In todays economy…..heck in any economy….a wise and prudent person tries to get the best value for their dollar. Cheapest freight shipping is no different. Who wouldn’t want to find a way to reduce freight costs and shipping costs while maintaining quality and service? Anyone would. However, today’s world of transportation and logistics makes it very difficult. You have to work your way through a minefield of options, all of whom have created costing models and pricing structures that are quite honestly almost impossible to decipher.
What exactly is the formula for today’s LTL trucking companies to formulate their pricing? They still rely on decades old commodity classification systems, factoring in zip to zip, weight, commodity value, and any other number of factors to come up with a rate that makes the IRS tax code look like a kindergarten book!
And truckload common carriers? They use a costing model based on a rate per mile system that fails to take into account such things as headhaul (lanes that have more freight moving in that direction) and backhaul (lanes that have less freight moving in them). They have overhead and terminal costs that factor in and that drive the cost of your shipment up.
As a Third Party Logistics provider, we cut through all of this nonsense and make costing easy. When rating LTL (commonly called partial) shipments, we take three simple factors into account. First, what are the origin and destination of the load. By factoring this, we can determine number of miles involved, and we can match it up with our partner carriers that are interested in moving their trucks in that direction. Second, how much space on the trailer is your load taking up? Quite simply, when it comes to shipping by truck, that is what we are talking about, right? You are leasing space on a trailer. So, by rating partials, you are getting prorated truckload rates. These rates compare very favorably to the LTL common carriers rates. The majority of the time, you will save significantly off of their rates. Why? Because we do not have the costs associated with terminal networks, with dock crews, or with handling of your shipment. This savings goes directly to the costing of the load. We charge you for the space on the trailer, nothing more and nothing less.
When rating truckload shipments, large truckload common carriers rate their shipments on a cost per mile basis, most times without regard to the lane and what their needs are in moving their equipment around the country. They then tack on an exorbitant fuel surcharge. Of course, as with the LTL carriers, the truckload carriers have large amounts of overhead in terms of trucking facilities and management staff. The results are rates that are typically 25-35% above what we can charge utilizing smaller independent partner carriers that do not have the overhead costs. Most of these carriers are smaller regionally based truckers that have specific lanes in which they specialize. We have compiled a list of over 5,000 such regional carriers, categorized into the regions in which they specialize. We cover the entire country with this network. Each carrier is licensed, bonded, and fully insured, and each has a track record of reliability and service with our company.
The result of the carrier network and system that we have put together is a streamlined network that provides a better service (due to no handling) at a cheaper rate than you can get with the larger common carriers. Be it a full truckload or a smaller LTL (partial) load, we have the network and expertise to provide you with a more cost efficient and high quality service for your trucking and shipping needs. Give us a call today to see what we can do for you!