Carriers Draw the Line With Shippers

July 11, 2000 9:20 AM, EDT

Three years ago, Richard E. Durst, president of Arctic Express in Hilliard, Ohio, sat down and calculated the cost of exchanging pallets with shippers.

	Michael James - Transport Topics
	Loading and unloading problems are especially severe in the refrigerated segment because of the nature of the products hauled and the attitude many shippers and carriers have developed over the years.

“We were spending nearly 1% of gross revenue in just the tangible cost of pallet exchange,” he said. In addition, he figured the company was spending half as much on out-of-route miles, missed appointments and driver dissatisfaction.

His solution? Eliminate pallet exchanges.

“We made a corporate decision not to do that anymore,” he said.

At the time, Arctic had 36 customers doing pallet exchange, a process that requires truck drivers to deliver an equal number of usable pallets for each palletized load they take from a shipper’s dock. The task often requires drivers to pick up pallets before loading and sometimes take back used pallets from loading docks. In addition to taking time, pallets take up trailer space that could be used for hauling freight.

“I went to everyone,” Durst said after making the decision, “and 31 basically let us off the hook.”

For the full story, see the July 10 print edition of Transport Topics. Subscribe today.