Printing and Writing Paper

Under the pressure of digitalization, global imports of printing and writing paper dropped from 47M tonnes in 2010 to 31M tonnes in 2020, a decrease of -34%. In value terms, imports reduced from $34.4B in 2019 to $27.6B (IndexBox estimates) in 2020.

Germany (3.3M tonnes) and the U.S. (3.2M tonnes) represented the major importers of printing and writing paper in 2020, accounting for approx. 11% and 10% of total imports, respectively. France (1.9M tonnes) took a 6.3% share (based on tonnes) of total imports, which put it in second place, followed by the UK (5.3%) and China (4.9%). Italy (1,145K tonnes), Poland (1,009K tonnes), Turkey (813K tonnes), Japan (690K tonnes), Singapore (649K tonnes), India (628K tonnes), Spain (598K tonnes) and the Netherlands (545K tonnes) followed a long way behind the leaders.

In value terms, the largest printing and writing paper importing markets worldwide were the U.S. ($2.9B), Germany ($2.8B) and France ($1.7B), together comprising 27% of global imports. The UK, China, Italy, Poland, Spain, Turkey, Japan, the Netherlands, Singapore and India lagged somewhat behind, comprising a further 29%.

Among the largest importers, China was the only country that increased purchases of printing and writing paper from abroad. The value of Chinese purchases rose from $0.9B in 2019 to $1.2B in 2020.

The average printing and writing paper import price stood at $899 per tonne in 2020, reducing by -3.2% against the previous year. Prices varied noticeably by the country of destination; the country with the highest price was the Netherlands ($1,186 per tonne), while India ($749 per tonne) was amongst the lowest. In 2020, the most notable rate of growth in terms of prices was attained by Spain, while the other global leaders experienced more modest paces of growth.

World’s Largest Suppliers of Printing and Writing Paper

Germany (4.2M tonnes), Indonesia (3.2M tonnes), Finland (2.7M tonnes), Sweden (2.2M tonnes), China (1.8M tonnes), Canada (1.8M tonnes), Austria (1.6M tonnes), Portugal (1.3M tonnes), Brazil (1.2M tonnes), South Korea (1.1M tonnes), the U.S. (1.1M tonnes) and Italy (1M tonnes) represented roughly 75% of total exports of printing and writing paper in 2020. The Netherlands (794K tonnes) followed a long way behind the leaders.

In value terms, the largest printing and writing paper supplying countries worldwide were Germany ($3.8B), Finland ($2.3B) and Indonesia ($2.1B), together comprising 30% of global exports. China, Sweden, Canada, Austria, the U.S., Portugal, Italy, South Korea, Brazil and the Netherlands lagged somewhat behind, accounting for a further 45%.

Source: IndexBox Platform