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West Coast and California Logistics Blog

Why Experience Matters for Drayage Drivers

Jul 25, 2019 / by Jerry Critchfield posted in Southern California Ports, West Coast Distribution, Port Logistics, 3PL Outsourcing, Labor issues, Drayage, Distribution, logistics in California

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Drayage is technically just another transportation service.  A driver picks up a load and then delivers it.

With port drayage, however, this simple process becomes much more complex.  Navigating seaport terminals is a tricky business on a good day and can become extremely difficult as rules change from terminal-to-terminal, or even hour-to-hour.  To navigate the ports effectively – and avoid wasting time and money – shippers need to ensure the drayage carriers they work with have a roster of experienced drayage drivers. 

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Update on the Southern California Logistics Services Market

Jun 27, 2019 / by Bob Lilja posted in Southern California Ports, West Coast Distribution, Port Logistics, Third Party Logistics, Warehouse operations, eCommerce Fulfillment, Inland Empire Warehouse, Labor issues, Drayage, rail transportation, Peak Season Shipping, Distribution, logistics in California

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When it comes to Southern California logistics, there’s never a dull moment.  The region is home to the busiest ports in the country, while the state continues to dramatically alter the way logistics gets done through an array of unique regulations.  In this article, we’ll get you up to speed on some of the recent SoCal supply chain developments during the first half of 2019.

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The Four Cs: Choosing Between Shared and Dedicated Warehouse Services

May 23, 2019 / by Arlene M. Slivka posted in West Coast Distribution, Public Warehousing, Shared Warehousing, Third Party Logistics, west coast warehouses, Warehouse operations, 3PL Outsourcing, Distribution Center

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You’re ready to outsource your warehousing operations to a 3PL that has the expertise, technology, and capabilities to handle your unique business day in and day out.  One of the first questions a 3PL will ask is if you are interested in dedicated or shared warehouse services.  Or, if you have been in a shared 3PL service contract for a while and your business has grown significantly, would it benefit you to move to a dedicated solution?  In this article, we’ll briefly explain what each of these services entails and then examine ‘the four Cs’ to consider when choosing between the two choices.

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5 Key Criteria for Evaluating a Food-Grade Carrier

May 9, 2019 / by Jerry Critchfield posted in West Coast Distribution, 3PL, Vendor Compliance, Food Supply Chain, Cold Chain Managment, Refrigerated Trucking, Food Logistics

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If your company produces or markets food and beverage products, the safety and integrity of those products mean everything to your business.  It’s ill-advised then to entrust key components of your supply chain to just any 3PL.  With product safety and integrity in mind, we examined 5 things to look for in a food warehousing provider in our previous blog post.  In this article, we’re going to move things out of the warehouse, onto the loading dock and into the trailer as we examine 5 things you should be looking for in a food-grade carrier. 

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Why Carriers are Stepping Away from Independent Truck Drivers in CA – and Why Shippers Should Care

Apr 11, 2019 / by Jerry Critchfield posted in Southern California Ports, West Coast Distribution, Port Logistics, Third Party Logistics, 3PL, Transportation Strategies, 3PL Outsourcing, Labor issues, Regional Logistics, Logistics Compliance, logistics in California

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Carriers are having a rough go of it as of late.  The truck driver shortage has left them scrambling to find new drivers to fill seats vacated by those retiring, leaving the industry, or switching jobs.  There just aren’t enough new drivers to fill the void. 

In most parts of the country, carriers can augment their company driver force with independent truck drivers (“owner-operators”) to fill in service gaps.  When it comes to logistics in California, however, this has become difficult due to regulations and landmark court decisions that alter the way drivers are classified in the state.  In this article, we’ll examine some of these and explain why the ramifications ultimately affect shippers just as much as carriers. 

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Understanding the Impact of the California Truck and Bus Regulation

Mar 28, 2019 / by Jerry Critchfield posted in West Coast Distribution, west coast warehouses, Transportation Strategies, OTR, Northern California 3PL, Distribution, logistics in California

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California may be the Golden State, but its green initiatives are the most far-reaching in the U.S.  The state has a host of agencies and regulations whose aim is to substantially reduce greenhouse gases and other emissions.  At the heart of these efforts is the California Truck and Bus Regulation, which seeks to reduce emissions from heavy trucks and buses. 

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Overweight Container Logistics at the Ports of L.A. and Long Beach

Feb 21, 2019 / by Jerry Critchfield posted in Southern California Ports, West Coast Distribution, Port Logistics, Third Party Logistics, west coast warehouses, Transload, Inland Empire Warehouse, overweight

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Shipping containers across the ocean to the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach is a big job with a big impact on your company’s supply chain.  It can also come with a big price tag, especially when you’re dealing with overweight containers.  This price tag can be greatly reduced, however, by partnering with a third-party logistics provider (3PL) that specializes in overweight container logistics. 

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Let a 3PL’s West Coast Distribution Center Help You During the Driver Shortage

Jan 24, 2019 / by Robert Deiro posted in West Coast Distribution, Public Warehousing, Third Party Logistics, 3PL, west coast warehouses, 3PL Outsourcing, Regional Logistics, Distribution Center, Distribution, Warehouse

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The three states that border the Pacific Ocean are home to 48 million people, with the states just slightly inland adding millions more to the population of the “Western U.S.”  With such a sizable chunk of the U.S. population residing in these Western states, West region distribution is a vital part of the supply chains of companies whose products originate in the Central and Eastern U.S. 

In recent years, however, multiple factors – the truck driver shortage chief among them – have made long-haul truck runs to the West Coast increasingly unreliable and inefficient.  The response of many companies has been to focus less on shipping West and, instead, store products in a West Coast distribution center operated by a third-party logistics provider (3PL).

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4 Ways to Move Drayage Freight Despite the Driver Shortage

Jan 10, 2019 / by Jerry Critchfield posted in Southern California Ports, West Coast Distribution, Third Party Logistics, west coast warehouses, Transportation Strategies, Labor issues, Drayage, Distribution

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Stop me if you’ve heard this before: we’re in the midst of a truck driver shortage.  

While we may feel that we’ve reached the saturation point in hearing – and reading – about this shortage, the related headlines aren’t going away any time soon.  That’s because the shortage isn’t going away any time soon.  In fact, we can only expect to hear more about it as the impact to the trucking industry and the nation’s economy continues to worsen. 

With logistics in California, one of the major areas where this impact is being felt is container drayage.  The shortage of drayage drivers has recently returned to the headlines as there aren’t enough drivers to handle rising volumes in advance of tariffs and an interest rate hike.  In this article, we’ll take a closer look at this shortage and what you, as an importer, can do to keep your drayage freight moving to and from the ports. 

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Collaborate and Save: Pool Distribution with Temperature-Controlled Trucking Companies

Dec 13, 2018 / by Weber Logistics posted in West Coast Distribution, Shared Warehousing, Food Supply Chain, Cold Chain Managment, Refrigerated Trucking, Pool Distribution, Freight Consolidation

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If you need to get across town fast and your choices are a taxi cab or public transit, you’d likely prefer the cab.

Times being what they are, however, the price of that cab ride might drive you to the bus stop. But what if you could share an air-conditioned cab ride with others going to the exact same place, and pay about the same as the cost of the bus ride?

Welcome to pool distribution. Direct car service for a mass transit price.

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