Univar Solutions is deepening its commitment to carrier partnerships as capacity tightens and fuel surcharges turn erratic in the niche liquid bulk hazmat sector, according to Rob McCray, vice president of transportation. Speaking at the company's annual carrier kickoff event in Chattanooga, Tennessee, McCray told FreightWaves that the 'shipper of choice' mentality costs more upfront but delivers measurable returns when the market turns against shippers.
Carrier Relationship Strategy
About 90% of Univar's volume moves in the liquid bulk hazmat space, a niche that severely limits the pool of eligible carriers, McCray said. Approximately 50% of that volume moves via third-party carriers by design, allowing the company to reach customers outside its private fleet's normal delivery zones. Specialty chemicals such as hydrochloric acid require rubber-lined 53-foot tankers — expensive, low-utilization assets that few carriers are willing to acquire without a reliable shipper committed to consistent volume.
"When it contracts and it gets really difficult to find a truck, it's all about — there's a limited number of them. You have multiple customers or shippers calling into a carrier to say, 'I need an asset,'" McCray said. "And we operate with ninety-ish percent of our volume in the liquid bulk hazmat space. So it's a very small niche of the registered DOT carriers."
Univar was the first chemical distributor to receive the FreightWaves Shipper of Choice Award, an recognition McCray said the company did not actively pursue. The carrier kickoff — a significant annual investment he acknowledged is "not cheap" — is designed to put faces to names, visit carrier terminals, and engage drivers directly. Some carrier partners at this year's event had no hazmat experience before working with McCray at a previous employer and have now followed him to Univar for nearly six years.
Operational Discipline
McCray outlined a disciplined route-guide strategy that balances cost and service. Margin saved on flexible lanes is reinvested to secure capacity on high-service lanes. Underperforming carriers receive a 90-day improvement window with a formal rack-and-stack performance review. If metrics don't recover within that period, the partnership ends. "Directionally, it's long-term partnerships," McCray said, "and it's partnerships with people that we want to do business with, people that take care of our customers."
| Metric | Approach |
|---|---|
| Capacity for flexible lanes | Margin reinvested to secure high-service capacity |
| Underperforming carriers | 90-day improvement window with rack-and-stack review |
| Partnership termination | If metrics not recovered, partnership ends |
Market Outlook
McCray flagged rising tender rejection rates as a leading service indicator and a growing concern heading into the second half of the year. He said capacity is becoming an issue again after a couple of years of relative ease, and called current fuel surcharge behavior "erratic." Univar has already adjusted its fuel surcharge policy in response to carrier feedback gathered at events like the Chattanooga kickoff. His market outlook: carrier-favorable conditions will likely persist through the balance of 2025 and potentially into the first half of 2026, with geopolitical uncertainty and elevated fuel prices as the key wildcards.
Multimodal Capabilities
Beyond market dynamics, McCray framed Univar's logistics operation as a full multimodal platform — encompassing air freight, river barges, ocean vessels, LTL, rail, a fleet of 3,500 railcars, and service to the North Slope of Alaska — that attracts logistics professionals drawn to complex, high-stakes supply chains. His hiring formula prioritizes data aptitude, emotional intelligence, and a genuine passion for logistics. "We hire good cooks," he said, "and the good cooks are fantastic logisticians." The combination of disciplined carrier partnerships, multimodal depth, and a long-term orientation positions Univar to navigate the tightening market while maintaining service levels for its chemical customers.
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