As a reliable, longtime Cleveland container freight station service provider, we recognize the last few years have been rocky for containerized logistics in general. COVID-19 led to a boom in containerized consumer goods demand, but this set off a wave of congestion, price irregularities, and severely restricted capacity.

Although many markets and supply chains have since stabilized, it’s important to remember that major disruptions are not the exception; more often than not, they’re the norm. There are always going to be labor strikes, natural disasters, canal blockages, sudden financial collapses, cyber attacks, political constraints, and war. And even though supply chain bottlenecks aren’t reaching the heights they did in 2020 and 2021, they still occur – sometimes without much warning. Even low-probability impacts like cyberattacks might not seem likely – but neither did a global pandemic. And many of those low-probability events are anticipated to be high-impact incidents.

Whereas container schedule delays have doubled globally, they have increased six-fold in North America, according to logistics researcher McKinsey & Company.

Working with a dedicated 3PL Cleveland container freight station partner can help companies better prepare for these sudden supply chain shifts. As third-party logistics providers who manage container freight for a broad range of customers, we have the sophisticated systems (warehouse management and transportation management) to help our clients navigate these issues in real time.

Cleveland Port Increasingly Central to More Flexible Supply Chains

A container freight station, also known as a CFS, serves as a centralized location for importers and exporters trying to receive and send shipments for their operations. Cleveland CFS operations especially have been in high demand when shipping logjams clog coastal ports.

The Port of Cleveland – one of the largest ports on the Great Lakes – has been open to import of shipping containers for nearly a decade, but still only uses about 6 percent of its full capacity as of last year. That’s changing though, for two reasons. The first is that in times of high traffic and major disruptions, containers on the East and West coasts may sit idle for days waiting to be unloaded. But there’s also the growing recognition of Cleveland’s status as a prime gateway to major Midwest markets in Chicago, Pittsburgh, Indianapolis, Detroit, Columbus, and Cincinnati. It connects 50 percent of households, manufacturers, and businesses within an 8-hour drive of the port.

So while it’s true that major disruptive events can practically be counted on, they still happen ore often than the market plans for. What this means is companies need to plan bigger buffers in their supply chains. Alternatively, some might consider savings set aside expressly for this purpose, which can help offset the costs when disruptions inevitably occur.

How 3PL Cleveland Container Freight Station Partner Can Help

On a macro scale, Cleveland container freight stations can be part of the solution in lowering overall shipping prices by increasing containerized logistics capacity. Supply chain congestion is a huge driver of shipping costs. Increasing shipping options at the Port of Cleveland and in landside container freight stations can help ease the way for more importers and exporters.

As a 3PL, our trucking services are also part of the solution, given that reducing delays in trucking at ports and container freight stations helps keep supply chains moving smoothly.

On a smaller, 1:1 scale, our Cleveland container freight station partners also count on us for:

• Consolidation and deconsolidation of LCL shipments
• Preparing container load plans
• Temporary storage of goods
• Container maintenance
• Cargo handling for customs examinations
• Marking containers for identification

While we can’t guarantee there won’t be supply chain disruptions for our clients (in fact, we can really only be assured of the opposite), we can ensure we will be there to help them navigate through the more challenging elements.

For information on our Northeast Ohio container freight station services, Contact On Time Delivery & Warehouse by calling (440) 826-4630 or send us an email.

Additional Resources:

Freight Facts and Figures, Bureau of Transportation Statistics

More Blog Entries:

7 Upsides to Contracting With a Cleveland Domestic Freight Forwarding Company, Dec. 20, 2022, Cleveland Container Freight Blog