Expedited Trucking for Air Cargo: What You Need to Know

With interest in sustainability, lower fuel consumption, fewer emissions, and eco-friendly practices, Earth Day 2022 has set the tone for the future of the shipping and supply industry. Today’s shippers must re-evaluate their strategies and plan to ensure all freight arrives on time while embracing more sustainable methods and services.

Expedited services trucking is continuously changing. The world of freight is growing more costly. By 2022, parcel shippers have experienced stark increases in general rates across all major carriers, including FedEx and UPS.

According to Supply Chain Dive, “A 5.9% general rate hike is common across US parcel carriers this year, higher than the 4.9% increase many put into effect in 2021. When factoring in FedEx and UPS’ adjustments to their surcharges, such as for fuel or oversized package handling, the overall increase in what shippers are paying is more than 9%.” Manufacturers who wish to keep expedited trucking recovery costs under control need to know how expedited shipping works. That includes the OTR aspect, meaning, challenges, and ways an expert services provider can reach those goals.

What Is Expedited Services Trucking for Air Cargo?

Expedited services trucking for air cargo is a time-critical service for shippers, such as manufacturers or freight forwarders responsible for their clients’ transportation needs. Expedited trucking is not always the most accessible form of transportation to remember. For many shippers, expedited shipping is a literal process of airfreight pickup after airfreight legs. However, even shipments that move between airports still have a manual, over-the-road portion of shipping to complete. These moves are where risks are most prevalent and costly. After all failures to pickup expedited freight render the whole shipment meaningless, and if the customer paid extra, they would be unforgiving.

For example, perishables sent via expedited freight, such as a shipment of holiday or summer fun chocolates, are time-sensitive and require rapid pickup to get to retail destinations on time. Failure to deliver on time would result in a net loss to the shipper, and in some cases, the manufacturer of such goods could be left holding the bag for the lost or wasted product if the carrier fails to deliver on time. In this fashion, the end-shipper or reseller is burdened with moving expedited trucking shipments and promptly getting them to their warehouse or store. However, working with a national expedited services provider alleviates that stress.

Challenges of Expedited Services Trucking

Many challenges accompany freight management, especially in expedited services trucking. Expedited trucking needs require advanced notification, complete visibility into all activities, and a plan of action for cargo pickup and freight delivery on time. Failure to maintain those standards would result in the potential loss of such goods listed above. A few other top challenges of freight management include:

• There are differences in airport pickup procedures, such as no two cargo bays, airlines, or holding centers having the same procedures and processes.
• Changes within documentation needs for international airfreight shipments are caused by changing regulations and differences between states and nations.
• Unusual schedules and last-minute changes to the air cargo pickup adjustments worsen due to driver shortages and land congestion.
• Limited freight visibility into freight arrival and departure from the airport due to improper tracking and monitoring within the airline itself.
• Shippers lack instant notifications, resulting in an inability to plan for arrivals at their warehouse or store dock and further delays.

How an Expert Recovery Provider Reduces Freight Risk

An expert provider of expedited services trucking services helps manufacturers reduce their risk through the following:

• Instant access to trucking capacity and ETA. Understanding how much capacity is available and when more will be available makes scheduling easier.
• Better communications with drivers. On-demand access to drivers allows for fast and reliable navigation through sudden disruptions.
• More vetted drivers from a singular carrier provider. Accessing a sizeable pre-vetted pool of providers allows speedier load matching and more accurate delivery ETAs.
• Handling changes in the shipment route. It’s imperative to adjust smoothly to sudden changes due to weather, traffic, construction, and other disruptions.
• Completing all customs and required documents wholly and thoroughly. Fast and easy border crossings and custom declarations speed up the entire process.

Boost Expedited Air Cargo Recovery With Carrier911

Expedited trucking comes with significant risks to manufacturers and their network partners. Air cargo pickup and delivery failures amount to additional losses throughout the downstream supply chain. Such shortcomings harm the end-user or customer and can tarnish your brand. The best way to avoid that rests with a nationwide expedited trucking services provider. Carrier 911 is that provider. Get started today, and speak to an expert to get your urgent, expedited freight to the destination on time.