It's that time of year again. Freight carriers have been announcing their general rate increases (GRIs) this spring. As we did last year, PartnerShip has compiled some details for your benefit so you can make well-informed, money and time saving decisions about the best way to handle your freight shipping.

If you're a seasoned freight shipper, you probably know all too well the ins and outs of the GRIs. However for our more novice shippers, the GRIs are just what they sound like — increases in freight rates. There are many reasons why these increases are necessary, but the main reason is a sharp increase in costs that carriers face every year due to things like rising fuel, maintenance, insurance, and labor costs.

As straight forward as the reasoning for the increases sound, there are also some less obvious nuances to the GRIs that, as your shipping connection, we can help to clear up. One of the more important things to remember is that these rate increases are only averages across all origin and destination ZIP code combinations served by each individual carrier. The effect of the rate increase will vary for individual customers and shipments based on geography, product classification, lane, weight, and dimensions. Using geography as an example, if there's an "average" GRI of 6%; some areas may see a 3% increase and some may see a 9% increase in freight charges. The customer in the area with a 9% increase will obviously see a larger bump in cost, especially if distribution is regional.  

At the end of 2013, PartnerShip customers were encouraged to participate in the $25,000 FedEx Advantage Sweepstakes, sponsored by FedEx. By enrolling and shipping through a PartnerShip-managed shipping program, association members were eligible to receive over 100 prizes totaling more than $25,000. PartnerShip would like to thank the customers that participated in this promotion and congratulate our winners.

Congratulations to the $2,500 first prize winner - NTEA member, Judy from Meridian SV!

Congratulations to the following PartnerShip customers who each won a $100 American Express^® gift card:

• ABA member, Clive from Changing Hands
• NSRA member, Lou from New Balance Charlotte
• NACS member, Coral from Randolph College
• NSRA member, Mark from Shoe Stop
• NSGA member, Rick from Sports World
• NACS member, Kathy from Zane State College
• ABA member, Rebecca from Greenlight Bookstore
• NSRA member, David from Stans Footwear
• ACS member, Chris from Bardwell Farm
• NACS member, Amanda from Arm Pocket
• NAEDA member, Judy from Riceland Intl
• NACS member, Michael from Grandview Ed
• NACS member, Jennifer from Iowa State University
• NSRA member, Loria from Chiapetta Shoes
• ANLA member, Kelly from Garden Genetics
• NACS member, Norm from Umpqua Oats
• MIA member, Lucille 

 

PartnerShip has created a new, core carrier alliance with Dayton Freight to provide LTL freight services to our customers located in the Midwest United States. Dayton Freight provides direct delivery to eleven midwestern states with 44 service centers. Founded in Dayton, OH, Dayton Freight has provided freight services since 1981 and built a long-standing tradition of next- and two-day delivery services.

Through our partnership with Dayton Freight, customers will enjoy competitive LTL freight rates as well as the ability to print bills of lading, print labels, and track shipments on PartnerShip.com. Through PartnerShip, along with the competitive freight rates, our customers have access to:

• The Dayton Freight On the Double program, which is a great way to guarantee delivery of your mission-critical freight for specific delivery dates or times.
• Additional Special Services, including deck trailers that are designed to ensure the safety of freight shipments and the ability to deliver to residential areas, and liftgate trailers throughout the system.

At PartnerShip, we are confident Dayton Freight will be a valuable addition to our group of world-class, LTL carriers, and will provide our customers with yet another option for their LTL freight shipments. If you have any questions regarding Dayton Freight services, or special LTL freight shipping needs that Dayton Freight might be able to address, call your dedicated PartnerShip sales representative at 800-599-2902.

If you are interested in receiving a Dayton Freight rate quote for an upcoming LTL freight shipment, log on to PartnerShip.com, or create a web account if you haven't already done so.

As we did last year, PartnerShip joins the American Trucking Association (ATA) in celebrating the men and women across the country who keep this country moving. National Truck Driver Appreciation Week (Sep 15-21) is when America takes the time to honor all professional truck drivers for their hard work and commitment in tackling one of our economy's most demanding and important jobs.

America's truck driver workforce includes 3.1 million professional men and women that not only deliver our goods safely, securely and on time, they also keep our highways safe. They also log close to 398 billion miles each year and they deliver over 68 percent of the U.S. freight tonnage — or over 9.4 billion tons of freight.

—For 52 weeks a year, America's professional truck drivers make sure that our most essential items — food, fuel, medicine, clothing are delivered and lately they are doing so more safely and efficiently than ever before despite increasingly congested highways and ever more demanding logistics schedules," said ATA President and CEO Bill Graves in a press release from yesterday. "Their commitment is second-to-none and that's why we're asking that Americans take a few minutes to appreciate the effort these professionals put in every day.'

This is the 25th anniversary for the National Truck Driver Appreciation Week. (Coincidentally, PartnerShip will also be celebrating its 25th anniversary early next year - but more to come on that later.) ATA is once again hosting a video contest focusing on the professional truck driver. To view the contest rules, please click here.  The best video will receive $1,000 to be used towards promoting the winning company's workforce and the image of the trucking industry! You can follow National Truck Driver Appreciation Week on Twitter and Facebook.

Just like last year, once again, almost all of the PartnerShip core carriers were recognized with Quest for Quality awards this year by the readers of Logistics Management magazine.

As part of the 30th annual Quest for Quality awards competition, Logistics Management readers evaluate companies in all modes and service disciplines, choosing the top performers in key categories. This year the research group received 6,179 total responses. In order to be a "winner," a company had to receive at least five percent of the category vote. Transportation service providers are rated on five key criteria: On-time Performance, Value, Information Technology, Customer Service, and Equipment & Operations.

Here are the PartnerShip carriers that received awards this year:

• National LTL Freight:

• National: FedEx Freight, Con-way Freight
  

• Multi-Regional: FedEx Freight, Old Dominion, UPS Freight
  

• Surface Package: FedEx Ground, UPS

• Regional LTL Freight:

• Northeast/Mid-Atlantic U.S.: New Penn, Pitt Ohio

• Western U.S.: Reddaway

• Truckload/Specialized:

• Dry Freight: Pitt Ohio, Con-way Truckload

• Expedited: UPS Urgent, Old Dominion, Pitt Ohio, FedEx Custom Critical

• High Value Goods: United Van Lines

• Air Express:

• Air Express: FedEx Express

On behalf of PartnerShip, our employees, and the thousands of our customers that rely on your services as part of our shipping programs - congratulations to all of the carriers that won Quest for Quality awards this year! PartnerShip works with only the best carriers in the industry - and you've all proven to be in that category once again.

Please join PartnerShip and the American Trucking Association (ATA) this week to honor the 3.1 million professional truck drivers that deliver America's freight safely and securely, every day. If you're not familiar with this event, read the information below as pulled from the ATA news release from earlier this week.

—Professional truck drivers deliver our nation's essential freight safely, every day,' said ATA President and CEO Bill Graves. —As a result of this commitment, our nation's highways are the safest they have ever been and our grocery shelves are stocked. We as a nation, owe a great deal to the truck drivers out on our nation's roads, as well as the families of those behind the wheel.'

During this National Truck Driver Appreciation Week of Sept. 16-22, ATA, its state affiliates and America's Road Team Captains will mark the celebration by holding events across the nation.

The celebrations this week will be hosted by motor carriers, logistics companies, shippers and other trucking related industries. Ways in which said entities show their appreciation include million-mile and safety awards, cash bonuses or gifts, an extra paid day off, a cup of coffee or windshield cleaning at truck stops, goodie bags with fresh fruit and water, free health checks and numerous celebration meals. Several events will last all week, until every driver cycles through company headquarters. Office personnel at some companies are also encouraged to spend a few days out on the road to see the driver's side of their business. Many celebrations will be kicked off with a video tribute to the professional truck driver (see the ATA "Bring It" YouTub Channel).

There are over 3.1 million professional truck drivers delivering life's essentials, nationwide. These professional men and women log close to 398 billion miles each year. In 2011, trucking professionals delivered 67 percent of the U.S. freight tonnage, equivalent to 9.2 billion tons of freight. 80 percent of U.S. communities depend solely on the trucking industry for the delivery of goods. Professional truck drivers keep America moving.

ATA began celebrating National Truck Driver Appreciation Week in 1988 in an effort to honor those hard working men and women who deliver life's essentials, every day. Follow National Truck Driver Appreciation Week on Twitter and Facebook.

Once again, on behalf of PartnerShip and our 16,000+ active customers, we'd like to express our total gratitude and appreciation for the drivers who are critical to our all of our businesses - and especially for the drivers who deliver our goods every day as representatives of our core carriers: FedEx, UPS, Con-way Freight, YRC Freight, Old Dominion, ABF, Pitt Ohio, and New Penn!

Thank you!

The editorial staff of Logistics Management (LM) recently unveiled the results of its 29th Annual Quest for Quality Awards. This year, 127 providers of transportation and logistics services have received the ultimate vote of confidence, posting the highest scores across critical service criteria.

For nearly three decades, LM’s Quest for Quality has been regarded in the transportation and logistics industry as the most important measure of customer satisfaction and performance excellence. To determine the best of the best, LM readers rate carriers, third-party logistics (3PL) service providers, and now U.S. port operators strictly on the basis of service quality.

Not surprisingly, many PartnerShip core carriers were among the award winners in this year's contest for the categories outlined below:

• National LTL

• National: Con-way Freight, FedEx Freight

• Multi-Regional: FedEx Freight, Old Dominion

• Surface Package: FedEx Ground, UPS

• Regional LTL

• Northeast/Mid-Atlantic: New Penn, Pitt Ohio

• Truckload/Specialized

• Expedited: UPS Urgent, Old Dominion, Pitt Ohio, New Penn

• High Value Goods: United Van Lines

• Air Carriers:

• Air Express: FedEx Express

On behalf of PartnerShip - and the thousands of customers that rely on your services as part of our shipping programs - congratulations to all of the transportation carriers that won Quest for Quality awards this year! PartnerShip works only with the best carriers in the industry - and you've all proven to be in that category.

ABF was recently added to the select group of core carriers serving PartnerShip customers. ABF concentrates on national and regional transportation of general commodities freight, involving primarily LTL shipments. Established in 1923 in Fort Smith, Arkansas, ABF has solidified its reputation as a benchmark for safety, security, and freight-handling standards.

Through the PartnerShip alliance with ABF, customers can access competitive LTL freight rates, create bills of lading, print labels, and track shipments on PartnerShip.com. In addition to competitive freight rates PartnerShip customers enjoy ABF U-Pack services which offer extremely competitive rates on the ReloCubes for moving purposes. Some other advantages PartnerShip customers have by using ABF for LTL freight services are:

• ABF provides comprehensive shipping services to all 50 states, Canada, Mexico, Guam and Puerto Rico (see map below).
• More than 99 percent of all shipments handled by ABF are moved without a loss or damage claim.
• Additional ABF services available upon request through PartnerShip:
  • TimeKeeper^®, a guaranteed expedited service for time-critical, time-definite shipments.
  • TurnKey^®, a premium inside delivery and set-up service.
  • FreightValue^®, a service for shipments requiring special equipment or handling.

If you have any questions regarding ABF services, or special LTL freight shipping needs that ABF might be able to address, call your dedicated PartnerShip sales representative at 800-599-2902.

If you are interested in receiving a ABF rate quote for an upcoming LTL shipment, log on to PartnerShip.com, or create a web account if you haven't already done so.

Old Dominion Freight Line, or "OD" as they are often referred, provides less-than-truckload (LTL) freight services with nationwide coverage across all regions of the United States. Based in North Carolina, Old Dominion focuses their LTL services domestically with 217 service centers which ensures that your LTL freight gets there on time and as promised.

Through the PartnerShip alliance with Old Dominion, customers can access competitive LTL freight rates, create bills of lading, print labels, and track shipments on PartnerShip.com. Old Dominion offers regional and inter-regional LTL freight service with very competitive transit times and pricing. The map below shows the six Old Dominion regions and U.S. service coverage. Some other advantages PartnerShip customers have by using Old Dominion for LTL freight services are:

• Comprehensive U.S. service coverage with competitive transit times and pricing.

• One of the most efficient and financially stable LTL carriers in the industry.

• Additional OD services available upon request through PartnerShip:

• Security Divider Service which provides guaranteed, locked-in security. Your freight is locked securely into place on a trailer at its origin, and is not unlocked until it reaches its final destination.

• OD Expedited which provides daily on-time and guaranteed deliveries within normal transit times or time-specific windows.

If you have any questions regarding Old Dominion services, or special LTL freight shipping needs that Old Dominion might be able to address, call your dedicated PartnerShip sales representative at 800-599-2902.

If you are interested in receiving an Old Dominion rate quote for an upcoming LTL freight shipment, log on to PartnerShip.com, or create a web account if you haven't already done so.

UPS Freight, a division of UPS that focuses on LTL freight and truckload services, has been a PartnerShip core carrier for nearly a decade (dating back to when they were known as Overnite Transportation before being acquired by UPS). With over 200 service centers across North America, UPS Freight provides LTL freight service coverage to the entire U.S., Canada, and Mexico. UPS Freight also provides time-sensitive and tradeshow shipment delivery to PartnerShip customers through its LTL Urgent services division.

Through our alliance with UPS Freight, PartnerShip customers can access competitive LTL freight rates, create bills of lading, print labels, and track shipments on PartnerShip.com. UPS Freight will be very competitive on virtually any commodity type and any length of haul. Some advantages that UPS Freight brings to PartnerShip customers are:

• Full North American coverage, including over 200 service centers in the U.S. (see map shown below)

• Excellent brand reputation and service reliability, with regional, inter-regional and long-haul capabilities (including over 20,000 one- and two-day service lanes)

• LTL Urgent service options for time-sensitive deliveries, special equipment needs, and tradeshow deliveries

If you have any questions regarding UPS Freight services, or special LTL freight shipping needs that UPS Freight might be able to address, call your dedicated PartnerShip sales representative at 800-599-2902.

If you are interested in receiving a UPS Freight rate quote for an upcoming LTL shipment, log on to PartnerShip.com, or create a web account if you haven't already done so.