One of the long-standing challenges in the industry has been the difficulties that carriers and drivers can sometimes face with loading and unloading facilities and its impact on freight being delivered on time safely. There are many issues at play when these instances occur, some of which are outside the control of the carrier or driver. Shippers are a critical part of the solution as we work to create a safer and more efficient supply chain.
Maximizing the driver’s time allows everyone to win. It moves a shipper’s freight more efficiently, it allows the carrier to optimally serve its customer, and allows the driver to move the freight safely and productively. Unfortunately, when problems occur in the transportation of freight, whether delays at facilities, drivers violating their hours of service, violations for improperly loaded and secured freight, or worse case, a crash because a driver was trying to make up time – the accountability falls to the driver and the carrier. And, to compound the problem, if the freight ultimately does not get delivered on time, it’s often the carrier and driver that are penalized — AGAIN.
Sadly, this is not a new problem. Many carriers are reluctant to raise this issue with their customers for fear that it may sour the relationship and endanger the business relationship. Carriers also justifiably worry that these poor experiences — if bad enough and sustained — will impact driver retention. Despite this, some shippers continue to disrespect their transportation providers and set them up for failure. They don’t realize that their actions (or inactions) are not just hurting their providers, but they are also hurting themselves.
Several years ago, during the pandemic the “Shipper of Choice” concept was generating traction in the industry. Carriers, brokers and drivers collaborated on what their ideal hopes and expectations were for shippers and at their facilities and FreightWaves started handing out the Shipper of Choice Award annually, which recognizes the manufacturers, distributors and retailers who do the best job of keeping the American economy moving by fighting driver detention, providing accessible facilities, and understanding what it takes to remove inefficiencies from the supply chain. While this concept still gets discussed from time to time, it has yet to be mainstreamed. To be a true partnership, shippers need to collaborate and share responsibility in the ups and downs of moving goods with their transportation providers.
As our government contemplates reauthorization of its transportation program in 2025, we encourage elected officials to consider creating more accountability on shippers in the government’s regulatory and enforcement regime. This means holding them accountable for poor load securement on sealed loads, for exorbitant delays and for failing to provide reasonable accommodations, like bathroom facilities for our drivers. Shippers are an important element to safety and efficiency in the supply chain, and they need more skin in the game.