3PL vs. Freight Broker

The confusion between 3PLs and freight brokers is understandable because there's genuine overlap – both sit between shippers and carriers, and many companies operate as both. But the distinction matters when you're deciding who to trust with what. A freight broker does one thing: arrange transportation. They match your loads with carriers, handle the paperwork, and manage the shipment. A 3PL provides a broader suite of logistics services that can include warehousing, inventory management, order fulfillment, freight brokerage, and transportation management – often bundled under a single contract.

In practice, most freight brokers focus purely on securing truck capacity and optimizing rates across their carrier network. Their value is speed, market access, and pricing leverage. A 3PL, by contrast, might operate your warehouse, pick and pack your orders, manage your inbound receiving, and then arrange outbound transportation – sometimes using their own brokerage arm, sometimes using your carriers. Some 3PLs own assets like warehouses and trucks; others are purely non-asset and orchestrate a network of subcontracted providers.

The decision of when to use each depends on what you're trying to outsource. If you have your own warehousing and fulfillment operations and just need help filling trucks, a freight broker or a mix of contract carriers and brokers may be all you need. If you're looking to outsource entire segments of your supply chain – say, all West Coast cold storage and distribution – a 3PL relationship makes more sense. Many mid-market shippers use both: a 3PL for warehousing and fulfillment, plus direct carrier and broker relationships managed through their own TMS for transportation execution and cost control.

Where shippers get into trouble is when they lose visibility into what's happening inside their 3PL or broker relationships. Without your own system of record for rates, shipment status, and carrier performance, you're relying entirely on your partners' reporting – which may not be in your best interest.