“Damage” and “Claims” are four letter words in the world of freight shipping, and can be a real headache to logistics managers and coordinators alike. On both the outbound and receiving end, there are several ways you can reduce these risks and help keep freight damage to a minimum.

Packaging
Proper packaging for your freight shipment is key, whether you are shipping boxed items or palletized loads, and one of the most avoidable mistakes contributing to damage claims is insufficient preparation and packaging.  These materials cost typically less than an approximated 10% of overall shipping expenditures, so it doesn’t pay to cut corners in the short run when you are essentially increasing your risk overall. Containers and boxes should be in good, solid condition and sized to allow for just enough room to provide proper cushioning around your product. Use foam sheets, bubble wrapping, and cardboard inserts within the container, and wrap each item separately to maximize security.

To avoid freight damage, palletized shipments need to be secure as well, with items stacked uniformly and evenly distributed. Try to avoid product overhang on the edge of the pallets and anchor stacked boxes or multiple products into place with shrink wrap, plastic banding, or a breakaway adhesive. Being thorough and adhering to these standards can help limit the risk of damage.

Labeling and Paperwork
Precise shipment labeling also helps limit freight claims and losses by listing correct contact details, product descriptions, and ensuring accurate transit and delivery. To be sure that these instructions are clear, remove or completely cover old labels. Place the label on the top of the container or make it clearly visible on the side of each individual pallet, and include the total pallet count. For added safety, place a copy of the address label inside the container should the original be removed during transit.

A properly completed Bill of Lading (BOL) must be included with your shipment and serves three essential functions: a receipt for the goods being shipped, a document of titles, and evidence as the contract between the carrier and the shipper. Be sure to precisely class your shipment, include product description and item count, as well as list your billing party. If the event that you do receive damaged boxes and product, it is important to inspect and note details of the freight damage on the delivery receipt before signing for receipt of your freight. All of these details are essential should your shipment encounter any bumps in the road and you do need to file a freight claim with a carrier.

Choose the Correct Service
Knowing which particular type of freight shipping service best suits your shipment type can also help reduce damage and claims. Keep in mind, that standard Less-Than-Truckload shipments are loaded and unloaded several times at various carrier terminals as they make their way from your origin to its final destination. With each additional stop, your risk for freight damage increases. If the security of your shipment is a special concern, it may be worthwhile to consider moving your larger, multiple pallet loads with a dedicated or partially dedicated truckload service. With no extra stops, your freight does not need to be moved on and off the truck and remains significantly more secure with a quicker transit time, speeding up the delivery of your product.

These suggestions are just a few ways you can be vigilant about protecting your freight shipments against damage and claims. While there’s no sure fire way to avoid these occurrences completely, PartnerShip can help you measure your shipping options and determine the best ways to help protect your freight. Contact us at 800-599-2902 or get a quote now!

• When you have strategic partners that rely on you for goods that are components needed to finish a product, such as seats shipped to an automobile manufacturing facility that has a just-in-time inventory management strategy. If your shipment doesn’t arrive when it is needed, the entire plants may need to be shut down until the freight arrives
• When you are shipping to a retailer that has strict delivery window requirements. Missing these delivery dates and / or times may result in chargebacks of around 3% of the value of the purchase order. So if an order valued at $50,000 was early or late, you’d pay a $1500 fine. Paying extra for expedited LTL shipping to avoid fines is a small investment
• When you are shipping high-value goods. Remember, expedited shipping has fewer touch points and fewer opportunities for damage and / or theft to occur
• When you employ a just-in-time or lean inventory supply chain strategy to lower your inventory costs
• When critical machinery breaks down and replacement parts are required to keep an operation functioning

Freight carriers are catching shippers off guard this year by taking their general rate increases (GRIs) earlier than before. Last year, the LTL rate increases came in the fall, but this year many of the major carriers increased their rates in May and June.

• ABF increased an average of 4.9% on May 22

• YRC Freight increased an average of 4.9% on May 29

• XPO Logistics increased an average of 4.9% on June 5

• Estes increased an average of 4.9% on June 26

• UPS Freight increased an average of 4.9% on June 26

Planning and budgeting for your freight
When you look at average LTL rate increases, it’s important to note that you can’t take the average at face value. If you’re trying to determine what kind of effect this increase will have on your freight costs, you will need to look at the specific increases in your typical lanes. Some lanes will have drastically lower or higher increases than the average.

Factors affecting price
There are several factors that contribute to the cost of your freight, and there are several trends that have had an impact recently. In recent years freight carriers have made a push to become more efficient in measuring and classifying freight. Many LTL carriers have invested in dimensioning machines, which makes measuring dimensional weight a lot easier. This means shippers need to be extra careful when choosing a freight class on the BOL to avoid costly reclassifications.

Another factor is capacity. The manufacturing industry is expanding steadily, creating more demand, while the trucking industry is experiencing a driver shortage. The new ELD mandate and hour of services changes will only continue the trend. When capacity is tight, the power is in the hands of the carriers and they can charge more – especially on less profitable lanes.

If you’ve been watching the news the last several months, you probably saw the recent wave of retail chains closing many of their brick-and-mortar stores. Ecommerce has had a profound effect on the market and the trucking industry is not immune. Consumers have come to expect free shipping and are buying more and more individual items online. As a result, there are more residential deliveries than ever before and in some cases there has been a some shift in demand from truckload to LTL.

Offsetting the increases
PartnerShip works to negotiate competitive rates on your behalf with the most reputable LTL carriers in the industry. Combat these rising costs by contacting our shipping experts at 800-599-2902 or email sales@PartnerShip.com.

Get a free quote on your next LTL freight shipment!

Refrigerated truck trailers, commonly called reefers, allow freight to be temperature-controlled from pickup to drop-off. All reefer shipments have one thing in common: the trailer in which the goods are loaded has a built-in refrigeration system to regulate the temperature and keep the freight at its pre-shipment temperature.

In 2015, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) established standards for Electronic Logging Devices (ELD). An ELD is electronic hardware that connects to a truck’s engine to automatically log hours of service (HOS). Regulating a driver’s hours of service is to prevent accidents caused by driver fatigue. Fleets and owner-operators have until December 18th, 2017 to implement use of ELDs if they have not already done so.

One of the factors surrounding the ELD mandate is its impact on freight costs. In this blog post, we’ll look at some of the factors that will drive freights costs up with use of ELDs. Let’s examine these factors one-by-one.

• Cost of implementing ELD. When electronic logging devices were introduced 20 years ago, a single ELD cost up to $2,500. Today, the FMCSA estimates that the average annual cost of an ELD will be $495 per truck. The cost to implement ELDs will be passed along to shippers but will only marginally drive freight costs up.

•  Decreased productivity. Most carriers that have implemented ELDs have reported productivity decreases of approximately 15% with fewer miles driven per day. ELDs track drive-time to the minute so operating logs can’t be “fudged.”  A driver can no longer report 300 miles driven when they actually drove 600 miles. Some carriers are charging more to make up for this loss in productivity. 81% of large fleets (more than 250 trucks) have achieved full ELD implementation so their rates have “normalized” by now. For smaller carriers, expect nominal price increases of 5-10% for loads that are booked on the spot market.

•  Reduced capacity. Some owner-operators will view the cost to implement ELDs combined with the decrease in productivity as “big brother” meddling in their business and will leave the industry, reducing capacity.

So, what effect will the electronic log mandate have on freight rates? According to transportation economist Noël Perry, truckload rates will increase about 4% this year, with additional capacity pressure caused by the ELD mandate. “The maximum impact will occur in 2018,” says Perry, “and it won’t stop until two to three years afterwards when people finally figure out they have to do it.”

Truckload capacity utilization is expected to remain greater than 100% well into 2017 and Perry puts the chance of a “significant” capacity shortage at 60%, with a 30% chance of a “real whacko” shortage. He also notes that the spot market tends to be much more volatile, with the 4% increase in contract rates translating “easily” to a 15-20% increase in spot pricing.

So, what will electronic logging device regulations mean to shippers?

• As carriers procrastinate to comply with electronic logging device mandate, it will result in fewer available carriers. Consider working with a broker/3PL to offer additional resources to keep your freight moving without any delays.

• Loss of carrier productivity means that shippers will need to better manage their time to ensure on-time delivery. For example, lanes that range from 450-700 miles will be affected as these lanes will turn into two day transit hauls instead of one.

• The truckload capacity crunch could shift some freight that would normally move via truckload to LTL. Working with a broker or 3PL that routinely handles both truckload and LTL will ensure that your business keeps its freight moving!

• Shippers can help drivers become as efficient as possible to decrease time spend on duty, but not driving.  Following these suggestions will increase driver efficiency and create additional capacity to drive down your shipping costs:

o   Have flexible shipping/receiving times

o   Reduce driver wait time

o   Quickly and efficiently load drivers

o   Provide and offer legal parking at pickup and delivery locations

•  Using a broker/3PL will help you fully vet carriers and their ELD compliance.

• Most importantly, as capacity tightens, expect rates to increase. Working with a freight broker or 3PL can help you find the carrier capacity you need and negotiate rates on your behalf.

Working with a freight broker can help you mitigate the costs associated with electronic logging device regulations. Contact PartnerShip at 800-599-2902 or use our contact us form to see how we can help you ship smarter so you can stay competitive.

It is a very common question for shippers: "Should I use a freight broker?" Before we list five important reasons why you should use a freight broker, we answer the question, “What is a freight broker?” A broker arranges freight shipping between a carrier and a shipper. In exchange, the broker receives a small commission for facilitating the transaction. That’s how freight brokers make money.

So, why use a freight broker? Efficiency. A freight broker adds value and flexibility to your supply chain and that becomes your competitive advantage. Focusing all of your energy on what you do best gives you an edge and helps you stay competitive.  Unless what you do best is shipping, you should consider using a freight broker to manage your shipping and logistics functions.

Big companies got big because they focused on what they did best. In fact, 85% of Fortune 500 companies use third-party logistics providers like freight brokers. That’s not a coincidence; it’s a cause-and-effect relationship. Every dollar saved on shipping goes right to the bottom line.

Consider these five important advantages of using a freight broker:

1. Save time, save resources, save money. With a freight broker as a strategic partner, you have the benefit of your own dedicated shipping department without the expense your own dedicated shipping department. You also don’t need to spend time on invoices, audits and training, Using a freight broker lets you focus on your business. 

2. More flexibility, more scalability. A freight broker partner is able to provide you more, or less, capacity as your business goes through its natural cycles. So there’s no need to stress over seasonality, irregular spikes or sudden troughs in your business.

3. Shipping expertise. What freight brokers do best is shipping, and working with one allows you access to their knowledge of best practices and real-world experience. It also allows you to access the latest technology for shipping reporting and visibility into your logistics.

4. It’s not just what you know, it’s who you know. Freight broker partners have expansive carrier networks that provide many advantages over an in-house shipping department. They have buying power and can provide volume discounts, lowering your shipping expenses. They also can provide access to capacity that otherwise would be unavailable, or very costly, to an internal shipping department.

5. It’s a partnership. Your freight broker works for you and will put your interests first, because when you succeed, they succeed and when your business grows, so does theirs. That’s the definition of a partnership: benefits for both parties.

Need more convincing about the benefits of using a freight broker? Call PartnerShip at 800-599-2902 or contact us and see how we can help you ship smarter so you can stay competitive. 

We depend on truckers to keep our freight and economy moving. Over time, they have developed a language all their own. Did you know that many words and phrases you use every day originated as trucker slang? Transportation is so important and vital to the US economy that we thought we’d put together a blog post about trucker slang and lingo.

First, a short history lesson. In 1958, the FCC (Federal Communications Commission) allocated a new block of frequencies for a citizens band (CB) service. During the 1960s, it became popular among small businesses that were frequently on the road, like electricians, plumbers, carpenters and truck drivers. As CB radios became smaller and less expensive, CB radio usage exploded and a CB slang language evolved.

Some common, everyday phrases that started as trucker slang include calling your spouse your “better half.” Or watching the “idiot box.” If you still have a home phone, you probably call it a “landline.” So did truckers, decades ago! Ever meet someone for a “barley pop?” Or shop at “Wally World?” Yes, these slang words for beer and Walmart owe their creation to truckers.

Truckers have also created some great nicknames for American cities. Los Angeles is commonly known as “Shaky Town.” In fact, most city slang names refer to what the city is known for. Like “Beer Town” (Milwaukee), “Guitar” (Nashville), “Derby” (Louisville), and “Gateway” (St. Louis). Others are just fun to say, like “Choo-choo” (Chattanooga), “The Big D” (Dallas) and “The Nickel” (Buffalo).

During the 1970s oil crisis, the U.S. government imposed a 55 mph speed limit, and fuel shortages and rationing were common. CB radios were crucial for truckers to locate service stations with fuel and to warn of speed traps. Truckers paid by the mile were negatively impacted by driving slow so lots of slang was created to alert other truckers of law enforcement. If you’ve seen Smokey and the Bandit, you know an officer of the law is a “bear.” But did you know that a rookie cop is a “baby bear,” a police helicopter is a “bear in the air,” or that a speed trap is known as a “bear trap?” A sheriff is known as a “county mounty” and “city kitties” are the local police.

Finally, you’ve probably used “10-4” to acknowledge that you heard or understood something that someone said. Same with “what’s your 20?” which is short for 10-20, meaning location. These everyday terms originated from CB radio slang.

Next time you have a load you need to keep between the ditches, whether it is "Badger Bound" or headed to "Mile High," contact PartnerShip. You can reach us at 800-599-2902 or get a quote now! Until then, keep the shiny side up and the greasy side down.

One of the most important tradeshows for PartnerShip is CAMEX, the campus retailing industry’s largest educational conference and buying expo, which brings together thousands of attendees from campus stores as well as hundreds of exhibitors.

PartnerShip is the endorsed shipping partner of the National Association of College Stores (NACS), and through the NACS Shipping Program, we help college stores and vendors save on their shipping costs. CAMEX is a great place to meet with members, rekindle old friendships, and find more ways to help them ship smarter and stay competitive.

This year, CAMEX happened in Salt Lake City, and here are a few of our favorite memories:

Free coffee and cookies

Once again, PartnerShip provided free coffee and cookies to weary CAMEX walkers and workers. We love doing it because it gives us the opportunity to say thank you to our customers and let them recharge.

Salt Lake City

Salt Lake City is a beautiful place, and we hope that you got to explore Temple Square, or see the Great Salt Lake, or just enjoy the wonderful views of the Wasatch Mountains in the distance.

Games

Did you get a chance to play the skiing or snowmobile simulator games in the PartnerShip booth? We hope you did and had a few minutes of fun because we know how much work tradeshows are.

New branding

Did you see the new PartnerShip branding in our booth? Stay tuned, because a new PartnerShip.com website will be launching soon.

You!

Really, the best part of CAMEX is you. We love the opportunity to talk with all of you – attendees, exhibitors, and everyone in-between. Whether you stopped by our booth or we got a chance to talk to you at one of the receptions, we enjoyed spending time with you and hope you had a great show!

CAMEX 2017 was a great time and we look forward to seeing you next year in Dallas, March 2 – 6, 2018!

What is guaranteed LTL service? It is a guarantee that your freight arrives by a pre-determined time of your choice on a standard-service delivery day.

It is very important to understand that LTL freight shipments are typically quoted with an estimated transit time. LTL freight carriers all have their own standard transit times, which take into consideration distance, the shipping lane in which the freight is moving and availability of trucks moving between the freight’s origin and destination. As an example, a carrier may estimate that freight moving between Atlanta and Chicago is two standard delivery days. Transit times are generally reliable, but again, are just an estimate so your shipment may be delayed.

When should you use guaranteed LTL service?

• When you are shipping to a retailer that has strict delivery window requirements, or a MABD (Must Arrive By Date). Missing these delivery dates and / or times may result in chargebacks of around 3% of the value of the purchase order. So if an order valued at $50,000 was early or late, you’d pay a $1500 fine. Paying extra for guaranteed LTL shipping is a small investment.
  
• When your customer requires just-in-time (JIT) delivery. If you are shipping components to a manufacturer that utilizes JIT methodologies, a delay in your component arriving may delay their production run, or shut it down completely. This may result in a per-minute fine if your late delivery causes a shutdown in production, or you may lose their business entirely.
  
• Similarly, if the delivery is required for an installation in new construction or as a repair or replacement. For example, if you are shipping a stainless steel fermentation tank to a new brewery, it needs to arrive when the construction team needs it so that it can be installed and not cause delays to their build-out schedule.
  
• When other shipping activity relies on your shipment arriving at a specified time. For instance, you are shipping squishy stress relief balls to a national non-profit association as part of an event sponsorship. These stress balls, along with other sponsors’ promotional items, will be put into “goodie bags” for event participants and shipped to local chapters across the county for distribution. If your item doesn’t arrive in time, it may be left out, and you may lose the brand impact that your sponsorship was supposed to provide.
  

We have a couple of caveats to pass along regarding guaranteed LTL freight shipping. First, your shipment must happen during “business hours” on “business days.” This excludes holidays, so you should never assume that a guaranteed delivery can take place on a holiday.  Second, it is important to find out if a guarantee is even available for your LTL freight shipment before you assume that one is. Some examples that may exclude a guarantee:

» Collect-on-Delivery (COD) shipments

» Oversized shipments

» Hazardous materials shipments

» Service to some remote areas

If you have questions about when to use guaranteed LTL freight service, or how to find freight carriers that offer guaranteed freight delivery, contact PartnerShip. We can help you stay competitive by matching your LTL freight shipping needs with the correct service option. Contact us at 800-599-2902 or get a quote now!