Partnerskaber af afgørende betydning for flytning af gods, da kapaciteten fortsat er begrænset

En fortsat stigning i efterspørgslen kombineret med transportørbegrænsninger og chaufførmangel har belastet kapaciteten, og transportører bliver mere selektive med den fragt, de vil fragte. Den nuværende situation er værre end det sidste ekstraordinært stramme marked, som industrien stod overfor i 2018, og det forventes at vare ved udgangen af ​​året.

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“When COVID-19 hit, we shifted from travel and services to material purchases shipped to our homes. Inventories became depleted because manufacturers were shut down. Now you have a massive backlog,” said LeAnne Coulter, vice president of godshåndtering for Penske Logistics. “These are conditions I haven’t seen in nearly 30 years in this business.”

Coulter’s team handles more than $5.5 billion in freight under management for Penske Logistics using a network of more than 12,000 carriers.

Rates have increased, and carriers are focusing on their most productive lanes, especially those that can get their drivers home more often. “There isn’t even a rate on certain lanes. It is just unchartered waters we’re in right now,” Coulter explained.

Hvordan påvirker dette forbrugere og virksomheder? Det rapporterede Wall Street Journal for nylig: “supply-chain disruptions possibly restrained industrial output gains while contributing to higher producer prices.”

However, there is good news. “Capacity is there, but it takes collaboration and planning, and shippers need to focus on being a shipper of choice,” Coulter said.

Carriers want to haul freight and want long-term relationships. “They want shippers that work with them,” Coulter added, adding that there are ways for shippers to optimize their transportation network to add capacity.

At blive en foretrukken afsender

Conversations have centered around being the shipper of choice for years, and today’s carriers want to work with shippers focused on improving processes and eliminating waste, Coulter said. “They are interested in understanding the in-gate/out-gate process, how long it takes for a truck to check-in, load and unload times, and flexibility in appointments,” she explained.

Coulter encouraged shippers to talk with carriers to understand what freight is desirable and open a dialogue about loads. “Shippers need to give appropriate lead time to allow for planning but also have an appropriate transit time,” she said, adding that loads with too much transit time are less desirable because of the loss of productivity.

Finde kapacitet

Shippers are showing an increased interest in dedicated solutions because they offer captive capacity. “There are several decision points you can use to determine where in your network dedicated capacity makes sense,” Coulter said, adding that distribution center and critical customer locations are top factors. “For example, you can have geographic bands that are covered by dedicated and utilize long-haul providers to reach customers outside of those bands.”

Shippers can also consider different mode options based on the critical nature of shipments. “A lot of it is segmenting the network to identify the best application for each mode and service,” Coulter said.

For example, shippers that can shift production to enable more transit time can take advantage of intermodal. “The freight needs to be a good fit, and you have to understand the time required,” Coulter said.

There are also ways to optimize existing assets and capacity. Milk runs—a delivery method used to transport mixed loads to one location—that use relays or cross-docking can improve trailer utilization. “You’re getting as close to the end destination as possible, then splitting out your freight from there. It requires fewer trucks on the front end,” Coulter said.

Træk på data

Increased visibility and increased use of data can also help optimize capacity. Penske’s ClearChain suite of technology pulls together information in real-time, and Penske’s team of supply chain professionals can work with shippers and carriers to optimize shipments, reduce miles and improve asset utilization. Visibility also enables Penske’s team to get out ahead of potential disruptions to minimize delays, ensuring loads are picked up and delivered on time.

Penske also offers a monthly transportation update to clients. The report covers major economic trends impacting the supply chain, including capacity and rates—both spot and contract—on each transportation mode. “We utilize all of this macro information as well as our own data to see how we can support customers in obtaining capacity,” Coulter said. “For instance, we know reject rates and can predict which carriers are more likely to haul freight on a specific lane.”

Looking Ahead

Selvom kapaciteten konstant har været stram, kan den blive mere begrænset i de kommende måneder. Fra august til oktober har der typisk været en stigning, efterhånden som detailhandlere arbejder på at imødekomme krav om tilbagevenden til skolen og opbygge lagerbeholdning til ferien. Det kan stige, efterhånden som økonomien kommer sig, og folk vender tilbage til arbejdet personligt.

“We’re going to be in this spot for a while for all good and potentially not so good reasons,” Coulter said. “I think that later this year we will have an idea of how long it will last in 2022.”

Når afsendere har fragtbehov, vil de gerne vide, at deres fragt vil nå sin destination sikkert, mens de er til tiden og inden for budgettet. Penske Logistics tilbyder prisvindende fragtstyrings- og mæglerløsninger til at hjælpe med at administrere transportnetværk og håndtere sæsonbestemte behov, kapacitetsstigninger og udfordrende baner.

Af "Move Ahead"-medarbejdere

Kilde: https://www.gopenske.com/blog/logistics/partnerships-critical-to-moving-freight-as-capacity-remains-constrained