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A shortage of drivers can reduce a carrier’s shipping capacity.

Businesses that wish to have their goods delivered via freight carriers should understand the different factors that affect shipping costs. One of these is shipping capacity.  It is vital to understand a carrier’s shipping capacity, as it can impact the manner in which you ship your goods.

Let’s examine four factors that determine a shipping capacity.

1.Number of Drivers

When one thinks of the term “shipping capacity” in relation to truck shipping, you may think of the actual storage space in the truck’s trailer portion. However, shipping capacity can also refer to how much space is available in multiple trucks or even a full fleet.

The number of trucks alone doesn’t determine a freight carrier’s shipping capacity, as the number of drivers also plays a key role. A freight carrier may have a dozen trucks in their fleet, but only four or five drivers available at any given moment. This means driver availability is a major limiting factor in truck capacity.

2.Local Laws and Regulations

Freight carriers must also abide by local laws and regulations, many of which place restrictions on their operations. Many of these restrictions were put in place to combat overly long working hours that lead to driver fatigue.

In other cases, travel time restrictions exist to alleviate traffic jams in densely populated areas. Unfortunately, there is no way to legally get around these laws and regulations, as licensed carrier trucks are fitted with electronic logging devices that record engine status, driving hours, duty status, and the number of miles the truck has driven.

3.Demand from Businesses

All freight carriers have a limited shipping capacity at the end of the day. Unfortunately, this means that they may not be able to meet the immense demand from different businesses.

Freight carriers are in especially high demand in 2021 due to the current boom in the E-commerce industry. E-commerce shipments differ from traditional brick and mortar store shipments because they tend to be small and more individualized than the latter.  This places additional strain on shipping networks and causes many carriers to struggle with the demand.

4.Weather

Another important factor that can affect shipping capacity is weather. Severe weather can shut down roads and force carriers to halt their operations. This limits their freight capacity, and causes delays in the shipping process. There is no way to avoid bad weather, but some freight carriers can anticipate severe weather events beforehand and prepare accordingly.

Why Choose Action Transport Inc?

Finding a freight carrier who can meet your shipping needs can be a challenge due to limited shipping capacity. At Action Transport Inc, we can connect you with reliable carriers in our network and help arrange freight shipping to cover your needs. Please get in touch with us to learn more about our freight broker services.