Have you ever gone to the supermarket and wondered why they don’t sell half a loaf of bread? While many freeze the other half, others simply throw it away. Sounds like a waste of money right? Or when was the last time you purchased a single banana at the supermarket as opposed to a bunch, only to end up tossing them in the garbage? In fact, according to the documentary, Wasted! The Story of Food Waste, an average American family throws away nearly $1,500 of food each year!
While many are asking themselves why Americans don’t start “shopping smarter,” we are asking shippers why they aren’t doing the same with their transportation planning. Purchasers continue to overpay for truckload services that, in fact, are not full truckloads. While a trailer may appear to be full, often it does one of two things: 1) either takes up the entire floor space but does not stack to the ceiling nor reach the maximum 80,000 lb weight limit or 2) maximizes the weight but does not fill the entire trailer. Sound familiar? Here are a few ways Road Scholar Transport can help.
Let’s use a recent example. A customer came to us with one of their regular moves. Their product was very light and did not take up much weight but the problem was that it could not be stacked, therefore, forcing them to pay for two trucks destined for the same location. We were able to offer this same customer a solution…utilization of our deck trailers which deploy a second floor in the trailer, allowing us to consolidate the shipments into one, preventing damage to their product, improving efficiency, and reducing their cost. Not only does the shipper benefit from this, but the carrier as well, by reducing mileage and fuel costs, increasing volume, reducing driver and fleet size, and ultimately increasing productivity.
Now let’s say that you manufacture a high end product that requires the utmost security. Perhaps it’s a half of load of food products or pharmaceuticals that cannot be exposed to sanitation concerns and therefore, you end up paying for exclusive use of the trailer to reduce any risk of tampering or theft.
Road Scholar gives our customers the assurance they need without the cost of paying for a whole trailer with our internal security gates. These gates block off a section of the trailer, keeping your freight secure while saving the shipper money and allowing the carrier to utilize the empty space.
Learn more about how LTL optimization with Road Scholar can help your company save money by clicking here, and remember, a truckload is not a truckload.
