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The question I get most often from customers wanting to buy plastic pallets is, "how many fit on a truck?" Seems like a straightforward question, right? Well, if we're talking about standard 48x40 plastic pallets, I can tell you that we've got 26 to 30 skid spots to work with on a typical 53' dry van tractor trailer. Next comes some basic math (and maybe a tape measure). Most times we can come up with a solid count. Every once in a while we run up against an exception - usually because of a change in the truck scheduled to pick up the load.  Everything from pallet size to loading patterns to the interior dimensions of the trailer (and more) factor into calculating pallets per truck. Can we just say that 2018 will go down as a year that tested the patience of everyone and anyone shipping and receiving freight? As the year winds down, we're finally starting to see the pressure ease. Lower freight rates and improved capacities top the list of improvements. But, before we get our hopes up in a volatile freight industry, let’s look back to when things started to unravel.  Dispatchers are the hub of communication. They play a vital role in relaying freight delivery information quickly and accurately. When I wrote my original post, 6 Freight Terms Everyone Should Know, I had no idea it would become so popular. Since that time, a lot of interesting freight questions from all over the world have come my way. I guess I shouldn't have been too surprised. Shipping stuff seems easy enough, but sometimes it feels like you have to learn a secret new language just to get a freight bill paid. That's why I've decided to expand on my first freight terms post.  A driver that transports product to any location at any time without a schedule or route is known in the industry as an over-the-road (OTR) carrier. Will brick and mortar stores decline, thus reducing the need for pallets? Omni-Channel retailing takes the historical buying experience of the brick and mortar store to a level that offers consumers a multitude of methods for product research, buying and order fulfillment.  Changes in shopping habits are closing stores and impacting the pallet industry. Have you noticed a change in your LTL shipping charges? The methodology that LTL carriers are using to determine their rates is changing. This is in follow up to what the major parcel shippers (UPS and FedEx) have already done.  Less-than-truckload (LTL) shipping can be one of the most frustrating and challenging pieces of a freight spend.
There are many moving parts to LTL systems which can result in unexpected surprises. Common problems are lost freight and reweighs. This results in higher-than-expected freight bills, damages and reclassification of classes and item codes. This post will focus in on the reclassification and item codes. “One-Way shipping” aka “Single Trip” aka “Send and Forget”. Why would anyone ship goods on a plastic pallet if they can’t get that pallet back? Not so long ago, this was the thinking when it came to “One-Way Shipping” or “Single Trip” logistics. This logic was based on the fact that plastic pallets were expensive and it took several weeks to get them due to slow and infrequent production schedules. Today, it’s a new frontier.  There are many affordable, readily available plastic pallets that are fulfilling a demographic for single use, plastic pallets. Do you ever feel confused or overwhelmed when it comes to air freight shipping? Don’t worry, you are not alone. Understanding air freight shipping can be a daunting task. We have a few pointers that should help take the guesswork out of air freight shipping.  Trying to save money on inbound freight? Regardless of the supplies or commodities that are coming into your plant, the prudent business person is always trying to minimize the cost incurred in shipping them. Specific to pallets, there are many ways to save money on inbound freight  Compare the stacks... Using nestable pallets (left) gets you 53 pallets in a stack. A regular stack of 3-runner style pallets (middle) gets you 17. If you INVERT THE STACK (right) you increase the 3-runner stack from 17 to 25 pallets (right). It’s inevitable. Recent trends show your freight costs are going to increase through 2014. Pallets and freight can be a major expense for your company. If you do ignore current trends, the costs of shipping your product will increase! The Nelson Tech Center can help you keep these expenses in line with Transportation Cost Modeling.  What’s the big deal with intermodal? You can save money, a lot of it. So how does intermodal work? Intermodal involves more than one mode of transit. Typically the modes include truck, rail, ship and or barge. For purposes of freight movement within North America we will use truck, rail and ship.  Freight terms can be confusing. Acronyms, abbreviations, shorthand and jargon make up the shipping freight lexicon. Many terms commonly used in the freight world can often leave people in a state of confusion.  |
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