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US surface shippers return to 3PLs in face of truck shortage
来源： 编辑：编辑部 发布：2018/04/19 15:36:02
A US TRUCK and driver shortage is driving shippers back to 3PLs this year having had a hard time going it alone, delegates heard at the recent Transportation Intermediaries Association (TIA) Capital Ideas Conference in Palm Desert, outside Los Angeles.
With loose capacity in 2016 and the first half of 2017, shippers were able to directly secure a good rate with motor carriers, and 3PLs had to rely upon their other services to differentiate themselves.
Freight demand is now even dwarfing 2014 levels and is stronger than in the weeks after Hurricane Harvey damaged Houston, according to Truckstop.com economist Noel Perry.
Load-to-truck ratios are in record territory for flatbed and remain elevated in refrigerated and dry van, he said.
This year's scarcity of available trucks has resulted in average truckload margins increasing to 15 to 20 per cent, according to delegates, reported IHS Media.
Spot market rates have jumped 20 to 35 per cent and contract rates have risen about eight per cent on average year on year.
Carriers hope this marketplace will result in new, sustainable partnerships with 3PLs in which there is a mutual emphasis on maximising the 660 minutes of a driver's time behind the wheel, according to Werner Enterprises CEO Derek Leathers and YRC president Darren Hawkins.
He was referring to newly imposed federal Hours of Service regulations, which now include banning 18-year-olds from driving big rigs across state lines until they are 21.
Some see this as boosting women's role in trucking, by banning men starting careers at the normal age, thus encouraging them to seek other occupations. Couple this with new restrictive Hours of Service rules that make driver jobs more palatable for older women, who have disposed of child care duties, and have an aversion to long hours.
Freight demand in January and February was unusually strong but the pace of activity slowed slightly in March, although volumes were much higher than a year ago, according to conversations during the conference. That said, not all companies reported the same experience; some 3PLs indicated March was actually stronger than February.
"Just wait until the peak season. You haven't seen anything yet," said Des Moines Truck Brokers CEO Jimmy DeMatteis. The produce season, which his Iowa-based company looks forward to each year, typically heats up in April and runs through July.
With loose capacity in 2016 and the first half of 2017, shippers were able to directly secure a good rate with motor carriers, and 3PLs had to rely upon their other services to differentiate themselves.
Freight demand is now even dwarfing 2014 levels and is stronger than in the weeks after Hurricane Harvey damaged Houston, according to Truckstop.com economist Noel Perry.
Load-to-truck ratios are in record territory for flatbed and remain elevated in refrigerated and dry van, he said.
This year's scarcity of available trucks has resulted in average truckload margins increasing to 15 to 20 per cent, according to delegates, reported IHS Media.
Spot market rates have jumped 20 to 35 per cent and contract rates have risen about eight per cent on average year on year.
Carriers hope this marketplace will result in new, sustainable partnerships with 3PLs in which there is a mutual emphasis on maximising the 660 minutes of a driver's time behind the wheel, according to Werner Enterprises CEO Derek Leathers and YRC president Darren Hawkins.
He was referring to newly imposed federal Hours of Service regulations, which now include banning 18-year-olds from driving big rigs across state lines until they are 21.
Some see this as boosting women's role in trucking, by banning men starting careers at the normal age, thus encouraging them to seek other occupations. Couple this with new restrictive Hours of Service rules that make driver jobs more palatable for older women, who have disposed of child care duties, and have an aversion to long hours.
Freight demand in January and February was unusually strong but the pace of activity slowed slightly in March, although volumes were much higher than a year ago, according to conversations during the conference. That said, not all companies reported the same experience; some 3PLs indicated March was actually stronger than February.
"Just wait until the peak season. You haven't seen anything yet," said Des Moines Truck Brokers CEO Jimmy DeMatteis. The produce season, which his Iowa-based company looks forward to each year, typically heats up in April and runs through July.