Freight-Sharing Apps: The Uberization of Supply Chains
The success of ride-sharing companies such as Uber and Lyft have many players within the freight industry looking to replicate the technology in their own supply chains. As supply chains become ever more tech-driven, success in the industry will largely be determined by how quickly and effectively companies can embrace current and future technological trends. […]
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What A Nationwide Truck Shortage Means For Your LTL Shipping Plan
2018 is shaping up to be the year of Less Than Truckload (LTL) shipments. With a nationwide shortage of trucks, the volume of freight loads far outweighs the availability of carriers. Due to such high demand, retailers and manufacturers are faced with extensive delivery times and exorbitant prices. Shippers have been forced to pay high […]
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Last Mile Metrics
How well is your company performing in the last mile? The last mile is the last leg of transportation that delivers a package to the customer’s door. It’s often the most expensive and intricate portion of the trip—but it’s also the most important for service and analytics. You want to deliver impeccable service in the […]
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Where in the World is Capacity? Maximizing Utilization and Blurring Modes
There has been a lot of discussion over the past few years on the lack of trucking capacity, particularly in full-truckload (FTL) carriers. LTX has even covered this topic in previous blog posts. The rising level of demand for trucking capacity, fueled by economic and e-commerce growth is only highlighting the pains of capacity crunches. […]
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Last Mile Automation
The dreaded Last Mile, in Supply Chain Management terms, is the transportation of goods from a high-capacity port to their final destination (e.g. your home or office). Despite being just a fraction of the total distance traveled by freight, the last mile leg of the supply chain can eat up to 28% of the total […]
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The Supply Chain in 2018: Trends That Will Define the New Year
Previously we looked back at 2017 and the disruptions that rocked the transportation industry. Now let’s take the time to analyze the trends that will most likely play a huge role in the upcoming year. There are a great many factors that supply chain managers will have to consider for 2018, some being a carryover […]
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Common Mistakes When Dealing with A Freight Forwarder: International Edition
As a business, you may be considering the prospects of taking your product/service overseas. There are many more factors to consider when going international rather than remaining domestic. A good strategy when considering the options is to partner with a reputable 3PL or freight forwarder. However, there are some things to consider when entering such […]
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Why And How To Implement ELDs Into Your Trucking Fleet
By December 18, 2017, all fleets will need to have implemented certified electronic logging devices (ELDs) in order to remain compliant with the FMCSA’s ELD mandate. Not only are all fleets—small and large alike—mandated to use ELD tech, but also these devices are proven safer and more cost-effective than other forms of tracking and logging. […]
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Are We Still Talking About Capacity Crunches in 2017? Does it Really Affect Full Truckload?
It’s amazing that we have been talking about the capacity crunch in 2017 and its effects on full truckload (FTL) and less-than-truckload (LTL) shipping. The buzzword first surfaced in 2014 as fears about the industry being close to a tipping point due to a number of factors such as completion, government regulations, inexperienced drivers and […]
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How Dimensionalizers will Change LTL Shipping Rates
The LTL industry is not generally known as a rapidly changing industry, subscribing instead to the old adage of “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”. This is perhaps best evidenced by the still widely used rates classification system – the National Motor Freight Classification (NMFC) system, a rate calculating formula practically unchanged since the […]
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National vs Regional Carriers – When to Choose One Over the Other
As of last year, over 500,000 carriers had recent activity operating in the United States. With so many carriers in operation, it’s important to be able to narrow down your choices to a manageable selection when deciding which ones to use. One important metric when doing this is whether you’re dealing with national vs regional […]
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The Differences Between the Canadian and U.S. ELD Mandate
What is an ELD? An ELD is an Electronic Logging Device. What does it do? It is a device used to automatically collect a driver’s Hours of Service data. Recently there was a new ELD mandate passed for the United States that is set to take effect December 18th, 2017. Canada is also in the process […]
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Best Practices for Dealing with Freight Brokers
Freight Brokers act as the go-between for shippers and carriers. Freight Brokers have the connections, technology, and experience to bring down the cost of shipping, but what are the best practices for dealing with Freight Brokers? A best practice is a method or technique that has consistently shown results superior to those achieved with other […]
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Reefer vs Fridge Box for LTL Shipping
Shipping perishable or temperature-sensitive goods can be a challenge. You need to balance freshness, timing, and cost to ensure your freight is delivered on time to the consumer. This is true for cold freight as well as other types of goods that require temperature and environmental controls. So how do you guarantee the best-controlled shipment? […]
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Dry vs Reefer LTL Shipping: Advantages and Disadvantages
There are a number of transport options for shipping your business’ freight from warehouses and hubs to your customer’s door. So how do you choose the type of shipping that will work best for your products and bottom line? In this article, we’ll go through the two most common forms of shipment: dry and reefer […]
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How the New ELD Mandate Will Affect the Trucking Industry
According to American Trucking Associations, the ELD mandate will affect over 3 million truck drivers all over the United States. This is a call to all carriers to be prepared for this massive change in the industry. Many companies have already registered ELDs with the FMCSA. As the compliance date nears, it is expected for […]
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8 Common ELD (Electronic Logging Device) Mandate Myths
Will you be compliant with the 516-page ELD mandate by December 16, 2017? That’s right. The new Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration mandate for Electronic Logging Devices (ELD’s) will be active by the end of this year. But this isn’t something to be scared about. In fact, this mandate is expected to benefit the entire […]
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How Amazon Prime Day Affected LTL Shipments
Founder and CEO of Amazon, Jeff Bezos, continues to shock the e-commerce market, and this time it was with Prime Day. Amazon’s 3rd annual Prime Day was a huge success for the company that was able to rake in more sales in a single day than ever before, surpassing Black Friday and Cyber Monday. If […]
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How to Choose a Shipping Strategy for Your Ecommerce Business
In the e-commerce world competition is fierce. Consumers are getting more selective about purchases as the number of available sources to purchase items increases. They can easily compare prices, quality, and more to narrow in on the specific place they’ll make a purchase. And if your business has done its job and won the customer’s […]
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Refrigerated LTL Shipments: What You Need to Know
If you have sensitive freight that needs to stay in a temperature-controlled environment, you need a refrigerated transport system with a service-oriented LTL carrier. However, refrigerated shipments can be complex, with a number of limitations and concerns. Because of these intricacies, it’s important that you understand what refrigerated shipments are, how you can use them, […]
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Parcel vs LTL Shipping: What to Choose to Maximize Savings
Up until recently the line between when to use parcel shipping and LTL shipping was quite clear. Parcel shipping focused on packages that an average person could reasonably lift without assistance or—to put a number to it—packages that weighed less than 150 pounds. Because these packages were considered easier to move than larger parcels they […]
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The Basics Of Hazmat Transportation Management
There are nearly 500,000 shipments of hazardous materials in the U.S. every day, according to Don Boyd in Transportation of Hazardous Materials. Despite its prevalence, companies still don’t know how to properly manage their hazmat (hazardous materials) transportation. Hazmat transport is a complex system with intricate rules and regulations. Manufacturers and shippers are often unaware […]
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Forklift Shipping: Flatbeds vs LTL
Forklifts are often times a warehouse manager’s best friend. They allow the swift and efficient transportation of bulky/heavy objects throughout the warehouse or distribution center. As great as forklifts are for product management, the shipping of the machines can be quite the headache. This article addresses some of the issues inherent in forklift shipping as […]
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How Shipping A New or Used Forklift with Third Party Logistics (3PL) Can Help Your Business
Shipping a forklift seems like a complex process but, it is not as problematic as one may think. Sure, everyone can ship a package in a box, but when it comes to shipping a forklift many people are left scratching their heads. Most businesses have some type of material handling a machine like a forklift […]
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Changes Coming NMFTA Freight Classifications
Anyone who works within the shipping industry is most likely aware of the recent changes to freight classifications by the National Motor Freight Traffic Association (NMFTA). These changes could ultimately have some far-reaching consequences for the shipping industry as well as creating uncertainty and anxiety for shippers. But put your mind at ease, LTX Solutions […]
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What LTL (Less Than Truckload) Data Should a Shipper Track?
With billions of bytes of data available at our fingers tips today thanks to automated data collection it’s important for businesses to be able to identify which data is most important to successful operation. This allows companies to intelligently use their data to make strategic decisions instead of getting mired down in the complexities of […]
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The Logistics of the Last Mile
The term last mile should perhaps have a trigger warning attached to it due to all the headaches it causes for supply chain managers. There is a large amount of uncertainty surrounding this term which can cause problems for even the strongest of supply chains. Many of you may be familiar with the convenience of […]
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7 Ways to Avoid Freight Damage
Transporting freight is part of your business. But, to ship goods successfully and keep your customers happy you need to protect them from freight damage. Freight damage is not only a pain for you, but can cause significant losses to your company. The most noticeable loss to companies dealing with freight damage is that often […]
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Green Shipping Practices in The Trucking Industry
The truck industry’s carbon footprint is tremendous. As you can imagine, thousands of trucks drive coast to coast daily using massive amounts of fuel and oil and emitting dangerous carbon dioxide and other pollutants into the air. Furthermore, packaging and fulfillment can cause a significant amount of waste that finds its way into landfills and […]
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What is Less Than Truckload (LTL) Shipping and How Can It Help You?
LTL shipping is the smart and economical shipping method for any company that needs to transport freight weighing between 100 pounds and 10,000 pounds. Or to make it even simpler, it’s the most cost-effective way for companies who don’t ship full truckloads (hence the less than truckload name) of product at a time to transport […]
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