This week, FedEx announced its general rate increases (GRI) for 2016. Effective January 4, 2016, FedEx Express will increase shipping rates by an average of 4.9% for U.S. domestic, U.S. export and U.S. import services. FedEx Ground and FedEx Home Delivery will increase shipping rates by an average of 4.9%. FedEx SmartPost^® rates will also increase and FedEx One Rate^® pricing will change.

Shipping fees and surcharges will also be changing. Here are a few examples of surcharge changes that will apply in 2016:

A couple of changes are coming ahead of the New Year and will be in effect starting on November 2, 2015. Fuel surcharge tables will be updated for FedEx Express and FedEx Ground, with full details becoming available on fedex.com by September 23, 2015. Also, the FedEx Ground Charge for Unauthorized Packages will increase from $57.50 per package to $110 per package. This charge applies to: 

• Any package measuring more than 108 inches in length
• Any package measuring more than 165 inches in length and girth combined
• Any package weighing more than 150 lbs.

If you ship small packages these rate increases will likely affect your business. When FedEx and UPS provide the full details of their GRIs, you can count on PartnerShip to provide you with a breakdown of what these new rates will mean to you and your business in 2016. 

In the meantime, it's important to start evaluating how you can combat these rises in shipping costs. Through a PartnerShip-managed shipping program, you receive significant discounts on select FedEx services - resulting in savings that can offset these rate increases. If you're not sure if you qualify for one of our small package shipping programs contact us and we'll find the solution that's right for you. 

This week, PartnerShip joins the American Trucking Association (ATA) in celebrating a group of workers playing a large part in the American economy – truck drivers. National Truck Driver Appreciation Week, September 13-19, 2015, 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. These 3.4 million professional men and women not only deliver our goods safely, securely and on time, they also keep our highways safe.

If you would like to learn more about National Truck Driver Appreciation Week, visit trucking.org for more information on the event and the ATA. Also, watch the short video below from ATA that salutes America’s truck drivers.

The National Truck Driving Championships are here again and the country’s top truckers are ready to compete for the right to be crowned the Bendix National Truck Driving Championships Grand Champion! More than 400 top professional truck drivers from across the country will head to St. Louis for the 78th annual “Super Bowl of Safety,” the 2015 National Truck Driving Championships and National Step Van Driving Championships, hosted by American Trucking Associations.

“Safety is the trucking industry’s top priority,” said ATA Chairman Duane Long, chairman of Longistics, Raleigh, N.C., “and each year, the industry’s commitment to safety is displayed at the NTDCs. The competitors here are the safest drivers on the highway and an example for us all.”

Over three days, 431 competitors from all 50 states, including 39 first-time participants, representing 85 different companies will vie for honors in one of eight different classes and the title of Bendix National Truck Driving Championships Grand Champion.

The festivities begin on August 13 with the Breakfast of Champions, followed by three days of competition behind the wheel on a challenging driving course and other tests of their knowledge of safety and of the industry.

Competition concludes on August 15 with the crowning of the Bendix National Truck Driving Championships Grand Champion, as well as with awards for drivers in every vehicle class and for the top state delegation.

The Allied Committee for the Trucking Industry is premiere sponsor of the 2015 National Truck Driving Championships and National Step Van Driving Championships, taking place August 11-15 at the America’s Center Convention Complex and Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis.

Many of the PartnerShip core carrier partners have drivers competing this week and PartnerShip is proud to maintain alliances with some of the most safe and reliable carriers in the industry!

Thinking about checking out the competition first-hand? Click here to take a look at the schedule of events for the competition. We’ve also included the video below of highlights from the 2014 National Truck Driving Championships in Pittsburgh to give you a better idea of the competition makeup and what to expect.

PITT OHIO, one of the PartnerShip carrier alliances, plans to expand service to Kentucky, specifically the Louisville market, starting Monday, August 17^th.

PITT OHIO is headquarted in Pittsburgh, PA and services the mid-Atlantic and Mid-West regions. PITT OHIO has continuously grown over the last 35 years and is expanding into the Louisville market to increase their services and direct coverage area.

"Our focus on providing customer-centric solutions to shippers has lead PITT OHIO to expand our core service area to include the metro Louisville market," said Geoffrey Muessig, Chief Marketing Officer and Executive Vice President. "Customers tell us that we can enhance their supply chains by providing reliable and dependable LTL service between the Mid-Atlantic states and Louisville."

"Current PITT OHIO clients and new customers can anticipate the same level of performance in Louisville expected from PITT OHIO elsewhere," Brad Caven, Vice President of Operations remarked. "Our Cincinnati terminal is well-equipped to exceed expectations to and from these markets in Kentucky."

Standard service times will be 1-2 days in most areas of PITT OHIO’s direct service area. Service to Louisville Kentucky will start Monday, August 17. Customers with freight in PITT OHIO´s current direct coverage area destined for Louisville can begin scheduling pickups on Friday, August 14.

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

Technology innovations, like in every industry, play a huge part in pushing the trucking industry forward and keeping efficiencies for customers and carriers at the forefront. From pallets to packaging and everything in between, there are always improvements to be made and a better way to operate. So what’s the next big innovation for transportation? It may very well be something that Peterbilt Motors Company has been working on and recently showcased at the ITS World Congress in Detroit – self-driving trucks, or an “advanced driver-assist system” as Peterbilt refers to the technology. This innovation reduces active driver steering by 80-85% and requires a well-marked highway so cameras can read road lines and position the vehicle.

Among other technologies, the vehicle uses:

• Radar-based adaptive cruise control (ACC) which automatically accelerates and decelerates, maintaining safe distances.
• Lane departure warning systems (LDWS) that uses cameras to detect lane edges and striping to alert drivers when the vehicle is drifting.

At the bottom of this post is a brief video (of a video) that was taken at the 2015 Mid-America Trucking Show. The video, while not the greatest quality, gives a very nice visual of the self-driving technology in action.

As you may be able to guess, there is still a lot of testing to be done and red tape to navigate before you should expect to see an unmanned semi on the highway. Even if/when this technology does come into use, you can still expect to see a driver, but more as a spectator rather than a primary operator.

There is technology that you may see on the road sooner rather than later and it’s called “platoon” trucking. A platoon is described as a convoy of trucks linked electronically to a lead truck with an active driver. This practice is said to increase fuel efficiencies up to 15% by limiting wind resistance. Producers and purveyors of this technology estimate that it could be on United States roadways in as little as a few years (click here to see a video of platoon trucking demonstrated by Volvo Trucks taking place in Spain a few years back).

There are many truck producers working to perfect these technologies and change the future of the trucking industry. As with most big ideas, it’s just a matter of time.

PartnerShip prides itself on being able to help businesses of all shapes and sizes save on their shipping costs. Small businesses are an integral part of the United States economy and, every year since 1963, the President of the United States has issued a proclamation announcing a National Small Business Week recognizing the critical contributions of America’s entrepreneurs and small business owners. More than half of Americans either own or work for a small business, and they create about two out of every three new jobs in the U.S. each year. This year, May 4-8th has been designated as the week to highlight the impact of outstanding entrepreneurs, small business owners, and others from all 50 states and U.S. territories.

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) is the organization that coordinates this yearly event, and has designated this year's theme as "SBA: Dream Big. Start Small."

The week will highlight small businesses with events in Miami, Los Angeles, San Antonio, New York City and culminating in Washington, D.C. where national winners will be recognized and awarded.  Additionally, recognition events throughout SBA’s 10 Regions and 68 Districts will be held throughout the months of May and June.

If you're interested in learning more about National Small Business Week, you can visit the SBA website. There you'll find a schedule of both live and online events and other helpful information.

As always, there’s been a lot of talk in Washington about different bills and budgets. One conversation in particular caught our attention as it would have a direct effect on the transportation industry – The GROW AMERICA Act. Brought to the forefront by the United States Department of Transportation (U.S. DOT) (something they haven’t done in almost a decade), the GROW AMERICA Act is a $478 billion, six year transportation reauthorization proposal that provides increased funding for the nation’s highways, bridges, transit, and rail systems. We’ll leave it to the politicians to line up and take sides on the finer points of the Act, but below is a description of some of the overarching themes presented (from the U.S. DOT's fact sheet):

Specifically, the GROW AMERICA Act will provide –

• $317 billion to invest in our nation’s highway system and road safety. The proposal will increase the amount of highway funds by an average of about 29 percent above FY 2015 enacted levels, emphasizing “Fix-it-First” policies and reforms that prioritize investments for repairs and improvements to the safety of our roads and transit services, with particular attention to investments in rural and tribal areas. The proposal will also provide more than $10 billion for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to improve safety for all users of our highways and roads, providing a benefit of $21 for every Federal dollar used for infrastructure-related safety investments.
• $115 billion to invest in transit systems and expand transportation options. The proposal increases average transit spending by 76 percent above FY 2015 enacted levels, which will enable the expansion of new projects that improve connectivity (e.g., light rail, street cars, bus rapid transit, etc.) in suburbs, fast-growing cities, small towns, and rural communities, while still maintaining existing transit systems. The GROW AMERICA Act proposes a powerful, $5.1 billion increase in investments to address public transit’s maintenance backlog to reduce bus and rail system breakdowns; create more reliable service; and stop delays that make it harder for all commuters to get to work. The proposal also includes the innovative Rapid Growth Area Transit Program, which will provide $3.4 billion over six years to fast growing communities for bus rapid transit and other multimodal solutions to get ahead of the challenges caused by rapid growth.
• Tools and resources to encourage regional coordination and local decision making. The proposal includes policy reforms to incentivize improved regional coordination by Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs), which are local communities’ main voice in transportation planning. The GROW AMERICA Act also strengthens local decision making in allocating Federal funding so that local communities can better realize their vision for improved mobility. High-performing large MPOs will be granted control of a larger portion of funds under two federal transportation programs – the Surface Transportation Program (STP) and the Transportation Alternatives Program (TAP) – and these MPOs will also receive funds through a set aside under the new Fixing and Accelerating Surface Transportation (FAST) program.
• Improved tools to protect the public from dangerous vehicle and tire defects. The GROW AMERICA Act will give NHTSA the authority to issue imminent hazard orders requiring vehicle manufacturers to immediately take action to alleviate harm in cases where there is an imminent risk of injury or death. Additionally, it will improve vehicle and tire recall efforts by taking steps to ensure the public is informed of recalls at franchise dealerships, independent tire stores and state departments of motor vehicles. The Act also provides consumers more time to get tire defects fixed for free.

In short, the GROW AMERICA Act is a six-year bill that would increase investment in transportation by 45%. All sides in Washington see a need for fund allocation to transportation and infrastructure in the United States; the debate is currently circling around whether or not the GROW AMERICA Act is the right direction to take. Deadlines for a decision on plans for transportation funds have been bandied about, but nothing is set in stone. From our perspective, it’s good to know that there is a spotlight on transportation as the shipping industry would benefit from improvements to a major component in the shipping equation.

Feel free to leaf through the entire 361 page GROW AMERICA Act at your leisure!

The U.S. DOT is busy spreading the word and gaining support for the bill. Recently, they went on a bus tour to promote the Act and, earlier this month, released a video detailing the tour.

Small Business Saturday is a day dedicated to supporting small businesses across the country and has grown into a powerful movement throughout the past few years. Falling this year on November 29th, this day has been celebrated on the Saturday after Thanksgiving every year since being founded by American Express in 2010.

Not only is PartnerShip a small business, but we also actively support thousands of other small businesses across North America with discounted shipping services and unique, value-added shipping solutions. We're glad to support this annual event which is promoted by American Express, and also supported by FedEx - one of our key alliance partners - and countless other organizations.

Visit the Small Business Saturday website to read some success stories, find out what you can do to promote your small business, and discover where to shop small this weekend. For more information on PartnerShip services and how we can help support your small business, click here to contact us.

The transportation and logistics industry is regulated by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) through the development and enforcement of safety regulations. One of these regulations is the Hours of Service (HOS) rules which dictate the working hours of anyone operating a commercial motor vehicle (CMV) in the United States — this includes truck drivers.

Last July the FMCSA made a ruling on HOS which altered provisions of the regulations. Changes that took effect in July of 2013 include:

• The limiting of the maximum average work week for truck drivers to 70 hours, a decrease from the previous maximum of 82 hours.
• Allowing truck drivers who reach the maximum 70 hours of driving within a week to resume if they rest for 34 consecutive hours, including at least two nights when their body clock demands sleep the most - from 1:00-5:00 a.m.
• Requiring truck drivers to take a 30-minute break during the first eight hours of a shift.

There are many reasons for these HOS changes, but the main reason is to combat accidents on the rise due to fatigue. The FMCSA cites increases in crashes due to fatigue the further a driver gets away from a break in driving. The FMCSA's goal is to obviously limit this statistic by inserting more breaks and limiting drive times.

These rules have now been in effect for over 1 year and the influence of the ruling can be seen throughout the industry — impacting every transportation and logistics company as well as their customers.

As you can imagine, one of the major issues that arose from HOS changes is that transit times are now longer. A shipper that is used to seeing a 625 mile next-day-delivery is now seeing that same shipment extended to 26 hours due to a 500 mile per 24 hours limitation change to the regulations. The increased transit times are leading to shipment pile-ups and congestion — a result of the changes that continues to snowball as time goes on.

Another difference that customers are seeing is a bump in prices. With drivers spending more time off of the road than before, rates are escalating to offset that lost time and wages. These changes to HOS regulations, and their effects, are making shippers and carriers reexamine their processes and practices to stay as efficient as possible. Offsetting shipping industry changes and prices can often be achieved by working with a 3rd Party Logistics (3PL) company which brings administrative and financial efficiencies to businesses that otherwise lack the resources to negotiate with carriers and navigate the ever-changing world of logistics.

If you're interested in learning more about the HOS changes, you can read more about them on the FMCSA website. There you can find a summary of HOS regulations, HOS FAQs, and a comparison of old and new HOS rules, among other resources. If you're interested in learning more about working with a 3PL partner, click the button below to download our free electronic white paper on the subject.

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.  

Listed to the right, we've compiled GRI for the five largest national LTL freight carriers, the percentage at which their rates will be increasing, and the dates these increases will go into effect.

Remember, PartnerShip is here to help you offset these increases. We've negotiated with carriers on your behalf to bring you the best rates in the industry with the most reliable national and regional carriers. In addition to great rates, PartnerShip brings a dedicated freight team, free money-saving services like invoice auditing and inbound management, and easy-to-use online freight tools ... all designed to save your company time and take the guesswork out of freight shipping (click here to create a PartnerShip.com account if you haven't already).

If you would like more information on this year's GRIs, please contact PartnerShip at 800-599-2902 or email select@PartnerShip.com. Click the button below and we'll be happy to provide you with a free, no-obligation shipping analysis to help you determine which carriers and which lanes will save you the most money on your freight shipping.