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Our Team of Logistics Pros Offer Shippers Valuable Insights 

U.S. Shipping Volumes

The leaves are falling and so may be your profits this peak season. It is a wild and wooly freight market this year and the supply chain has dealt shippers a tough hand. We are fighting a pandemic that has far-reaching economic and personal ramifications. Shipping volumes are 50 percent higher than either of the last two years. High rates and lack of capacity keep gnawing away at profits, just like the virus keeps rearing its ugly head around the country. Relying on historical trends has become pointless with a market that is as unpredictable as this year’s presidential race (or as President Trump’s next tweet). 2018 dealt us a bull market, 2019 was flat, and well, we all know the story this year.

Whether you are shipping truckload or LTL, there are always ways to save costs on your freight spend. One of the easiest things you can do that will have the most impact to your bottom line is to dedicate time to thoroughly evaluate your freight bills. Review every charge-back, vendor penalty, and accessorial fee over the last few months.

...plus everything you need to know to get a competitive truckload freight rate

What Defines a Full Truckload?

There are different kinds of truckload shipments and services, such as cold or dry truckload shipments, flatbed freight and heavy haul truckload shipping. A full truckload (FTL) is characterized by filling either a 53’ or 48’ trailer containing one shipment going from point A to point B, or it can be a multi-stop load which will add costs. It can range from 24 – 30 pallets or more. The amount of space the cargo takes up can be more important than the weight of a truckload shipment. (Learn more about freight optimization and capacity utilization reporting in Choptank's new customer portal, Orbit TI®.) Weights can vary from 5,000 pounds all the way up to 45,000 pounds, the latter being a more common full truckload weight.

2019 was the year of the shipper. Truck rates were low, freight volumes were a shadow of their former selves, and capacity was high. Trucks were so plentiful that the term “capacity crunch,” a common phrase in 2018, was rarely heard. The market did not favor the carrier.     

2020, however, is positioned to be a year fraught with a whole new list of challenges for both carriers and shippers, including changes to hours of service, pending regulations like the Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse, California’s AB5 legislation, and AOBRDs’ final gasp, all of which could result in higher truck rates and fewer trucks on the road.