Category
Logistics
Pallet haulage, courier, warehousing, container freight.
Why this category drifts
Fuel moves weekly and surcharges follow it, but base rates are usually agreed once and left. When diesel falls and your rate does not, that is a conversation with evidence behind it.
What we watch
ONS services producer prices for road freight and for warehousing, plus weekly UK diesel.
Alongside your own invoices — a supplier's own price rise is better evidence than any national average, and it is the one thing no index can tell you.
Why the quotes are hard to compare
Haulage quotes hide their differences in the terms: waiting time, tail lift, failed delivery, minimum drops. A cheaper rate with worse terms is not cheaper.
CostSpring converts every quote to a landed cost per unit you actually use, keeps the caveats attached to the number they qualify, and tells you what the gap is worth in the rhythm you order in.
Where to start
Add the two or three lines you suspect have not been looked at in a while. If nothing is worth acting on, you will be told that too — an alert nobody needs is worse than no alert.