Intermodal shipping as of late has suffered some pretty annoying restrictions. Here’s how to keep things going smoothly!
In recent years, due to economic challenges, changing legislation, and even the COVID-19 pandemic, there have been more and more intermodal shipping issues that have arisen due to freight capacity limits in standard 53′ shipping containers. Because of intermodal shipping freight capacity, it takes a longer time for shipments to arrive and also raises the prices of the shipments, which can become a logistics nightmare. However, truckers and intermodal shipping carriers still have some control over the situation. Here’s how to lessen the burden of intermodal shipping freight capacity limits for your trucking fleet.
Try Live Loading or Drop Pools
As every trucker knows, so much time is wasted sitting around waiting in lines at the arrival or initial destination point, waiting for staff to help load or unload. One good thing about intermodal shipping and travel is that the containers are usually already loaded, so having a trucker wait around for a long time just to attach an already loaded carrier seems inefficient. To improve logistics, try using a live loading or drop pool approach to your intermodal shipping origin points. This way, everything is already laid out for truckers to easily find their assigned containers, attach onto their trucks quickly, and be on their way without wasting much time. This solution is not only timely, but it’s also quite economical since it maximizes logistics even with the shipping restrictions in place.
Window Appointments for Intermodal Shipping
If using a drop pool approach just isn’t possible at your fleet’s facility due to spatial issues or other problems, the next best option is using window appointments to pick up the intermodal shipping containers. This way, you will be minimizing crowds and lines that can further delay shipment. Not allowing “drop-in” pick-ups are also a great option in preventing traffic nightmares.
Keep an Open Mind
Staying flexible on pick-up days is essential to any intermodal shipping truck driver. If something doesn’t go exactly as planned, try to stay calm since things generally have a way of working themselves out. In fact, some studies show that exercising a flexible model of approach to intermodal shipping can actually reduce up to 20% of the financial costs of freight lanes. Due to the pandemic, there is more demand for shipment than ever, and they’re usually is just not enough intermodal shipping truck drivers to keep up. This means that keeping a flexible business model and a positive attitude is a key to maintaining logistics goals as best as possible.
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