If you’re a shipper or freight forwarder, the success of your business hinges on partnering with a suitable PTL carrier. A PTL transport carrier can break or improve your business. For example, delayed deliveries due to the carrier’s inefficiencies can impact your customers or processes.
As such, you need to pick a reliable shipping carrier for your business, and here are the key factors to consider:
Shipping Coverage
Working with a carrier that ships to your specific destinations is much easier, especially with today’s capacity shortage. Juggling between different carriers can be costly, time-consuming, and hectic. So, it’s advisable to list your destinations and inquire if the carrier services the areas.
Bear in mind that most small local carriers operate regionally, and this might be limiting if you need national or interstate services. Choosing such a service also means your cargo will likely change hands often before reaching its destination.
Instead, you can streamline your shipping processes and ensure better delivery times for your clients by identifying a carrier that ships to all your destinations. Take the time to review the coverage area of potential carriers to ensure they’re capable of meeting your needs.
Tracking Capability
You need to know the status and location of your shipment, especially when shipping long distance or overseas. Tracking allows you to keep track of the whereabouts of your shipment, allowing you to update your customers as needed.
You can also share the tracking code with your clients, and this plays a role in improving the overall customer experience. It also makes it easy to calculate the transit time, allowing you to make rough estimates of delivery times.
So, make sure you pick a carrier that offers GPS tracking capability and detailed information on shipment location to give your clients peace of mind and keep them updated. Better visibility into your shipments helps in making predictions and ensuring efficiency.
Types of Products
Before picking a carrier, take the time to assess your products and the kind of products the carrier specializes in. Will your product need special packaging and handling? Do they have temperature requirements?
For example, cold and frozen food needs insulated containers, gel packs, or refrigerants like dry ice, while baked goods need airtight wrapping. If you have fragile or delicate items, they should be able to provide air-cellular material or other cushioning material.
Be sure to work with a carrier that can accommodate your types of products, packaging needs, and handling preferences. This is particularly important if you deal in delicate or refrigerated products — you want to minimize or prevent damage to your shipment.
Quality of Service
It’s essential to understand the carrier’s quality of service. Do they have many complaints or a history of shipment damage or loss? How do they handle customer issues? What solutions do they offer to deliver the right experience?
Do a background check on the carrier and use customer review sites, like Trustpilot, to check their reviews. Ask questions about everything, including insurance, packaging, and truck options. You can even call to ask questions and gauge how responsive and friendly they’re.
More importantly, the company should offer a variety of services to be able to handle all your needs. For example, your freight might need a small truck for deliveries or a tailgate during loading. The company should be able to offer such special handling services.
Freight Rates
While it’s easy to opt for the cheapest carrier, it’s not always the best option. Comparing shipping costs is advisable, but pick the most reasonable choice that offers the best rates for your desired capacity.
Remember that some costs depend on market dynamics and other external factors, such as fuel and tolls. Rates for vans, trucks, flatbeds, and reefers are different, and they depend on distance, shipment weight, freight classification, and shipment density.
Trucking freight rates are calculated per mile, so it’s vital to determine the distance between the shipment origin and destination. Factors like fuel, auto maintenance, insurance, and tolls also affect the cost per mile. For instance, the rate for vans varies from $2.30 – 2.86 per mile.
Technical Capabilities
In today’s advanced world, nearly every process and decision is driven by technology. As such, it’s essential to pick a carrier that leverages tech solutions like dynamic routing, temperature tracking, and driver scorecards to offer services and ensure the effective movement of goods.
For example, a carrier using a solution like Cargobot Pool can avoid cross-decking, transit delays, unnecessary freight overhandling, and inefficient shipment manipulation. Whether you’re moving fresh or dry cargo, you can ensure optimized and streamlined processes.
Carriers using tech solutions will likely avoid delays and ensure predictable delivery times. For example, freight optimization software can offer better routing, scheduling, and monitoring insights. Some also feature prescriptive analytics capabilities to minimize waste and streamline processes.
Safety
As a shipper or freight forwarder, the safety of your shipment is essential. Even though a carrier might have adequate insurance, it’s vital to look at the company’s safety history and accident rates. The company’s accident rate shouldn’t be higher than the industry average.
Ensure the company uses electronic logging devices (ELDs) that record the vehicle and driver’s information. Be sure to ask about their DOT Safety Rating, which can be Satisfactory, Conditional, or Unsatisfactory.
You can also use the company's name, Motor Carrier (MC) Number, or USDOT number to perform a safety search online on FMCSA websites like DataQs, Safety Measurement System (SMS), or the SAFER System.
Carrier Type
You have two options when picking a shipping carrier: asset-based and non-asset-based. Asset-based carriers own their equipment, like trucks and tools, whereas non-asset-based carriers don’t own the equipment used in trucking.
Most people opt for asset-based carriers because they offer full services without spreading overhead costs to their clients. As such, their services are likely to be affordable. On the other hand, non-asset-based carriers might be a great option due to their flexible rates.
Determining the best carrier between the two depends on your products. For example, asset-based carriers are ideal if you need additional services like warehousing and packing. For cross-border shipping, non-asset-based carriers are great because of their rates.
Reliability and Freight Speeds
If your business depends on timely delivery or shipment arrival, picking a carrier that can meet your time requirements is vital. Reliability is crucial, especially when shipping raw materials, fresh products, or production parts.
Remember that freight delays lead to product damage or spoilage, missed inspection windows, and disrupted production processes. Consequently, this can hurt your reputation as a shipper or even deny you future business opportunities.
Instead, choose a PTL carrier that will offer transparent communication about your shipment and ensure optimal freight speeds for timely deliveries or arrivals. This way, you can grow your business, optimize your processes, and meet customer expectations.
