2018 is already turning out to be the year of 3PL. Researching the logistics trends in 2018, I came across an article that stated that Third Party Logistics Providers (3PL
Happy New Year!
We hit an ALL TIME HIGH in the last week of 2017 in all facets – TL, LTL and Reefer…flatbeds leveled out, but vans & reefers were up. Most technical indicators lag a bit but the best indicator market is price.
Thanks to the ELD Mandate and frigid weather across the Northern region, we witnessed a frenzy of people urgent to get their LTL and TL shipping moved. We felt it on the phone and over our email orders watching longer transit times across the boards and higher prices.
NEWS YOU CAN USE!
- Van Ratios Hit an All-Time High during the week of Dec 24 – 30 – This urgency to move freight before the end of the year, combined with the frigid weather and tight capacity due to both the holiday and the recently initiated ELD mandate meant that it cost more to move those loads last week.
- Load-to-truck ratios surged, setting a new all-time record-high of 12.2 loads per truck for vans.
- Spot rates also reached historic highs: The national average van rate rose 2
The ELD is basically an electronic logging device
LTL shipments are the fastest and most economical way to move a shipment larger than a parcel, but smaller than a truckload consisting of as little as 1 pallet, crate or bundle and as many as 10 standard pallets (L48″ x W40″ x H48″). The time in which it takes an LTL shipment to make its destination seems to be one of the biggest questions and misunderstood expectations with our customers. So let’s lay it out for you.
- Your LTL shipment is picked up by the carrier in a city truck, provided it is properly prepared for shipping.
- It is then taken to the origin terminal where it is checked through dimensional scanners for size, weight, density and class.
- The shipment is then loaded onto a Linehaul trailer. A Linehaul trailer is a full semi-trailer.
- There, your shipment sits in that trailer with other shipments waiting for that Linehaul trailer to fill.
- Once that Linehaul trailer is full, it hits the road.
- Depending on the destination, there could be several terminal stops along the way, where shipments, along with yours are unloaded and new shipments are loaded at each terminal stop. This is where delays may occur. If the Linehaul trailer does not fill, then that trailer will sit an extra day until it is full and ready to make the next terminal.
- Ultimately, the Linehaul truck arrives at the destination terminal where your shipment is unloaded and then loaded on city trucks once again to be delivered to your destination.
*INTERSTATE – 1-2 DAYS
*CROSS COUNTRY – 7-10 DAYS, and everything in between
What other Factors can Cause Delays?
Weather, traffic, terminal back-ups, breakdowns, holidays and human error can all delay your shipment. If you are going cross country on long distances, the LTL carrier can chose to put your shipment on rail.
Got a Time Sensitive Delivery?
If your shipment must meet a deadline, then there are guaranteed, express options and you can even overnight by air. These accessorial charges can be arranged with us.
Though we have focused on what could delay your shipment, it is only in an effort to under-promise and over-deliver. Most LTL carriers, some better than others, are consistent with their estimated time of arrivals, but nothing is guaranteed unless you pay.
Please contact us to move your next LTL shipment – Go123 Land, Air, Sea, your full service logistics experts!
Experts say “By the year 2020, there will be 25 billion connected devices in use, representing a 30-fold increase over today” representing a 30-fold increase over today. With advancements in technology, more and more industries are embracing this change.
What can this technology offer in the freight shipping industry?
- Visibility – now consumers can shop for better quotes and hold their shipping agents accountable for high prices, they can utilize the internet to shop for better prices
- Tracking – with GPS enabled date and location services, the customer and dispatch team can track delivery times with precise details
- Multitasking – fuel cost would be cut since fleet routes can be optimized with monitored traffic status allowing more loads to be added along certain routes, with enhanced location data and last minute pick-up & add-on availability
- Speedier Service and Less Pit Stops – Sensor-equipped trucks and GPS technology enable further supply chain productivity. This technology alerts corporate maintenance facilities when trucks need service for their brakes, tires, oil or any other critical systems. When maintenance crews get this information in advance – truck companies can avoid the extra expense of road repairs and delays of freight due to unexpected break-downs
- Enhanced Data Accessibility – fleet managers and drivers alike can save fuel and drive more efficiently with more knowledge thanks to the superior visibility, tracking and maintenance free driving, ultimately delivering on time and keeping the end user happier, the client
- Better Rates Overall – with all these combined benefits, shippers can deliver with better rates, offering better rates to the consumer
Few industries can claim to have a level of technology to equal that found in the logistics industry, and future advancements are primed to reveal and generate some of the most significant technological changes in the industry throughout history. From the ability to automatically generate reports from Internet of Things (IoT), radio frequency identification (RFID), and Bluetooth-enabled devices to the increasing focus on an omni channel solution to acquiring new customers, technology in the logistics industry will continue to grow and improve in accuracy, function and efficiency.
Although some of these technologies have been around for a while, they are just now starting to be used to the best of their ability for the logistics industry in 2016, paving the road for even more advances in efficiency and safety for carriers and consumers.
For Example: Freight class: concrete furnishings, benches, balusters, ashtrays, tables, etc.
After much research and some trial and error, we have landed on the following info for the LTL freight class of concrete furnishings. This includes things like concrete balusters, concrete tables, concrete bases, and similar products usually are classed at class 60, and use an NMFC# of 78820. Sometimes these are referred to as concrete furbishing as well. It is made up of pre-cast concrete items. Here
We just read an awesome article about solar energy specifically for refrigerated trucks. This is a cool new alternative to maintain a green footprint while getting your clients their needs when dealing with temperature controlled environments for long hauls.
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| Carrier Transicold Thin Film Flexible Solar Panels are designed to maintain the refrigeration unit
All freight is usually handled several times during transit, often by different carriers. It must be packaged to protect it from scuffing, vibration, crushing, dropping, humidity, and condensation. Go123Logistics highly recommends practicing safe packaging – load freight onto pallets or package freight into crates, or use sturdy shipping containers such as corrugated fiberboard boxes. Carriers have published tariffs that provide some guidance for packaging. Packaging engineers design and test packaging to meet the specific needs of the logistics system and the product being shipped.
Proper packaging freight serves several purposes:
 LTL is the transportation of relatively small freight, but larger than regular parcel mail like what would normally ship via FedEx Ground, or UPS or U.S. Mail parcel services (about 150 pounds) to just under what would usually be considered a Truck Load at about 20,000 pounds or more than 14 pallets. LTL common carriers are also more likely to accept loose (non-palletized) cargo than the other cargos. LTL shipments typically weigh between 151 and 20,000 lb (68 and 9,072 kg).
While routes tend to be more casual, the main advantage to using an LTL carrier is that a shipment may be transported for a fraction of the cost of hiring an entire truck and trailer for an exclusive shipment. Also, a number of accessory services are available from LTL carriers, which are not typically offered by FTL carriers. These optional services include liftgate service at pickup or delivery, residential (also known as “non-commercial”) service at pickup or delivery, inside delivery, notification prior to delivery, freeze protection, and others.  TL is the transportation of large amounts of homogeneous cargo, generally the amount necessary to fill an entire semi-trailer or intermodal container (refrigerated). A truckload carrier is a trucking company that generally contracts an entire trailer-load to a single customer. This is as opposed to a less than truckload (LTL) company that generally mixes freight from several customers in each trailer. One advantage Full Truckload (FTL) carriers have over Less than Truckload carriers is that the freight is never handled en route, whereas an LTL shipment will typically be transported on several different trailers. As with LTL, TL should also be packaged or loaded onto pallets for unit loads. Sturdy shipping containers such as crates or corrugated fiberboard boxes are commonly used .
A typical full truckload for a dry van trailer consists of 24 standard pallets of cargo that weighs up to 42,000 lbs. (or more).
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