Truck driver benefits and wages are ballooning across the U.S., even as freight-hauling capacity has diminished in the face of ever-higher demand. In turn, small businesses (especially retailers and distributors) are saddled with soaring shipping charges, an expense that’s proven crippling for some. Truckers deserve good wages for the vital job they do. But businesses hoping to stay afloat would be best-served with a Cleveland 3PL partnership to help keep costs in check. 

The American Trucking Associations group, representing owners of fleets, reports annual trucker salaries climbed 15-to-18 percent in the last four years, with the exact rise varying based on the nature of fleets and routes. Overall, private fleet driver salaries topped $86,000 last year – a $13,000 increase from just four years prior. A truckload driver on irregular national route (basically an entry-level post) can now expect to pull in about $53,000 – up from $46,000 just a few years ago. This trend is not braking anytime soon, The Wall Street Journal reports, because the demand for trucking is higher than ever and companies are increasingly counting on freights with full truckload and less-than-truckload capacity to ensure consumer expectations are met.

One silver lining for our clients is trucker turnover is down, meaning those on the road are increasingly more experienced – and that’s a very good thing in terms of reducing roadway liability.

Some elements of this higher-cost transportation landscape simply can’t be avoided. Even with higher pay drawing in more drivers, there are still only so many truck drivers, so many trucks and so much space. As a trusted Cleveland 3PL, On Time Delivery and Warehouse leaders work to help minimize this impact for our customers. To augment reliability and consistently meet demands of this new standard “get-it-there-sooner” market, we must offer competitive truck driver compensation. We must supply them with the best equipment, as well as advanced transportation management software to ensure efficiency. But we also work to help clients sift through an expanse of carrier options to pinpoint the best choice. We identify and bridge supply chain gaps that bleed businesses of time and money. We offer transparency so clients can track their goods at every leg of the journey. 

Approximately 70 percent of freight tonnage is moved by trucks. The driver shortage (estimated to spike to to 240,000 by 2020) and trucking capacity competition means third-party logistics providers are increasingly mission-critical. In some industries, there is  near-constant need to identify alternate routes, alternate shipping methods or alternate carriers. We recognize our customers need not just efficiency, but value and savings with a Cleveland 3PL that can quickly adjust to whiplash-inducing economic changes.

Managing the cost of your logistics is difficult if not impossible for some firms to handle on their own, given that involves ironing out so many steps: Inventory fulfillment, packaging, storage, shipping, delivery and returns. The right 3PL can help you lower logistical costs in a way that is flat-out not feasible for many companies to do on their own. Some of these strategies include:

• Consolidating shipments. If you don’t have enough product to fill a truckload and you are arranging your shipments solo, your shipping costs are going to be through the roof. Demands on capacity right now mean you’ll be trying to negotiate with several trucking companies and vessels on your own – no easy feat! A Cleveland 3PL partner like On Time Delivery & Warehouse – which already has connections with numerous shipping providers – can help you carve out the space you need at a more reasonable rate.
• Kitting and assembly. Retrieving and packing orders in real time requires extensive resources. We can help organize a kitting and assembly strategy to make sure those items are ready for shipping as soon as the customer makes an order.
• Improved warehouse technology. If you are still tracking inventory with a pen-and-paper, we can almost guarantee that errors are costing you – big-time. Logistics and warehousing costs can (and should) be reasonable when you use a 3PL partner offering real-time fulfillment technology and warehouse management.

So while trucker wages will inevitably continue to rise, we can still help you find other cost-cutting game plans to keep your business in play.

If you have questions about Cleveland 3PL services, contact On Time Delivery & Warehouse by calling (440) 826-4630 or sending us an email.

Additional Resources:

Truck Driver Salaries Rising on Surging Freight Demand, March 28, 2018, By Erica E. Phillips, The Wall Street Journal

More Blog Entries:

Cleveland 3PL Can Help With Truck Capacity Shortage, April 29, 2018, Cleveland 3PL Blog