What is LTL Freight?

What is LTL Freight?

LTL freight, as it is commonly referred to, stands for Less-than-truckload freight. Some products or goods do not need the service of a full truckload due to the smaller parcel sizes of freight. To accommodate these smaller deliveries, freight can be transported on the same truck to avoid waste of space and additional resources to help optimize the LTL load so that the goods can be transported more efficiently. LTL shipments are usually arranged on pallets and can range anywhere from 150 pounds to 10,000 pounds.

Considering the way LTL shipping operates, you can combine partial loads heading to specific locations to create an efficient, full multi-stop truckload. The cost of shipping your goods is known is based on the class of items shipped, space occupied, and pickup/destination locations. Depending on your preference, LTL freight can also be shipped with specialized services such as lift gate pickup/delivery, inside pickup/delivery, residential pickup/delivery, and reweighing or reclassification with each of these services requiring additional fees.

Analyzing what LTL freight entails can deduce these beneficial effects:

Cost-effectiveness

You don’t have to pay for a full truckload when you are shipping LTL goods. LTL freight has made it possible for you to only pay for the space required to transport your goods. Therefore, your cost will be a fraction of what a standard full truckload shipment would cost.

Environmental effect

Fewer trucks will be transporting goods heading toward the same region, resulting in a drastic reduction of pollutants released into the ecosystem. This process will also reduce road accidents as more trucks will be carrying loads less than their capacity, thereby decreasing full truckloads on the highway. 

Profitable for small businesses

Small companies can benefit from LTL shipping because they tend to be shipping fewer goods and spending less money on freight than larger companies. LTL shipping allows small businesses to benefit from all the services professional shipping provides without paying the high cost for space they don’t need. Some carriers typically offer LTL shipping, but not all carriers do. A challenge can sometimes be finding a carrier willing to ship LTL and for the right price. 

Dependable Supply Chain Services' asset-based trucking division is the largest west coast regional LTL carrier, with 14 strategically located service centers providing overnight shipping service throughout California, Nevada, and Arizona. Need more services to help boost your bottom line throughout your supply chain? Contact us today for a free quote. 

Pool Distribution

Benefits of Pool Distribution

Pool Distribution is a cost-effective solution for customers/businesses to move their products to end-users efficiently with less travel time and costs. The concept of the pool distribution strategy is to pool different freight going to the same area or region of distribution- very similar to "carpooling" when either commuting to work or school. If you are moving freight between several regions, shipping a high volume of less-than-truckload shipments, or looking for options to save money on more extended freight transport moves, then you should consider pool distribution as a strategy. Shipments bound for the same region of distribution that is usually shipped through LTL trucking are combined to a full trailer for delivery. Once the freight reaches its final destination, the freight is sorted for local delivery to customers. 

•     Truckload (TL) or Pool Distribution rates are more fixed and secured than freight LTL prices. The significant benefits of pool distribution are lowered costs for smaller shipments and giving customers an opportunity to save money on pooled shipments versus LTL transport methods that may have higher rates for smaller shipments.

•    As parcels are bound for one region or area of distribution, freight is consolidated in one staging area and then loaded on trailers for that specific area. This process saves on multiple resources such as overall transportation costs, time and fuel; much like carpooling. Another added benefit is that it prevents vehicle wear and tear or depreciation of trucks/trailers.

•    Pool distribution also reduces carbon footprint. As we move towards environment and energy conservation, pool distribution is also an effective way to reduce carbon footprints in the transportation industry as there will be fewer trailers on the roads. Fewer trucks on the road contribute to less fuel and energy consumed while transporting goods.

•   By utilizing the pool distribution strategy, deliveries to final destinations are executed with the least handling possible, thus resulting in less potential claims. LTL shipments have the possibilities of going through several hubs on the way to its final destination. This method can take twice as long compared to the Pool Distribution method. As parcels pass through different hubs and move from one trailer to the next, there is a higher likelihood of product damage. Opting for the pool distribution method can help minimize these risks because there will be "less handling" of your goods. 

Pool distribution has helped raise the service level of shipping as partners/carriers continue to add this method as one of their core services. Higher service levels across the shipping industry are essential as customers rely heavily on carriers to ship their goods, therefore, having options when shipping goods is key to streamlining overall supply chain costs. It is vital in today's evolving business culture that companies select proven partners who can offer total supply chain solutions to help optimize their customized business needs. Dependable Supply Chain Services include FTL, Warehousing & Distribution, Harbor Drayage, Global Ocean & Air, Hawaii & Guam, and Third-Party Logistics making us your all-star team for customized solutions. 

Drayage & Intermodal Services

Why Your Business Needs Drayage Services

The words drayage and intermodal drayage may not be familiar to you, but these services are responsible for a large number of goods you use, buy, eat and even wear daily. Drayage is an essential link in the safe and secure transport of goods from one point to another, usually for short distances. On the other hand, intermodal freight transport is the method of transportation of goods in an intermodal or shipping container. With intermodal freight containers, large amounts of goods may be transported through long distances in the most efficient manner. 

Drayage is shipping freight in a short distance while intermodal freight is for long distances. Businesses big and small use these services to take their products from the manufacturing plant to where their customers are located. Without quality drayage and intermodal freight services, meeting deadlines for the movement of goods and services to your customers will impact your bottom line. If your business ships goods, you must use a dependable and efficient drayage company with years of experience and proven service. 

How do you find the ideal drayage service that’s right for your business?  Here are some factors to consider:

•    Proximity to rail yards and ports

Is the drayage company you want to use near rail yards and ports? Does the rail yard or port run 24 hours? This is important because a port that works 24 hours coupled with a company that can transport goods all day would be able to ship your products faster and more efficiently as well.

•    Drayage company with local assets

A company that resides close to the ports and has local assets will surely have the insight into what goes on in the local market. 

•    Equipment condition

Drayage companies with old and worn out equipment may find it hard to fulfill their obligations to your company. These could suffer from equipment failure and repairs that will only cost you valuable time. Always look for a company with new, working or quality equipment (trucks, refrigeration equipment, forklifts, etc.) to ensure the safety and quality of your goods as well. 

•    Experienced drivers

Drivers should be experienced with local routes and are trained to handle large equipment and new monitoring equipment.

•    Flexible shifts, flexible service

Do you know that you can save on shipping when you ship during the off-hours? A company with this flexible service/schedule is rare but is something that you must include when you make your decision.

•    Check for regulations and compliance

Check the company’s compliance with local regulations on shipping. Usually, this is communicated on the drayage service website. 

With facilities in the Southern California overweight corridor, Dependable Supply Chain Services can quickly meet any requirement you have for handling overweight import/export containers. Our asset-based harbor and intermodal division handle all nationwide drayage moves for containers coming from or going to West Coast seaports. In addition to container drayage, we specialize in complex multiple-hub cargo moves through multimodal transportation strategies with complete warehousing and distribution services via our warehousing division.

PORT DRAYAGE IN LOS ANGELES

Intermodal freight transport is responsible for a considerable amount of the goods you buy, eat, and wear every day. Drayage is an essential process in the transport chain, allowing goods to move from one freight system to the next safely and quickly at a relatively low cost. For instance, if goods come into the Los Angeles and Long Beach ports, and are scheduled to leave town on the backs of dozens of trucks, who facilitates the goods from the port to the warehouse? We do, and that's what drayage is all about. The name comes from the old days when goods were transported on sideless carts pulled by dray horses!

Intermodal freight transport is the transportation of goods in an intermodal container, commonly known as a shipping container. You know those big metal boxes you see piled on the backs of ships and hooked onto the backs of trains? Those are intermodal freight containers. They allow large amounts of goods to be shipped across long distances as efficiently as possible.

By working together, trucking companies, intermodal marketing companies, ocean steamship lines and railroads are providing a cost-effective, reliable, efficient, safe and environmentally friendly way to move freight from origin to destination. Throughout the process, intermodal facilitators, or third-party logistics providers, arrange for each method of the move from pick up to drop off.

For companies importing products into the port of Los Angeles or Long Beach, a facility near these ports such as DHE’s Harbor Drayage division can be the solution http://www.godependable.com/Services/DHE-Harbor-Drayage. Shippers who are looking for an overall reduction in their supply chain costs search facilities close to the port. This provides even more of an advantage to shippers. Some claim that it can take hours to turn containers at the Ports of Los Angeles or Long Beach, but according to the president of Pier Pass, in-terminal turn times averages less than an hour to deliver your products from the ports. Regardless of the day or time, the drayage dispatchers are available to fulfill your delivery requirements through experienced personnel and use of the latest transportation software to ensure accurate and verifiable tracking and tracing of your freight from the inception of delivery orders to your final destination.

California Intermodal Shipping

California Intermodal Shipping

Shippers in California are faced with a choice between direct trucking or intermodal trucking. Intermodal freight transportation involves two or more modes of transportation. This process could be a combination of sea, rail, road, and air. Packages are usually transported in intermodal containers, which are used across each platform, preventing the need to offload and on load at terminals. When inland, the choice is usually between road transportation, using trucks, or a mix of road and rail transportation. Businesses tend to lean towards a decision that limits the disadvantage of a single mode, like road and affords the benefits of another mode, for example, rail. 

Benefits of Intermodal Shipping

The advantages of intermodal transportation can be effective when this method is selected accordingly to your business strategy. We will look at some of these cases later in the article.

Saves Time: 

Intermodal trucking saves time that can be lost to speed limits, mandatory breaks, weighs stations, and unfavorable traffic patterns encountered over long distances.

Cost Effective

The addition of rail transportation into the process cuts down the high costs associated with road trucking. High fuel costs for drayage, personnel, and handling can all be reduced by a flexible intermodal model.

Safe and Secure

The use of GPS trackers in rail cars and the presence of consistent railroad police have made rail transportation a lot safer than others. Integrating it into road transportation will reduce the chances of packaging becoming lost. 

Eco-friendly

Intermodal trucking could reduce up to a third of the road transport CO2 emissions depending on how much road trucking is involved.

The difference with Multimodal Shipping

When you decide to use multiple modes of transportation, there is still a choice to be made between intermodal shipping and multimodal shipping. Both are similar in that your package will be transported using different modes of transportation. However, they differ on the bases of the contract. Multimodal makes use of a single contract with a single carrier who takes liability for all the modes of transportation from source to destination. The key benefit here is that it is easy to track, as it uses a combined transport bill of lading. In case there are any issues, the shipper can hold one carrier responsible. 

Intermodal shipping, on the other hand, will require separate contracts for the carriers at the different points along the supply chain. This is ideal for flexibility because the shipper can decide which carrier, at each point, meets their key criteria regarding cost and services offered. 

When to choose Intermodal Transportation

There are certain moments when Intermodal shipping is best suited for your business. One example is when your shipments need to travel long distances, especially if it takes more than one day to transport by truck. Also, if your business will be shipping in a reoccurring pattern, that is, similar quantities through the same route, Intermodal transportation is ideal.