Convoy Shutdown
The Convoy Shutdown was the October 2023 collapse of Convoy, a Seattle digital freight brokerage once valued at $3.8 billion, which closed during the freight recession and sold its technology to Flexport.
What happened and why it matters
Convoy's collapse showed that software alone could not protect a freight broker from a deep rate downturn, and it made shippers more careful about counterparty risk. Convoy matched shipments with carriers through an app and closed on October 19, 2023, only 18 months after a funding round valued it at $3.8 billion. Falling spot rates and thin margins left it unable to raise more money. Flexport bought its technology in November 2023. For shippers, the lesson is to check a broker's financial health and confirm carriers are being paid, not just compare quoted rates.
People
Related events
Sources
- Flexport buys Convoy tech stack (Trucking Dive) truckingdive.com
- Some Convoy carriers say collapsed startup owes them thousands of dollars (FreightWaves) freightwaves.com