Every month you ship the same thing to the same customer. But this month all of a sudden – holy smokes! What happened? It’s 8-10% higher than last time!
Well, some interesting things are going on in the LTL system right now.
One article that is making the rounds at the moment is the Washington Post report that there is a shortage of about 51,000 truck drivers around the US. This is a huge issue and is only going to get worse as the summer continues. Every spring there is an uptick in construction and agriculture freight in particular, so there is always more freight in the system at this time anyway. Plus the usual summer increase in fuel cost. These are normal issues, but they are being exacerbated by the driver shortage.
As of publication two of my carriers have an embargo on freight destined for zip codes in the Twin Cities and one of them just added the Denver metro area to that embargo. They simply do not have enough labor to handle all of the freight coming in to those terminals. Some other carriers are just moving behind schedule.
In addition to that, or possibly because of it, many carriers have adopted new length limits for overlength freight. In the past there was one rate per single handling unit over a certain length (differs between carriers), but many have now adopted a tiered system and lowered the max footage. For instance, one carrier who originally had a 12′ max flat fee now has an 8-12′ and then 12’+ fee. (These fees and lengths may be negotiated per individual tariff).
Plus, the new electronic monitoring system has just taken effect. Let’s be honest, there has been a lot of fudging of hours in the past. Sometimes drivers are trying to get more loads in, sometimes employers bully their drivers into fudging the numbers too. I’m kind of glad the ELDs are in place because sleepy driving has proven fatal for too many people. But this also means loads may not move as fast as expected.
So, if you know any recent graduates who have no idea what to do with their lives, maybe point them toward driving truck. It is hard work, and a lot of responsibility, but it’s steady and pays better than fast food. I would also like to point out, which the Washington Post article fails to mention, that many open positions are for local delivery drivers and dock workers. That means you are home on evenings and weekends, depending on the shift.
Good luck to us all!
The Clerk Files 