In cross-border logistics, trucking is involved in the front or tail section of almost every shipment. Whether the truck transportation arrangement is reasonable or not will directly affect the timeliness and cost of the whole logistics chain. In order to give you a better understanding of the characteristics of trucking, we have written this guide, which we believe will give you a better understanding of trucking services after reading it!
What are Trucking Services
Trucking services refer to the use of trucks to transport goods. Trucking services are primarily responsible for moving goods from a factory to a warehouse, from a warehouse to a port, or hauling containers from a port to a designated location. In international transportation, trucking often takes on the role of “connecting the dots” – using trucking to connect ocean, air, or rail shipments so that your entire logistics process runs smoothly.
Common Trucking Methods
Full Truckload Transportation FTL (Full Truck Load)
If you have a large volume of goods, a large volume of goods, or you want to transport goods directly to the destination, without intermediate carpooling with others, then the full truckload transportation is your optimal choice – full truckload transportation is faster, the number of times of loading and unloading of goods is less, the risk of breakage is lower, which ensures that you can maximize the profit.
Carpooling LTL (Less Than Truck Load)
If your cargo volume is not much and you don’t need to take up the whole truck, you can choose to carpool with other customers’ cargoes, which is more cost-effective and saves you unnecessary expenses, but the trucks need to be loaded and unloaded in more stations under this mode of transportation, and the total time limit will be slower, so carpooling is more suitable for the customers who have low requirements on the time limit of cargoes.
Container Trailer (Container Trucking)
When sea container transportation is used, the truck is responsible for picking up empty containers, sending them to the factory to be loaded, and then sending the full containers back to the port. Container transportation and port processes are closely related, usually involving port reservation, inspection, return time, and other requirements. If you choose container transportation, you must check the relevant information in advance and prepare the appropriate documents.
Specialized Vehicle Transportation
If your goods have special transportation requirements, such as large equipment needs flatbed trucks, food or drugs needing cold chain trucks, or dangerous goods needing special hazardous trucks, then you need to confirm the model and qualification in advance, so as to avoid unnecessary trouble in the transportation process.
The Role of Trucking Service in Cross-Border Logistics
Truck transportation assumes a very important connecting role in cross-border logistics. It can pick up goods from factories and deliver them to warehouses or ports, as well as collect, sort, and transship between warehouses. If the customer chooses door-to-door service, trucking is responsible for the first or the last section of the transportation chain. The reason why trucking service is arranged in these two positions is that the goods need to be delivered by trucks to nodes where they can be exported (e.g., ports or airports) first, or the goods need to be delivered by trucks to the final place of receipt after the customs clearance is completed. Because trucking is responsible for connecting different modes of transportation, trucking affects the smoothness of cross-border logistics.
The cost of trucking is usually made up of several types of costs, each of which is incurred for a corresponding reason.
What Are the Components of Trucking Costs?
● Base Freight
Base freight costs are directly related to the distance the truck travels, the type of vehicle used for transportation, and the weight of the cargo. The longer the distance, the longer the vehicle will be occupied; the larger or more specialized the vehicle, the higher the operating costs; and the heavier the cargo, the higher the fuel consumption and carrying requirements of the vehicle, so the truck’s base freight rate will increase with these factors.
● Port-Related Costs
There are also port-related costs involved if your shipment needs to enter a port during transportation. For example, demurrage will be incurred when the container stays at the terminal for longer than the specified time; demurrage will be incurred when empty or full containers are not returned in accordance with the specified time; inspection fees will be incurred when the goods are sampled; in addition, the terminal itself will also charge a certain amount of operating costs. Because the port has clear regulations on the duration of stay and operation of containers, the excess will increase the port’s management costs.
● Surcharges
Surcharges usually appear in some special cases, such as drivers waiting too long due to loading and unloading delays, or bridge tolls and highway tolls need to be paid on the transportation route. Additional regional surcharges may also be incurred if the destination is remote and road conditions are complicated.
Advantages of Trucking Services
Trucking costs are determined by a combination of base costs and additional costs in real-world situations, and the exact amount will vary depending on the route and operational requirements.
High Flexibility
Trucking vehicles can adjust their routes according to the actual situation and can enter factories or warehouses directly for loading, which is more important for companies that need to accurately articulate their production or shipment schedules.
Wide Range of Applications
Most common goods can be transported by truck, except for specific goods that require specialized vehicles.
Strong Connectivity
Whether your goods are to be transported by sea, air, or rail, trucks can usually take care of delivering them to the corresponding ports or stations, realizing front-end or tail-end connectivity.
Fast Response
When it comes to dispatching, truck transportation usually has a fast response time. As long as the vehicle resources are sufficient, the pickup can be arranged in a short time, so it is more suitable for the goods with time-sensitive requirements.
Supporting Door-to-Door Service
If customers need it, trucks can not only take care of pickup and delivery, but also handle some simple additional operations, such as consolidation, pooling, labeling, or short-term turnaround, which is convenient for customers to consolidate their goods for re-shipping.
These features make trucking one of the most basic and commonly used modes in cross-border logistics.
Common Risks in Trucking Services and How to Deal with Them
During trucking services, common risks focus on timeliness, cost, and cargo status. Different risks arise for different reasons and are handled differently accordingly.
Cargo Delays
Cargo may be delayed due to road conditions, weather changes, or port congestion. Such factors can have a direct impact on the transportation plan if sufficient time is not allowed. To reduce the likelihood of your shipment being delayed, you need to schedule pickup or loading appointments in advance and rationalize departure slots. At the same time, real-time viewing of vehicle locations through the fleet allows for more timely adjustments to subsequent arrangements.
Port Demurrage or Demurrage
These charges are usually incurred when a container is held up at a port or is not returned on time. In order to avoid demurrage charges, a more common practice is to plan for loading and pickup times to avoid leaving containers at the port for too long. If overtime is unavoidable, the freight forwarder can communicate with the port to see if a certain amount of grace can be secured.
Cargo Breakage
Cargo breakage is mostly related to poor packaging or improper handling during loading and unloading. In order to minimize this situation, you need to check in advance whether the packaging of the goods can withstand the bumps and stacks of truck transportation, and it is also recommended that you buy insurance in order to get compensation in case of problems.
Inspection Leads to Time-Sensitive Shipments
If a shipment is subject to random inspection at a port or customs, the time-sensitive nature of the shipment can also be affected. Inspection cannot be completely avoided, but additional delays due to incomplete information or miscommunication can be minimized by preparing complete documentation, confirming cargo information in advance, and choosing a forwarder who is familiar with the inspection process.
Overall, these risks can be minimized through planning and timely communication and are not uncontrollable problems.
FAQ
How Do You Calculate the Cost of Trucking Services?
The cost of trucking is usually not fixed, but is based on several practical factors. The main factors affecting the cost include the distance to be traveled, the type of vehicle to be used, and the weight of the cargo. If the transportation route requires access to a port, there will also be port-related costs involved, so this will also be factored into the final quote.
Final Thought
Although trucking seems to be the most basic link in the entire logistics chain, it plays a key role in scheduling, cost control, and cross-modal connectivity. Choose Bansar, and we will provide you with the most professional and efficient trucking services.
