Rebounding economy puts squeeze on transportation providers
For anyone in the transportation industry – and Syfan Logistics is certainly no exception – the question on everyone’s mind so far this year is, “What’s happening?”
I have been involved in this business for more than half my life. I have seen plenty of economic cycles, both good and bad. But I honestly have never seen the scales so heavily tilted with a capacity shortage that is far exceeded by the number of shipments available. In short, we are seeing demand not only outstrip supply – it is blowing away the doors, the floors, the roof and everything down to the kitchen sink.
Be careful what you wish for
All of this swing in capacity shortage comes on the heels of the worst recession in modern memory. Maybe that’s why the shift is so shocking to our collective system. For too long, we have been hunkering down under the double whammy of a slow economy and increased government regulations on our drivers. For many independents and small fleets, the pressure was too much, causing them to exit the business.
By the time manufacturing began heating up again last year, the carrier pool was reduced by nearly a third. This good news-bad news scenario has created big challenges for shippers and logistics providers like our company. In addition, this winter’s snow storms throughout the United States further disrupted shipping lanes.
Rising up to the challenge
So what are we to do? At Syfan Logistics, we are facing up to these challenges one day at a time.
We are:
•Strengthening our carrier team and adding new partners.
•Adding trucks to our own fleet.
•Continuing to enhance our technology to better match loads while keeping our customers informed every step of the way, 24-7.
•Hiring more carrier sales and support personnel, primarily in our Syfan Expedited division.
In the short term, we anticipate many more challenges with rising rates and demanding delivery schedules. Therefore, we are up to the task, we are poised for growth, and we thank our shippers and carriers for our growth relationship!
Finally, no matter how impossible the odds, Syfan Logistics will continue to stick with our “Never Say No” policy. Even when one road is blocked, we’ll look for another way around whatever problem comes our way.
You can be sure of that.