Can a carrier's owned assets give it a pricing advantage over a broker arrangement?

On lanes where a carrier runs high-frequency, high-utilisation owned-asset services, its fixed cost per consignment is low and its pricing reflects that structure. On those specific lanes, a direct carrier rate can be competitive. A broker's rate reflects the most competitive option across multiple carriers on the same lane — which may match or undercut the direct rate depending on which carrier's capacity is most readily available at the time of booking. Neither model holds a universal pricing advantage across all lanes and all periods.