At this point, everyone in the trucking industry knows what’s going on in the marketplace – there simply aren’t enough drivers to haul the amount of freight moving throughout the country. But the supply chains still need to keep moving. People still need the products they depend on every day. What can you do to make sure that happens? Here are just a few tips that could help you get capacity in today’s tight market.
1. Be Flexible:
Being flexible with pickup/delivery times gives carriers the best opportunity to service your freight. The flexibility allows them to choose the right truck for each load, helping your freight arrive on time.
In any market environment, challenges like traffic, weather, and maintenance delays are going to happen. Being flexible allows carriers to work around delays and provide you with the kind of service you need.
2. Utilize Brokerage Offerings:
Many leading carriers, including U.S. Xpress, have a large network of partner carriers (vetted and DOT compliant). Utilizing those partnerships, gives you access to additional capacity at competitive rates while adding flexibility that many asset-based carriers can’t provide with their own equipment.
3. Increase Tender Lead Times:
When planning for the successful delivery of your freight, the more time a carrier has to review load details, the more time they have to ensure the right truck is assigned to deliver the load.
4. Consider a Dedicated Fleet:
Utilizing Dedicated fleets means you get exclusive capacity for your regional, national, or local deliveries. You’ll have both assets and drivers on site, ready to find a solution to any challenge, doing everything they can to ensure every load is serviced successfully.
5. Use Updated Equipment:
Before choosing a carrier, consider the age of their equipment. Maintenance delays happen no matter what, but newer equipment simply performs better and helps keep drivers moving, opening more opportunities to service your freight.
6. Keep Dwell Time Down:
One of the best ways you can help keep your freight moving is by reducing dwell times at your pickup and delivery locations. Doing this frees up both drivers and assets to be planned more efficiently so your carrier can provide the highest quality service.
And that’s what it’s all about, right? Not just getting the capacity you need but getting the best possible service to go along with it. This isn’t an easy marketplace right now – for carriers or shippers. But working together, we know we’ll get through it.
