Capacity is the biggest issue facing shippers, third-party logistics companies and carriers. And the challenges associated with capacity shortages will not soon be fixed.
— Truck capacity is constrained by a lack of drivers. Changing this factor will take quite some time. Drivers have a maximum of 70 hours of duty time each week. When drivers are delayed by slow loading or unloading, or delayed on overcrowded roads, they lose duty time, and we all lose capacity. Rules such as electronic logging devices will ensure compliance with the duty requirements, but will likely also cause more drivers to seek other employment. Increasingly burdensome regulations have begun shutting the door to much-needed new entrants, accelerating driver loss. How do we fix this? We need to attract drivers into the market by making it a better job, treating drivers better, paying more, regulating less and investing in infrastructure to ease overcrowding, even if it means increasing the fuel tax.
— Rail capacity is constrained by changing uses. The existing rail network was designed for moving coal, chemicals, plastics and agricultural commodities. The inter-connected intermodal network was designed to move freight between major city pairs. Safety and work rules make it difficult for the railroads to move crews and equipment from underutilized lines to lines in higher demand. With more oil moving on trains rather than in pipelines, and the likelihood that those oil trains will move at slower speeds to improve safety, the rail network can only absorb so much redirected truck freight.
With no easy answers in sight, shippers and 3PLs need to do whatever they can to be more attractive to existing capacity. Shippers need to load and unload carriers quickly and treat the drivers as they would any rare commodity. Shippers should also expand their core-carrier network to include 3PLs that can source smaller quality carriers. Shippers and 3PLs will need to pay more to attract and keep capacity.
Robert A. Voltmann, President and CEO, Transportation Intermediaries Association