''Shipping Wars'' is a reality television series that aired on
A&E from January 10, 2012 to April 29, 2015. Season 9 premiered on November 30, 2021 with a new cast of shippers. The show follows various independent shippers who have discovered that money can be made transporting large/bulky/unusual items that traditional carriers either cannot or will not haul. They compete for shipments in timed auctions held by
uShip, one of the largest online auction houses for independent shippers.
Overview
In seasons 1-8, the shippers place bids on two shipments listed on uShip, in a
reverse auction
A reverse auction (also known as buyer-determined auction or procurement auction) is a type of auction in which the traditional roles of buyer and seller are reversed. Thus, there is one buyer and many potential sellers. In an ordinary auction al ...
format. Bids are generally made with comments about the likely costs and risks, as well as the motives and abilities. When the time limit for an auction runs out, the job is typically awarded to the lowest bidder; at the client's discretion, however, it may be awarded to a higher bidder with a better average feedback rating from past clients. Feedback ratings are used to break any ties for the lowest bid. In season 9, the shippers receive their loads from a shipping broker, and the bidding process isn't shown.
Winners load their cargo and attempt to deliver it intact by the client's or receiver's deadline. Feedback ratings from clients appear after the loads have been delivered. At the end of the episode, each shipper's revenue is tallied on-screen, with the expenses (fuel, labor, late-delivery penalties, fines, etc.) subtracted from the bid amount to determine the overall profit or loss. At times, a shipper will arrange to haul one or more additional loads on the same trip, with the extra money figured into their tally. In some cases, the shipper will be unable to complete a job due to concerns over load size/weight or road safety. On occasion, one shipper will enlist the services of another to help complete a job; the shippers then decide between themselves how to split the proceeds. In seasons 1-8, the progress of each shipment is interspersed with humorous criticisms from the other shippers.
Episodes
Shippers
Reception
David Wiegand of the ''
San Francisco Chronicle
The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and M. H. de Young, Michael H. de ...
'' says the show is "well made and fun to watch". David Knowles of ''
The Hollywood Reporter
''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...
'' states, "Though the fast paced editing scheme manages to keep the point and click bidding from feeling as droll as Internet auctions are in real life, the relentlessly quick hits of dialog and action make the proceedings feel like a teaser rather than the actual program". Monica Hesse of ''
The Washington Post
''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
'' states, "''Shipping Wars'' is mostly about the perfectly packed trunk and the ecstasy of having not an inch to spare".
International broadcasts
In the UK, ''Shipping Wars'' is broadcast on the
History
History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the History of writing#Inventions of writing, invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbr ...
TV channels.
The series made its debut in Canada on
OLN
OLN (formerly Outdoor Life Network) is a Canadian English-language Category A specialty channel. OLN primarily broadcasts factual-based and adventure-related reality programming aimed at male audiences. OLN is wholly owned by Rogers Sports & ...
; it currently airs on
CMT Canada
CMT is a Canadian English language specialty channel owned as a joint venture between Corus Entertainment (which owns a controlling 90% interest) and Paramount Networks Americas (which owns the remaining 10%), owners of the flagship CMT channel ...
. In India, this show is broadcast on
History TV 18. The German network
N24 broadcasts a dubbed version since April 2014. The France network
6ter
6ter (pronounced: ister is a French television network which is available free-to-air through digital terrestrial television, satellite and DSL. It is a subsidiary of the Groupe M6; the name 6ter has been selected for the channel as M6's little "si ...
broadcasts a French dubbed version since September 2015. In Australia it is broadcast on the free-to-air channel 7 Mate.
''Shipping Wars UK''
On 5 January 2014,
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...
aired the pilot of the UK version of ''Shipping Wars'' titled ''Shipping Wars UK''. The format closely follows the US version.
The pilot received over a million viewers and, on 9 April 2014, it was announced that 20 episodes had been commissioned. Each episode will run to 45 minutes and will be produced by Megalomedia.
On the 2nd May 2016 a second series started on Channel 4, the second series let the shippers travel to different European countries.
References
External links
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{{A&ENetwork Shows
2012 American television series debuts
2015 American television series endings
2010s American reality television series
Freight transport
A&E (TV network) original programming
English-language television shows
Auction television series