Carriers hate’em. Shippers say, gotta have’em. The dreaded request for proposal (RFP) was a hot topic of debate at this year’s Surface Transportation Summit, held Oct. 16 at the International Centre.

Most of the frustration among carriers at the event was aimed at the frequency in which shippers issue RFPs, sometimes putting their freight up for bid annually, or even quarterly. Responding to an RFP is time-consuming, a drag on resources, and often switching carriers proves to be a costly mistake for the shipper, carrier representatives contended.