"World of DaaS" FreightWaves CEO Craig Fuller - why pricing data businesses trade at 30x EBIT despite 4% growth
20 snips
Dec 23, 2025 
Craig Fuller, the visionary founder and CEO of FreightWaves, dives into the fascinating world of freight and supply chain data. He discusses how FreightWaves successfully predicted the 2022 freight recession and why pricing data businesses often command high market valuations despite modest growth. Craig also shares insights on the importance of proprietary data, the challenges of embedding data in workflows, and the unique strategies FreightWaves employs, such as acquiring legacy media to drive community engagement and reduce customer acquisition costs.
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Freight Is A Real-Time Commodity Indicator
- Freight is best measured by transaction volume and price-per-unit (e.g., rate-per-mile) as the currency of the industry.
- Real-time freight data reveals goods-economy demand more reliably than retail metrics distorted by inflation.
Industrial Freight Reveals A K-Shaped Economy
- Industrial freight volumes fell dramatically while retail/e-commerce remained flat, signaling deeper weakness in goods production.
- This divergence creates a K-shaped economy with manufacturing and industrial sectors in significant decline.
Acquire Exhaust Feeds With Give-To-Get Deals
- Source exhaust data from software, payments, and telematics providers via give-to-get deals.
- Use exclusive, low-value-for-seller feeds to build unique market-level datasets.
