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Cleveland Trucking Companies “Cautiously Optimistic” About 2020
Like the national trucking industry, Cleveland trucking companies have been working to acclimate to rapid changes and significant challenges that have cropped up in recent years. Among these:
- Too much capacity (mostly added to the market in 2017 and 2018, followed by freight market slowing in 2019);
- Depressed spot rates and contract rates;
- Rising carrier costs (including insurance, equipment and driver wages);
- Higher demand for faster deliveries;
- Driver shortages;
- Increasingly stringent federal safety regulations (with more hours of service rules likely on the way).
Although some of this was actually good for shippers (lower spot and contract rates, for instance), the trucking industry saw a wave of bankruptcies (nearly 800, according to FreightWaves.com). While concerning, the upside of this is that national trucking overcapacity was reduced by about 24,000. This is why highway transportation experts at the recent National Industrial Transportation League summit expressed “cautious optimism” about 2020.
The Benefits of Cleveland Warehouse Kitting Services
Cleveland warehouse kitting services offer many competitive advantages to manufacturers and retailers hoping to streamline their processes and lower costs.
Warehouse kitting, a service typically handled by a 3PL, involves taking multiple stock keeping units (or SKUs) and combining them into a single package to create a separate SKU. In other words, we’re taking several individual products or parts of individual products and compiling them into “kits.” Those kits are then passed on for production and “just-in-time” deliveries.
Many companies take advantage of 3PL warehouse kitting because it allows for:
- Reduction in the number of purchase orders;
- Lowered administration costs;
- Faster assembly (for manufacturers and/or consumers);
- Optimized use of space;
- Better packaging quality;
- Fewer shipping mistakes;
- Happier customers.
Effective Communication Key in Cleveland Trucking Logistics
Communication is a core component of any successful supply chain in terms of efficiency, security and transparency. Yet a stunning amount of Cleveland trucking logistics firms lack efficient communication solutions.
Trucking and logistics teams are responsible for moving freight across significant distances, sometimes with multiple stops, while collaborating closely with various shippers, warehouse managers and other stakeholders. Team communication is essential to ensuring deliveries arrive when, how and where customers want them. This is increasingly important because orders and shipping windows are growing smaller. Cleveland trucking logistics companies that aren’t adequately communicating – internally and externally – are risking their bottom line and that of their customers.
Poor communication can result in:
- Wasted time;
- Loss of money;
- Ineffective use of resources;
- Reduced worker morale;
- Missed innovation opportunities;
- Unsatisfied customers;
- Public relations headaches.
It’s easy enough for trucking companies to presume that whatever communication systems they’ve been using for years will continue to work just fine indefinitely. However, as the Cleveland trucking logistics experts at On Time Delivery & Warehouse know, communication inefficiencies can take months or even years to become apparent. That’s why we proactively evaluate our communication systems on a routine basis. We’re committed to making sure that the supply chains for which we are responsible are as transparent and uninterrupted as possible.
3PL v. Freight Broker: What’s the Difference?
In facilitating efficient management of your supply chain, choosing a transportation and logistics partner with right combination of services that fit your company needs is essential. Unfortunately, industry jargon breeds confusion. For example, 3PL (third-party logistics) and freight brokering are often spoken of as if interchangeable. They aren’t.
As our Cleveland 3PL experts can explain, there are some similarities, but also a few key differences. When you’re in the market for a logistics partner, those differences matter.
At On Time Delivery & Warehouse, we want clients to have the information and tools necessary to determine the best solutions for their operations.
What primarily sets 3PL services and freight brokers apart (as well as freight forwarders and motor carriers) is the range of services they provide (including whether they are asset or non-asset services) and the type of primary insurance coverage they carry. Much of this is spelled out by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), the regulator responsible for ensuring safety and legal compliance of over the road transportation.
Cleveland Intermodal Transportation Team: Lull is Likely Temporary
Cleveland intermodal transportation is a combination of two or more shipping modes, such as truck, ship, rail or aircraft, used to move goods to their final destination. It’s often most beneficial for shippers who need to move materials a distance of 750 miles or more. Third-party logistics teams are often contracted to help oversee supply chains involving intermodal transport as it involves multiple carriers each responsible for a specific mode.
Intermodal transport has been altered drastically just in the last several decades, with advances including automated terminals and double-stack cars. This led to soaring growth associated with cost reductions and productivity gains. The benefits of Cleveland intermodal transportation are still apparent, but the momentum does appear to be slowing a bit, according to the Intermodal Association of North America (IANA).
Domestic intermodal volume has fallen 6 percent year-over-year in the first half of 2019 and there was a nearly 8 percent drop in the second quarter of 2019. Intermodal traffic moving in trailers and containers has grown just 0.1 percent in the last five years, but it did hit a peak just last year.
Why Do Cleveland Truckload Shipping Rates Change So Frequently?
Cleveland truckload shipping rates are constantly in flux, thanks to numerous cost variables such as distance, type of product and mode.
The ever-changing cost of truckload shipping can make determining an exact rate for a single freight somewhat challenging, especially if the plan is to use more than one carrier or mode.
To keep Cleveland truckload shipping rates as transparent, manageable and consistent as possible, work with a third-party logistics (3PL) firm. Establish open communication upfront. This will ensure your truck pricing quotes are more accurate and that you’re fully leveraging all the services and technology benefits your 3PL and carrier partners offer.
Secrets of Successful Cleveland Warehousing
Efficiency in Cleveland warehousing is essential for a company to thrive. This is especially true when inventory is one of a business’s largest assets – and biggest expenses. But warehousing is a huge undertaking, which is why so many firms outsource this crucial function to third-party logistics teams that specialize in it.
Third-party logistics companies, or 3PLs, work in varying capacities to manage your supply chain. Warehousing is a critical cog in the supply chain wheelhouse, key to the protection, packaging and delivery of your goods from the front end of production to the final consumer destination.
There can be benefit in managing in-house warehousing, but it should be understood it’s a challenging specialty enterprise all its own.
Cutting Driver Detention Times a Top Priority for Cleveland Trucking Service
The term “driver detention” in trucking refers to occasions when a trucker’s fastest route is delayed at the location of either pickup origin or delivery destination – costing the driver and other stakeholders time and money and posing possible safety risks on the road. Our Cleveland trucking service providers are familiar with the old adage, “If the wheels aren’t turning, truckers aren’t earning,” and work to address these issues to improve efficiency and capacity and keep costs in check.
Loading dock times longer than a two hours is considered a substantial delay, and it’s become a common issue weighing heavily on the trucking industry the last several years.
Research by DAT Solutions found more than 60 percent of truck drivers spend in excess of three hours at shipper docks for each loading/unloading. A white paper analysis by J.B. Hunt Transport
reported that, on average, only 6.5 of the total 11 hours of drive time available under federal Hours of Service rules are spent actually driving. Much of the rest spent waiting to load and unload.
Working with a Cleveland trucking service with warehousing and logistics capabilities can help to identify which issues and individual suppliers/receivers pose the most driver detention risk and work to reduce those risks.
The Value of Supply Chain Visibility in Northeast Ohio Warehousing & Logistics
The concept of supply chain visibility wasn’t an issue many Northeast Ohio warehousing and logistics firms considered much until just the last couple decades. Supply chain visibility is the tracking of products or components from manufacturer to final destination and making this information readily available to all stakeholders, customer included, with the goal of strengthening and improving the supply chain.
Today, supply chain transparency is a top priority for logistics powerhouses, with top-level managers across a range of industries paying close attention.
The reason?
Businesses are under increasingly intense pressure from consumers, governments, non-profits and other stakeholders to delivery goods in tact and on time – and to do so in a way that is considered responsible and sustainable from ecological and humanitarian standpoints.
Cleveland Third-Party Logistics Help Businesses Navigate Trade War
However one feels about the politics of it, the ongoing trade war between the U.S. and China has invariably imposed significant burdens on stateside supply chains. Cleveland third-party logistics firms do our best to help insulate our clients from the economic impact – which for now shows little sign of abating – or at least find ways to help offset the costs.
The trade war began nearly one year ago with President Donald Trump imposing tariffs on $250 billion Chinese exports. Administration officials cited China’s alleged theft of U.S. intellectual property (mostly in the tech sector), as the primary catalyst, but also noted a desire to incentivize American companies to bring manufacturing jobs back to the U.S.
The Chinese government retaliated by increasing taxes on American exports and decreasing taxes on most every other country.
This escalation has dragged on for months, with a 15 percent tariff on another $112 billion worth of Chinese goods going into effect early next month, bringing two-thirds of goods imported by the U.S. from China under additional taxation. Another 15 percent tariff on $160 billion in goods is slated to go into effect in December. If that happens, almost all Chinese imports will be under tariff.
Sharply divided are conclusions about whether this will be effective in bringing back U.S. manufacturing jobs or curbing intellectual property theft. What we do know for certain is that companies in Ohio can’t bank on this simply blowing over. The stakes are too high. They must prepare.