In 2025, economic uncertainty is a daily operational reality for trucking carriers. While every industry feels the ripple effects of volatile business cycles, few sectors have endured a prolonged downturn like freight over the past three years. 

Even now-lowered tariffs are making planning difficult for various industries and supply chains, as shown by the number of companies who are delaying or altogether stopping economic forecasts. That lack of economic confidence and foresight will have huge effects on freight movements, even as the tariff environment improves temporarily. 

But forward-thinking carriers aren’t standing still. The most headstrong fleets are turning to solutions like Transflo Workflow AI for Carriers to streamline operations, reduce costs, and maximize efficiency during this extended period of margin pressure. 

3 roadblocks carriers look to overcome 

For carriers navigating today’s market conditions, three critical pain points consistently emerge: 

1. Administrative burden 

Back-office teams often drown in paperwork. From bills of lading and proofs of delivery to lumper receipts and accessorial charges, every load generates a mountain of documentation that requires meticulous processing.  

As Brian Sowul, Transflo’s Senior Product Director, noted, “The paperwork for anything transportation-related is numbingly annoying… Every time you have a line item, that line item correlates to an additional accessorial charge. That accessorial charge requires a receipt.” 

2. Delayed cash flow 

In tight markets, speed to cash becomes critical. Yet the traditional document processing workflow creates significant invoice lag—often 7-10 days or more—delaying revenue recognition and straining working capital. 

3. Operational inefficiency 

As carriers stretch equipment lifecycles and optimize return on net spend, back-office efficiency often remains an untapped opportunity. Staff hours dedicated to manual document review and data entry represent a substantial cost center that could be optimized. 

How AI-powered automation transforms carrier operations 

While economic headwinds can’t be controlled from the boardroom or a spreadsheet, how carriers respond to them certainly can be. AI-powered workflow solutions offer a tangible path to operational excellence even in challenging markets. Here’s how: 

1. Minimizing manual data entry 

Modern AI solutions like Transflo’s Workflow AI for Carriers processes documents automatically, regardless of format or structure. Unlike template-based OCR systems that struggle with variation, AI-powered data extraction reads a broader array of document types with significantly higher accuracy while progressively learning new documents. 

The results are compelling: carriers testing Workflow AI have achieved up to 75% no-touch document readiness, meaning three-quarters of documents can move straight to invoicing without human intervention. This represents a fundamental shift in how carriers manage documentation. 

“Imagine if your driver delivered the load, and the moment they’re ready to leave the facility, they’re using Transflo Mobile. They take a picture [of the BOL]. They also had a receipt for fuel. They take a picture. ‘Oh, you know what? They just made me do the lumper.’ They take a picture. Three quick pictures all get sent to AI. The AI then takes what should be the generated data for the invoice, compares it to those receipts, and says, ‘This is solid. Nobody has to look at it, send out that invoice.’ That’s what we are enabling,” explains Sowul. 

2. Accelerating speed to cash 

In today’s unsure freight economy, cash flow is a major strategic advantage. By dramatically reducing invoice lag, AI-powered automation directly impacts the financial health of carriers.  

Beta testing partners have reported cutting invoice turnaround time by up to 80%, transforming what was once a week-long process into a same-day or next-day reality. 

Hill Brothers Transportation provides a compelling real-world example. After implementing Workflow AI, they achieved: 

• 80% reduction in invoice lag 
• 60% automatic document indexing 
• Significantly decreased exceptions 

“With Transflo WFAI, we’re indexing 60% of load docs automatically, freeing up 20+ hours weekly and slashing exceptions. It’s a game-changer,” reports Breonda Ziegler of Hill Brothers Transportation. 

3. Optimizing resource allocation 

Perhaps most importantly, AI doesn’t replace humans—it empowers them. As Danny Goldstein, Transflo’s VP of Solution Engineering, emphasizes: “AI never replaces humans, and that’s really important. We’re not saying that you’re not going to have zero people working in your office. We’re trying to be more efficient.” 

This efficiency translates to tangible time savings. Hill Brothers is saving 1,000 hours annually, and other carriers testing the platform report similar results—750 or more hours a year recovered. This freed capacity allows staff to focus on higher-value activities like customer service, exception resolution, and strategic initiatives. 

As carriers have emphasized, doing more with less has become an operational imperative. AI enables exactly that, allowing teams to accomplish more without expanding headcount. 

Why Transflo’s AI approach stands above the rest 

While many solutions claim to offer automation for carriers, not all technologies are created equally. Transflo Workflow AI for Carriers distinguishes itself in several critical ways. 

True AI-driven intelligence vs. rule-based systems 

Many back-office solutions still rely on pre-programmed rules and templates that require constant manual adjustments. These legacy approaches demand significant IT resources and struggle with document variations. 

Transflo’s adaptive AI learning sets a new standard—continually improving without requiring manual programming. This means higher accuracy rates and fewer exceptions, even with non-standardized documents that would confuse traditional systems. 

Purpose-built for transportation back-office needs 

Some offerings in the market began as general business automation tools or were adapted from TMS platforms. In contrast, Transflo built Workflow AI specifically for transportation back-office challenges, informed by decades of industry expertise. 

This approach means the system understands industry-specific documents and workflows without extensive training or customization—from complex detention forms to specialized accessorial receipts. 

Cloud-native architecture with minimal IT overhead 

Many competitors require substantial on-premise infrastructure or complex hybrid deployments that demand significant IT resources. Transflo’s cloud-native solution minimizes implementation complexity and ongoing maintenance burdens. 

Carriers can deploy, scale, and update without major IT projects, which is a critical advantage for fleets focused on operational efficiency during economic uncertainty. 

Proven ROI in challenging economic conditions 

While some solutions require premium pricing structures regardless of carrier size, Transflo delivers measurable value that scales with your operation. As demonstrated by Hill Brothers Transportation’s experience, the combination of faster invoicing and 1,000+ hours saved annually delivers immediate financial impact. 

Navigating forward: AI as a strategic imperative 

AI-powered automation like Workflow AI represents not just an operational improvement but a strategic imperative. By eliminating manual processes, accelerating cash flow, and optimizing resource allocation, these solutions help carriers build the resilience needed to weather economic uncertainty. 

Ready to reduce invoice lag and reclaim 15+ hours per week? See how Transflo Workflow AI can help your team run faster and smarter—even when the economy isn’t on your side. 

TL;DR

Economic uncertainty and an uneasy freight market are forcing carriers to find new efficiencies and address three critical pain points: administrative burden from mountains of paperwork, delayed cash flow from invoice lag, and operational inefficiency from manual processes. AI-powered automation transforms operations through minimizing manual data entry (achieving up to 75% no-touch document readiness), accelerating speed to cash (80% reduction in invoice lag), and optimizing resource allocation (saving 1,000+ hours annually). As a real-world example, Hill Brothers Transportation achieved 80% invoice lag reduction, 60% automatic document indexing, and 20+ hours saved weekly. Transflo’s AI advantage includes true adaptive learning vs. rule-based systems, purpose-built transportation focus, cloud-native architecture, and proven ROI. AI helps carriers build resilience during economic uncertainty by eliminating manual processes and dramatically improving cash flow.