Freightweighted

Freightweighted is a term used in logistics and data analytics to describe metrics, analyses, or datasets that are weighted by freight-related factors rather than treated as simple counts or unweighted observations. In a freight-weighted framework, each shipment, route, or time period is assigned a weighting factor tied to its freight cost, weight, or freight ton-miles, which adjusts its influence on the aggregate measure.

The term is not universally standardized; its usage appears in corporate analytics, transportation planning, and supply chain optimization where the economic impact of shipments is a priority. Common weighting factors include freight cost (tariffs, carrier charges), shipment weight, and freight ton-miles (weight multiplied by distance).

Calculation typically involves replacing a simple average with a weighted average. For example, a freight-weighted average delivery time would multiply each shipment's delivery time by its freight weight factor and divide by the sum of the factors. Other freight-weighted metrics can include costs per unit, on-time performance, or service level, all computed with the same weighting approach.

Applications include cost-to-serve analyses, route optimization, carrier selection, and capacity planning. Freight weighting helps align performance measures with economic significance, ensuring that expensive or high-volume shipments drive decisions.

Limitations include data requirements, sensitivity to the chosen weighting factor, and potential bias toward high-cost or high-weight shipments. It is generally used in conjunction with unweighted metrics to provide a balanced view.

See also: weighted average, cost weighting, logistics analytics, transportation economics.