It was once thought so called "combinatorial bidding" - in which carriers bid on combinations of lanes as packages to drive network efficiencies and thus presumably lower rates - would dominate truckload freight sourcing.

It all looks good on paper, says MIT's Dr. Chris Caplice, and he ought to know - he wrote his PhD dissertation on the concept. But when the rubber hits the road - literally in this case - the theory is just not practical to implement, Caplice now says, even though some shippers still try to use the tactic.

Watch Caplice and SCDigest editor Dan Gilmore explore this myth in this great video discussion.

Please view this brief video discussion now.