Intermodal , Drayage and Chassis
Special Report
distribution center , direct to warehouse , a drop yard , a reload ?”
Additional relationships are always beneficial , said Paul Brashier , vice president of global supply chain at 3PL ITS Logistics , which specializes in drayage . For instance , he said that a shipper may add a 3PL not just to diversify its drayage options , but to add a specialized service , such as warehousing or domestic truckload , in addition to drayage . “ Depending on the complexity of a shipper ’ s supply chain , it is usually best to delineate the spend by the mode or services supplied ,” he said . “ If a shipper is going to bring on multiple partners , it is best to ensure that they add a mode or service diversity to your portfolio .” Kroul agreed . “ That is why you have seen large national carriers add transload , container yards , drop yards and warehouses in specific areas ,” he said . “ The goal is to lure large national enterprise accounts that need all of those services . Some large national carriers , like IMC and RoadOne , have done a great job of that .” needs to surge up to 100 a week during certain times of the year , that could be challenging ,” he said . “ As long as freight is balanced , having two carriers evenly split , each would need to surge from 15 to 50 , instead of 30 to 100 , containers for that week . Having a smaller volume of surge is easier for an asset-based carrier to absorb .”
Size matters
Ian Weiland , chief operating officer at Southern California drayage provider Junction Collaborative Transports , said the size of the asset-based carrier factors into these decisions , as well . Junction operates more than 350 trucks , so Weiland said the carrier can “ easily commit to a 2,500- TEU to 4,000-TEU annual account on the fly , and it does not cause an operational disaster .”
For a smaller dray carrier , one with about 10 trucks , a comfortable volume commitment level would be about 300 TEUs to 500 TEUs per year .
A smaller drayage carrier with about 10 trucks can commit to hauling 300 to 500 TEUs annually . Ceri Breeze / Shutterstock . com
“ Many in the drayage industry try to sell themselves or their services as if they are larger than they actually are .”
But even large shippers are not all alike in their usage of national drayage providers with broad service capabilities .
“ Many like to prioritize the local carriers , or the brokers with the relationships with the local carriers , and then work with a broker like us and a large national carrier ,” Kroul said .
Kidd said a proliferation of transportation procurement tools , which simplify the bidding process for shippers , is allowing importers that previously single-sourced to dabble in dual sourcing .
“ This enables shippers to try out a new carrier in a market , putting them at a smaller percentage — around 20 % of their volume through a gateway — and earning their way into the network ,” he said .
Kidd ultimately recommends shippers with a significant enough threshold of volume , even if inconsistent , to dual source because it minimizes the vulnerability to both shippers and their capacity providers .
“ If one dray carrier has 30 containers a week and then
“ Many in the drayage industry try to sell themselves or their services as if they are larger than they actually are ,” Weiland said . “ I assume it has to do with appealing to a larger account .”
Once a small carrier lands a large account , it then has to figure out how to provide the capacity , Weiland said . If the account leaves , that carrier is back to square one , sometimes with excess trucks that it cannot immediately fill .
As a local operator , Weiland also has to consider how Junction fits into a larger framework where its customers have volume moving through gateways outside of Southern California . Junction could theoretically be the sole provider in Southern California , but not the sole provider nationwide , so some of its customers may use a national dray carrier for some volume in its territory in service of maintaining a strong relationship with the national carrier .
“ It really depends on the volume per gateway ,” Weiland said . “ We have a few customers where we are the only carrier at 300-plus containers per month . We have some where we are the primary , but at around 50 % of their total volume .”
Diversification is primarily about giving shippers options , and a part of that is maintaining communication with both asset-based and broker partners , sources emphasized .
“ We have a customer who has not given us a load in almost a year when we used to do a ton with them because the market for their particular commodity went south ,” Kroul said . “ They had to give more to their primary carrier , but they talked to us every week . And sure enough , two weeks ago , they sent more than 50 loads . Relationships matter .”
email : eric . johnson @ spglobal . com
14 Journal of Commerce | February 3 , 2025 www . joc . com