This article outlines why intermodal is not such a good option for US distribution. Though the trucking market is ‘maxed-out’, meaning it is hard to get a trucking firm to move a container, rail is having its own congestion and shortage difficulties.
And chassis remain a problem area. Most leasing companies, who own the chassis, prefer large long-term deals with ocean carreirs rather than shorter term deals for local movements in the US. The article refers to the trucker-owned chassis pool in the Midwest, which seems to be shunned by the leasing companies, creating a shortage of chassis for containers.
Today, we can’t find any area of logistics that isn’t suffering over something. A far cry from a year or two ago.
Maersk is one of the largest, and possibly the most advanced, ocean carriers. The LA/LongBeach ports have been a problem area for air pollution and sustainabiolity for many years. There’s no rail connection directly to the ports, and even so, rail is powered by diesel.
Presently containers are trucked to outlying areas like Riverside or San Bernardino where there are many distribution centers. Ocean containers are 40-feet long. They are often ‘transloaded’ to 53-foot trailers which are the standard size in the US, for long distance travel to the destination. That transloading is done at the distribution centers. Or cargo is delivered direct to customers within the LA basin.
Electric trucks have zero emissions when measured by today’s standards. They also should require substantially less maintenance, without an internal combustion engine (ICE). Using the trucks for these short hauls will reduce pollution near the ports, and also on the LA freeways. And with a fixed route they can be kept charged easily at charging stations near the port. It’s a good thing to try out.
Maersk has made a big point of their commitment to get to zero emissions by 2050. This is one more experiment in the process.
Volvo makes the trucks in Virginia, and they are supposed to be rolling off the assembly line by now.
1 September 2021 Port Technology International Team
One of the big problems owner-operators have is waiting to load and unload at warehouses. that is dead time for them. They are only earning their fee if they are rolling; they aren’t paid for waiting time.
Uber Freight has designed a service called Powerloop, which offers to place leased trailers at shippers’ premises so that they can load or unload when it suits them. When a trailer is ready for pickup, the Uber Freight system finds an owner-operator driver who can come to the premises, and simply hook up to the trailer and leave. And on the other end, the owner-operator simply drops off the trailer. It’s then up to the receiver to unload the trailer on their own time.
This is clearly a big advantage to the driver. And Uber takes a cut from the fee offered to cover the trailer lease and maintenance costs, and the service ofhaving it at the shipper’s warehouse when they need it.
Think of it as a bit like the U-Haul moving pods you sometimes see outside the house of someone who is moving. the family can load it as they can, and when it’s ready they can just say, “Come pick it up.” A driver comes and takes it to where it’s going, and leaves it again, in the new driveway or something. It’s up to the family to unload it, and then have it taken away. For some it works a lot better than a moving van.
Warehouses are notorious for having limited working hours that don’t conform to the needs of the truckers they’ve hired to move the load. The warehouses may have labor rules for union workers, or may have instituted various rules themselves. Failing to match rules to truckers’ needs can result in a warehouse being placed on a lwess-than-desirable list that may bring higher rates, or fewer carriers to select from. And at the extreme it may result in abandoned loads and poor relations with the carrier, customer, and warehouse, losing money and time for all.
The Uber approach is one that could work in drivers’ favor and warehouses also. It takes financial muscle, such as Uber can generate— to lease the trailers; and technology, like Uber’s— the system for good communication with drivers and drop-off points to get the scheduling right.
Uber Freight’s power-only expansion into Georgia gives owner-operators leg up Powerloop now accessible in 3 states .
Supply Chain and Logistics 