Freight Shipping: What Option Best Fits Your Needs?

Your freight could move by a variety of means. Prior to choosing which is best suited for your freight shipping, there are a number of important factors to consider, and they will help you determine which option is right for you. The freight dimensions comprised of length, width, and height, along with freight weight, fragility, storage needs and delivery requirements are just a few of the critical elements that help steer the direction of a freight shipment.

Prolonged Labor Dispute Settled

On February 20, the prolonged labor dispute was settled at The Port of Los Angeles.

What’s happening now?
– The port is hiring help and working through the backlog of containers and ships.

What are the effects?
– Capacity for truckload will be limited.
– The backlog is expected to last 8-12 weeks.
– Price could increase with the demand for equipment.
– Many carriers will be in search of freight to Los Angeles.
– On a smaller scale, the Oakland and Seattle ports will be similarly impacted.

What will help freight get moved?
– Provide flexible pickup and delivery windows.
– Consider alternative modes to move your freight: van, flatbed, rail, partial, or LTL.

Your Freightquote representative can assist you in creating a plan.

C.H. Robinson to Acquire Freightquote

EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. (December 1, 2014) – C.H. Robinson (Nasdaq: CHRW) today announced that it has reached an agreement to acquire Freightquote.com, Inc. for $365 million in cash. The agreement is subject to certain customary closing conditions, including regulatory approval. Closing of the acquisition is expected to occur in the first quarter of 2015. C.H. Robinson will likely increase its existing revolving credit facility to finance the acquisition.

Tim Barton to be Honored as Greater Kansas City Business Hall of Fame Laureate

We’ve been talking a lot about Freightquote’s founder in Freightquote news recently, and we’re not done yet. We’re proud to tell you Tim Barton is a 2014 Greater Kansas City Business Hall of Fame Laureate.

The Greater Kansas City Business Hall of Fame acknowledges inspirational business leaders who have demonstrated the importance of sound fiscal practices and entrepreneurialism that are also taught by Junior Achievement.  JA is the world’s largest organization dedicated to educating students about workforce readiness, entrepreneurship and financial literacy through hands-on programs. The Junior Achievement of Middle America program will reach more than 20,000 students in Kansas City this year.  The laureates encourage Junior Achievement participants to pursue careers in business and contribute to their community.

The awards ceremony will be held Thursday, November 13 at the Kansas City Marriott Downtown.  Proceeds from the event benefit Junior Achievement’s efforts in the empowerment of young people. You can purchase your tickets by visiting http://jamidamerica.org/hall_of_fame.

Fighting the Truck Driver Shortage

This is not a new conversation, but it is a relevant one.  The freight industry still does not have enough truck drivers.

It began in 2008 with the number of truck drivers rapidly tumbling until finally bottoming out in 2010. There has been growth each year since, but we are still 6.4% below 2007 totals. (Source) With the recovering economy and truck tonnage at record highs, there is significant concern and much discussion around how and when the number of truck drivers on the road will return to demand appropriate levels.

Let’s talk through some of the factors contributing to the shortage which include driver age, pay, the recruiting funnel, and work- life balance.  Former truck driver, Grant Bunton, spoke of driving over the road and the want of more home time, “It’s a very difficult lifestyle. It’s a blast, but it’s difficult.  You do get to see lots of places but rarely do you have time to actually stop and take in the scenery. After about three years of driving, I met my lovely wife one weekend when I was home. At that point I knew that I would want to spend more than 36 hours per week at home.”  Work- life balance has been growing in priority in the US for quite some time and it seems truck drivers have taken notice.  We’ll get you home more often is an anthem sung by many trucking companies in their driver recruiting efforts.  While pay is a major factor, time in your own bed seems to be just as important. Schneider National is, along with many other carriers,  addressing the money issue by raising driver pay, but they are also putting emphasis on getting their drivers home more often in an effort to improve the balance between work and home. (Source)

A problem that can’t be combatted with pay raises or more home time is age. It is one of the first things to mind when looking at truck driver shortage. Not only is recruiting and retaining drivers a challenge, but there is a large number nearing retirement age.  Truckers News found more than one in three drivers are older than 55 with a whopping 6% under the age of 35.  So, it sounds like it’s time to start some heavy recruiting, right?

The industry has upped recruiting efforts in order to fill the gap. Those efforts include targeting women and transitioning military veterans along with traditional methods like recruiting from driving schools and attracting drivers already on the road. Appealing to the younger audience is still a challenge. They prefer industries like technology or health care to life on the open road. (Source) So, how are we going to find the additional 90,000 + drivers that the ATA Benchmarking Guide for Driver Recruitment and Retention says are needed each year over the next decade? One theory, talk about it and share within social networks. Are people outside of the freight industry aware of this need?

While the shortage of carriers is quite painful for the companies that need to move their goods, the carrier side of the freight industry has seen a lift in pricing as demand has grown. The shortage of over the road drivers has had a positive impact on LTL and intermodal freight as well.  LTL carriers are picking up freight they may not have if not for the capacity shortage from lack of long haul drivers, giving them greater control of pricing. The same can be said of intermodal. This finds many shippers turning to third party providers for help with controlling cost and locating trucks. Freightquote founder, Tim Barton, in a recent interview with the Kansas City Business Journal said, “…if you increase demand, and you artificially suppress supply…then in a very fragmented market like freight, the best thing to do then is go to third parties like us.” (Source)