USA LTL inbound/outbound
- Thread starter mac
- Start date
20
May not be as fast as the milk run carriers, Polaris is a good LTL carrier but only take 4 skids or less. Excellent pricing.
30
Wow, that’s a question in desperate need of more info! Hmm, where to start? “LTL into the US……where exactly? Originating in the GtA? Dry van freight, no special handling? Stackable? How many skids? Is this all for one shipper, or multiple? Are you looking for one carrier to handle it all, such as a Polaris, or a number of area specific carriers. More information regarding your needs might solicit a few more responses from interested carriers.
30
The big LTL carriers like YRC have had major delays and backlogged terminals for many months. Freight will frequently sit at a terminal for a week before delivering. There was too much freight last year for the LTL carriers to handle and this year has had a lot of weather challenges delaying freight all across the USA as storms moved from west to east.
Your experience in service is not unusual for LTL. You should buffer your transit time and set realistic expectations. Plus you might be getting the service level expected based on price.
I prefer using smaller regional carriers where you can talk to operations and not customer service.
Anytime I have to use YRC or an equivalent carrier I always select time critical or expedited as the terminals will hold the regular service level freight and ship the expedited first.
Your experience in service is not unusual for LTL. You should buffer your transit time and set realistic expectations. Plus you might be getting the service level expected based on price.
I prefer using smaller regional carriers where you can talk to operations and not customer service.
Anytime I have to use YRC or an equivalent carrier I always select time critical or expedited as the terminals will hold the regular service level freight and ship the expedited first.
30
Therein lies the dilemma. A shipper/ broker could certainly place all of their LTL shipments with a large carrier and as suggested, learn to live with the delays and sporadic service failures all while enjoying some economical rates. Or, the shipper/broker could work a bit harder and place his individual LTL shipments with a selection of regional carriers. The rates might be marginally higher, however chances are good that the service levels would make up for the increased rates and additional effort. Putting a couple of skids on the back end of a trailer heading for St. Louis over the weekend is usually better than having them sit in a number of different terminals on the way.