The Logistical Lowdown

If you want to consistently secure capacity at good rates, you’ve got to make your freight appealing to carriers. And while it’s never been easy, getting your products delivered on time has never been more difficult than it is right now due to the current truckload market conditions. As many shippers continue to experience volatile spikes in demand, and carriers remain in recovery from a rough first part of the year, capacity has never been tighter.

Companies are finding it more challenging to manage their logistics functions on their own, especially with all of the changes going on within the industry. From new government regulations to the current economic uncertainty, the challenges that all shipping operations are dealing with have made it necessary for companies to at least consider outsourcing some of their transportation services to a managed transportation partner or 3PL.

As a mid-size trucking company that has been around for over 40 years, Keller has experienced our fair share of ups and downs in the industry. Through it all, we have been able to increase our diversification and expand our services for our customers. This diversification and expanded services have been critical in weathering the tough times. The current situation is unique in many ways and we all are affected, regardless of industry, and certainly some worse than others. With no real answers or experience on how a global pandemic will ultimately affect the supply chain in terms of longevity or what the “new normal” will look like, we can only share our experience with key patterns in uncertain financial times that diminish trucking capacity.

Many shippers question whether or not they should leverage the resources of a freight broker. But the answer is never simple because it will depend on several different factors.

On Monday, December 18, 2017 the ELD Mandate went into effect. The industry is adjusting to another regulation. So now that ELD’s are in place, what effects are we seeing thus far?

To previously compliant carriers, there is no change, business as usual for the most part. However, our Keller Trucking fleet indicates there is an increase in weigh stations pulling trucks in to verify that ELD’s are in use; which opens up the driver and carrier to more opportunities for full blown inspections.

On the other hand, small carriers that are new to the ELD game have seen a dramatic impact as they are not able to drop and hook in their network, as most do not have the equipment or steady rounds to do so making them live load or unload at each stop. Which adds time to an already ticking clock.

“So a 6am delivery is easier when it’s over 500 miles away as opposed to 300 miles?”

It’s true, Tweener loads are difficult for trucking operations and drivers, let me explain: