Third-party logistics provider ITS Logistics in its August report is warning clients of capability issues each on the road and rails.
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“We now have been calling the dearth of ocean chassis availability for months,” Brashier said. “This problem has metastasized as a consequence of the volumes of containers being finally moved out of British Columbia to the ramps in Chicago and the Midwest. The pain is real for our clients. The results of this shall be significant increases in ramp storage and transportation costs and potential line down situations.”
Breaking out the rails, ITS has put the East Coast ramps within the “severe category,” citing congestion on the ramps each in operations and chassis availability.
Paul Brashier, vice chairman of drayage at ITS Logistics, says the dearth of ocean chassis equipment and increased volumes will cause significant operational issues and create additional costs.
In consequence of the congestion, ITS says it’s going to be imperative for corporations to think about avoiding booking low-inventory or high-demand SKUs to the ramps of the Midwest. It is usually urging clients to as a substitute move some volumes to be transloaded and moved inland via truckload or intermodal.
Because of this visibility technology is so vital, Brashier added. “It lets you have time to make decisions. The deeper you’ll be able to get a line of sight into future client demand and the present state of kit supply and operations, helps you be nimble by way of how you can pivot.”
While the opposite ramps across the country are all signaled green, there’s a caveat with the Pacific inland ramp region.
Within the operating efficiencies category, ITS warned in regards to the potential for some displaced volumes because of this of BCO/shipper change of bookings for IPI freight to avoid western Canada. The 14-day west coast Canadian ports strike in July created massive delays and container congestion. The Railway Association of Canada has said that delays are on the upper end of the 42-to70-day range to filter out the congestion.
Over the roads — given Yellow’s bankruptcy and the dearth of freight volumes — ITS said it’s keeping an in depth eye on the increased likelihood of trucking capability exiting the marketplace “at an alarming rate.” It added that in this slower time in freight, shippers should use the time properly and vet the health of their smaller dray providers and have a look at augmenting their trucking with an aggregate of corporations.
“Supply chains are in danger when shippers only have a look at price,” Brashier warned. “Shippers have to make sure that their RFP provides more value than the most affordable rate. Operations also have to be reviewed and thought of.”
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