NATIONAL MOTOR FREIGHT
transportationreport
How to be
a better shipper
in four easy steps
Shippers take note: There’s more to working with
a trucker than just offering up some freight.
Your business may depend on understanding that.
WHAT MAKES A GOOD SHIPPER?
That may be the most important question facing the trucking industry today.
How shippers answer it—and carrier perceptions of that response—could determine if and how freight gets moved, the
cost of moving the goods, and how effectively this large and important business is
able to function at a critical point in its
history.
What is known today has been known
for some time: Truck capacity has shrunk
by 15 to 20 percent since the onset of the
four-year freight recession in 2006, and
with the possible exception of specialized
equipment like “reefers” or flatbeds, it
isn’t returning to pre-recession levels any
year soon. About 10 percent of commer-
cial drivers are expected to leave the busi-
ness over the next several years, pushed
out by advancing age, tough new govern-
ment safety rules, and a general weariness
of the road and the short shrift their skills
often receive. Diesel fuel prices reached a
national average of $4.15 a gallon on
April 9 and could go higher. Asset infla-
tion is hitting everything from trucks to
tires, to motor oil to labor. And ever-
increasing government regulations have
added to those operating costs and sub-
tracted efficiencies from the supply chain.
