Retta Hyatt has been a driver for less than a year, and in that short time she has become accustomed to life on the road.  She and her traveling companion, a chocolate lab named Jamaica, are witnessing the COVID-19 pandemic from behind the wheel of a big rig. Sounds safe, right? Well, yes and no.

FREIGHT MARKET & THE PANDEMIC

Looking at the freight market in Q1 of 2020 is much like watching the new season of Ozark on Netflix; it first requires a brief look at what came before. My personal binge-watching policy dictates that before diving into a new season, I do a quick recap of the last two episodes to get the full impact of what is going on now.

So, let’s review what was happening at the close of 2019 in the freight industry. Everyone summed up the year by comparing it to the bull market of 2018, with slight resignation but hopefulness. The overriding sentiment was that even though the market in 2019 paled in comparison to the previous year, the industry was still experiencing growth, and we had 2020 to catch up. 

...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.

Choptank Transport, Inc., one of the nation’s top third-party logistics firms, has chosen the automated Load Track platform from Trucker Tools to achieve higher levels of shipment visibility, customer service and carrier satisfaction.