Create a Robust Routing Guide at the Completion of a Freight Bid

5 months ago

After the final round of freight bids have been submitted and analyzed, it is time to prepare a routing guide. This important document contains the preferred carriers by mode, by lane, and their approved rates. The contents of a routing guide can be entered into a shipper’s TMS system to guide the carrier selection process. […]

How Frequently Should a Company Conduct a Freight Bid?

6 months ago

This is one of the most frequently asked questions we receive from our shipper clients. Here is our perspective. The Forces that Shape our Views on this Subject For 20 years, during my early years in the transportation industry, I led asset-based carriers and non-asset-based freight broker organizations. My colleagues and I were on the […]

Conducting a Freight Bid – Should We Do It Ourselves or Seek Outside Help?

7 months ago

As outlined in previous blogs, most companies conduct a freight bid to achieve certain objectives. These may include saving money on shipping costs, upgrading the quality of their carriers, and/or improving service. Success can be measured in terms of a reduction in freight expenses, higher on-time service, greater customer satisfaction, or other metrics. To achieve […]

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This may be a Pivot Point for the Intermodal Business

7 years ago

Periodically, business conditions change. These changes can have positive or negative effects on certain sectors of the freight transportation industry. Intermodal transportation uses at least two modes of transportation (i.e. road, rail) to move freight. The intermodal option works best when the rail service provider has terminals within a fifty-mile radius of the origin and […]

Understanding the Canadian Freight Market – Part 4 – Cross-Border Freight Transportation

8 years ago

The last blog in this series examined road and rail transportation within Canada; this blog will focus cross-border freight transportation. Please note that there are a set of processes and procedures (http://www.dantranscon.com/index.php/blog?view=entry&id=241 ) that must be followed in order to move goods successfully between the United States and Canada. Please refer to the second blog […]

Understanding the Canadian Freight Market – Part 3 – Intra-Canada Freight Transportation

8 years ago

This blog will focus on road and rail transportation within Canada; the next blog will look at cross-border freight transportation. Rail Transportation As outlined in the first blog in this series, Canada is large land mass with limited population. As a result, Canada’s two class 1 railways, along with the country’s short line carriers, play […]

Crafting an Effective Intermodal Utilization Strategy

9 years ago

Back in the 90s, I had the privilege of leading Canada’s largest Intermodal Marketing Company. Since that time, I have been a big supporter of this service. In our consulting work with shippers, we are often struck by the fact that this service remains undervalued and underutilized. The purpose of this blog is to challenge […]

Best Practices in Intermodal Transportation

11 years ago

The term intermodal refers to moving a container or trailer by more than one mode of transportation—generally truck plus rail, ocean plus rail, ocean plus truck, or all three modes. Some recent freight industry trends—such as long-haul trucking capacity shortages, higher fuel costs, and a drive to reduce environmental impact—have sparked new interest in intermodal, […]

What were the Biggest Freight Transportation Stories of 2013? / What will be the Top Trends in 2014?

11 years ago

At the end of each year, I like to take stock of the major freight transportation stories of the past twelve months and look ahead to the trends that will drive the industry in the coming year. The two blogs that I write are prepared from my perspective as a consultant to shippers and carriers. […]

CN Rail and CP Rail – Canada’s two “Precision” Railroads set to Power its Economy

12 years ago

Pierre Berton, the late, famous Canadian author noted in his book, “The Last Spike,” that CP Rail has held a respected place in the country’s history. He wrote that “no other private company, with the single exception of Hudson’s Bay Company, has had such an influence on the destinies of the nation.” For most of […]