The growth of e-commerce has led to more international shipping but the current lack of capacity for international shipping in addition to rising rates has companies looking elsewhere for supplies. With disruptions in overseas suppliers, many companies are considering nearshoring to Canada and Mexico. This minimizes risk and the potential for disruptions to the supply […]
Less-than-truckload (LTL) shipping is most often the most cost-effective option for moving smaller loads. As a rule of thumb, if you are shipping fewer than 10 pallets at a time, less than truckload will be the most cost-efficient method of transportation. However, there are several characteristics of LTL shipments that make them complex. In today’s […]
Maintaining a temperature-controlled atmosphere during shipping can present a challenge, especially in hot summer months. As shipments go through a variety of temperatures and humidity levels on route to their final destinations, some products like pharmaceuticals and fresh food must be kept refrigerated to maintain their efficacy. Not regulating the correct temperature for these types […]
Recent wildfires that have broken out across British Columbia, Canada, and on the West Coast of the United States have caused serious delays to rail freight transportation. Western Canada and the U.S West Coast’s severe heat waves resulted in several large wildfires that have now created a bottleneck in exports and imports. Shipments sent via […]
Less than truckload (LTL) is a cost-efficient way to ship smaller parcels that do not require a full truck. However, it can be a challenge for shippers to manage–shipment delays and disruptions are often prevalent. There are a few strategies that can be implemented to improve the efficiency of LTL, which will not only increase […]
Once criticized for being ‘behind the times when it comes to advances in technology, the LTL (less-than-truckload) industry has made great strides in recent years. The increase in e-commerce has made LTL a more frequently used mode of transportation. More retailers are relying on LTL for their shipping and as customers’ expectations have increased, so […]
Businesses today need to operate in an increasingly complex global supply chain, with buyers and suppliers all over the world. Freight moves through many different locations and hands, thereby increasing the risk in shipping. External factors such as weather and traffic also come into play. The longer the cargo is exposed to risk, the more […]
The U.S. economy is comprised of different cycles that can work together to reinforce one another to create a trend. Or they can work against each other which weakens the trend. As one would expect, the largest cycles drive the biggest trends. The interaction of cycles, like the inventory restocking cycle, is often affected by […]
The COVID-19 global pandemic has created a host of issues with shipping among the North American countries. On top of that, the new United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), might create additional challenges for North American auto manufacturers. The new USMCA is aimed to improve supply chain inefficiencies with a more modern approach using information technology and […]
As with many industries, 2020 has been a challenging year so far for cargo transportation. Global economic trade is the driver in the cargo shipping market and with the decrease in growth worldwide, predicting when the market will rebound has been difficult. Industries such as aerospace, energy and oil and gas that use the project […]