Do you like the CSX commercial where they claim 900 tons of freight can move one mile with gallon of diesel? Well it’s true! Rail transportation, rail freight, and rail trucking is back and better than ever. It does cost less relative to trucking in some cases. Most of the product carried by rail transportation companies need to be going longer distances, weigh more, and transit time is predicable, consistent and not as important to the producer or the consumer. The additional benefit is reduced congestion on the highways caused by top 100 trucking companies and general trucking. Less congestion by freight trucking companies also means less pollutants getting into the air and causing environmental damage. With the price of oil going through the roof rail has become the new “green” transportation mode for many shippers. At Transport Systems Inc we specialize in handing rail freight, rail trucking, and rail logistics services for our clients. We offer rail transload services in major Northeast, Mid Atlantic and Chicago regions. We have nj warehouse, pa warehouse, chicago warehouse operations in place to handle transloading rail box cars onto trucks and ocean containers to better service your rail freight and trucking freight. Most rail transportation companies only offer a limited service whereas Transport Systems Inc offers an integrated service to provide the warehousing, trucking and container freight management services for our customers. Strategic warehouses located in nj, pa and il is positioned to have freight and inventory closer to your customers in the most economical mode of transport for heavy products such as lumber, steel, paper and other materials best suited for rail transport. The three keys for rail freight are – heavy product, longer distances and flexible but consistent transit time. Looking for a way to convert trucking into rail freight. Look no further than Transport Systems Inc located in Basking Ridge, NJ. They provide nj warehouse, chicago warehouse and are one of the top 100 shipping trucking companies in the Northeast.
Posts Tagged ‘shipping trucking companies’
The Green Supply Chain – Rail Freight and Rail Transportation Companies Are Back!
Friday, August 3rd, 2012Find Out More About Freight Trucking Companies
Monday, November 15th, 2010Do you feel like it is finally time for you to begin efforts in expanding your company or your business? If you run or operate one or several small to medium sized freight trucking companies, then you may already know just how important it is to always be striving for the next peak in your company. The entire principal of business is to always seek to yield more every quarter, building upon what you put in place in prior times. And if you are only thinking about what it would be like for you to grow your company in ways it has yet to grow, then there are definitely a lot of things that you have to consider before you make the very important decisions that will dictate your outcome.
When it comes to freight trucking companies, the industry is a highly competitive environment filed with lots of different names all trying to eke into each other’s territories. And because of our competitive economy this type of competition is a good thing in a way, but it also means that a person has to constantly be on their toes to make sure that the business stays as profitable as it can be. This is simply one of the most important things that you can do as someone who is in charge of a company or running a business in one capacity or another. The thing is about any industry is that there will always be competitive forces driving you to do more than you did in the past, anticipating the innovation and technology of those around you. And though this may seem like a nuisance, it actually keeps everyone working in the best way that they can and as hard as they can, which means progress, progress, progress.
So if you are considering your options and thinking about the benefits of taking on more when it comes ot your business, make sure that you do it in the best way you know how. Think about both your pros and your cons by doing your homework. Finding out all the possible information will help you make the most educated decisions that you can for yourself and for your success. Make sure that you are not wasting a single moment of your life by keeping your competitors on the edge of their toes. That way, you will be confident in your abilities to dominate your industry.
Measuring Transportation Performance for Shipping Trucking Companies
Sunday, November 14th, 2010Shippers, consultants, academia and others measure transportation in many ways. Some measure cost, some service and some a combination of both. Numbers can be crunched and ratios can be analysis-ed. How one measures freight trucking companies comes down to what your trying to accomplish. This article does not answer ones objectives but how one goes about doing it. Here are some examples.
Freight Cost
Freight cost per unit shipped: Calculated by dividing total freight costs by number of units shipped per period. Useful in businesses where units of measure are standard.
Outbound freight costs as percentage of net sales: Calculated by dividing outbound freight costs by net sales.
Inbound freight costs as percentage of purchases: Calculated by dividing inbound freight costs by purchase dollars. Must adjust according to transportation payment terms such as, prepaid or collect basis from the supplier.
Claims as % of freight costs: Divide total loss and damage claims by annual freight costs.
Freight bill accuracy: Divide the number correct freight bills by the total number of freight bills for a specific time frame. Common errors include: wrong pricing, wrong weight or cube basis.
Accessorials as percent of total freight: Divide accessorial charges by total freight cost for a specific time frame. Examples of accessorial charges include: Detention and demurrage, stop over, out-of-lane mileage, fuel surcharges, truck not used etc.
Percent of truckload capacity utilized: Divide the total weight shipped by the maximum weight capacity of the trailer. For example, a truck trailer can handle 44,000lbs legally. If the shipper had 425 shipments totaling more than 15,000,000 pounds of cargo the percentage of truck utilization is 80% compared to 100% if the total weight exceeded 18,000,000 pounds of cargo.
Performance/Service
Transit time: Measured by the number of days (or hours) from the time a shipment leaves a facility to the time it arrives at the customer. Often measured against a standard transit time quoted by the carrier for each traffic lane. Transit times can vary depending on the mode of transportation.
Truck turnaround time: This measures the average time it takes to unload a truck upon arrival at a warehouse.
On-time pickups: Divide the number of pick-ups on schedule verses the total number of pick-ups for a specific time frame.
How Shippers Relationships with Their Logistics Providers Has Changed
Tuesday, November 2nd, 2010The expansion of outsourcing trucking and warehousing by shippers continues to grow in spite of the recent economic downturn. There are a lot of reasons why this has occurred and it is much better addressed as a separate topic altogether. This topic focuses on the relationship between the shipper and the logistics provider. Our definition of a logistics provider can be a trucker, trucking company, freight trucking companies, freight broker, shipping trucking companies, third party logistics provider, a lead logistics provider, public warehouse, freight forwarder and so on. Regardless of who actually performs the service for the shipper the relationship between the shipper and the shippers provider remains the key link.
A recent phenomena has occurred because of the recession. Many shippers have discounted service in search of lower costs to remain competitive for a shrinking consumer base. Spending has either halted or reversed course. Savings is the new norm and spending has been reduced to pay down debt. This is not a rosy picture for a shipper who is responsible for lowering their costs while holding onto market share by keeping their product competitive on the shelves.
Many shipper to logistics provider relationships have been transformed into very tactical, transaction by transaction and day to day relationship. This can not be described as a strategic or growing type of relationship and it is a dangerous relationship to have when the cost of providing goods to the consumer represents at least 10% of the total cost of goods line item on their balance sheet. The relationship will just die on the vine because it becomes a maintenance type of relationships and not something set up to grow and prosper. Think about it – a good analogy is your lawn. You only do the basics such as cut and rake your lawn. How is your lawn going to look? I would assume pretty average looking. However, if you fertilize, weed and provide water it should grow into something your neighbors will take notice. Same thing with shipper and logistics provider relationships. If you can nurture that stem with the right kind of strategic or growth initiatives you come out with a much better end product when its time to pick the fruit.
Seasonal Overflow New Jersey, Philadelphia, Chicago Warehouse and Warehousing
Wednesday, October 27th, 2010Transport Systems Inc of New Jersey is a warehouse and transportation solution provider who has an integrated network of warehouse and warehousing services in the Northeast, Chicago and Mid Atlantic regions. These warehouse facilities are perfect for short term and overflow warehousing to meet the demands and needs of the retailers who stock up for the Holiday season. Many retailers, suppliers, and vendors rely on short term flexible warehouse space to complement their existing warehouse or warehousing network used year round. The benefits of using a nj warehouse, chicago warehouse or any other strategic seasonal or overflow warehouse location is the variable cost associated of using a temporary warehousing company such as Transport Systems Inc of New Jersey. This allows retailers to use aggressive inventory targets for direct-to-store deliveries in a just-in-time fashion. This is due to the fact that overflow warehousing can be strategically located in the Mid Atlantic population centers or in Transport Systems Inc’s case also in the chicago warehouse market to meet the needs of midwest customers. A network of warehouse and warehousing services also provides a benefit by not having to commit to a long term warehouse or warehousing contract. Most overflow and seasonal warehouse and warehousing contracts are thirty day terms to allow the retailer the ability to go into and out of a warehouse company’s warehouse facilities without a lot of fixed cost. Putting inventory closer to the major distribution centers in new jersey, pennsylvania, chicago markets increases the inventory turns and shortens the order cycle time to get product on store shelves. Transport Systems Inc provides freight trucking shipping services and is one of a list of shipping trucking companies that can provide an integrated warehouse and transportation services under one logistics provider. This seamless seasonal and overflow solution becomes an enabler for retailers to leverage their supply chain by using a top 100 freight trucking company incorporated with a top service oriented warehouse provider in different regions of the U.S.