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Originally Posted by Graymist
What exactly does this type of service entail ? What are the challenges / payoffs ? What are the good companies in this sector of trucking ?
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Expedited...used to be called the "oops" service and was heavily connected to the automotive industry. Back then, expedited was booked mostly to fix a mistake that could shut down an entire supply chain...something like an assembly line on idle or the loss of a big customer. So you'd call an expedited carrier... and just get it there and worry about the bill later...because expedited is an expensive service to use.
With the growth of lean manufacturing, expedited has branched to other industries as shippers want to minimize inventory as much as possible. And also to move time-senstive stuff. For example, retailers use expedited to assure adequate supply of dresses that go in and out of style quickly. Publishing uses it to make sure deadlines are always met. Pharmacutical companies for drugs and medicine, etc...
The obvious advantages that expedited brings to shippers is worry-free, last-minute shipping and the assurance that a last-minute transportation glitch won’t wreck a company’s operations. The disadvantage, of course, is cost. Margins in the expedited market are the fattest in all of transportation, but shippers seem willing to pay those higher rates in many cases.
FedEx Custom Critical, Panther Expedited, Landstar Express America...those are the market leaders. You see those guys running around in trucks that are 90% sleeper and 10% trailer LOL. I can't tell you whether any are good to hitch your wagons to. Best mosey on over to the O/O forum and ask there. And don't be afraid to kick a post back to the top from the archives if it pertains to the topic at hand.
Expedited truckload
