AMTR recently awarded two scholarships to students at the University of Central Arkansas (UCA). Alyssa Traylor was awarded the Supply Chain scholarship, and Blake DeLuca the Management Information System (MIS) scholarship. AMTR is proud to partner with UCA in recognizing these outstanding scholars. We wish them continued success in their educational endeavors!
The Association of American Railroads (AAR) recently announced that Ian Jefferies will succeed longtime president, Edward Hamberger, upon his retirement. Jefferies is currently the organization’s Sr. VP of government affairs and senior policy advisor in Washington. During his five years at AAR, Jefferies has been an instrumental advocate regarding the STB Reauthorization Act and tank car safety enhancements, while defeating efforts to increase truck size and weight limits. His prior experience in government policy will also greatly enhance his success as he leads the AAR into the future.
Union Pacific Railroad is the latest Class I to adopt precision scheduled railroad service with its Unified Plan 2020. Lance Fritz, UP CEO, comments, “We are not meeting customer expectations. Unified Plan 2020 is our path forward to secure our place as the industry leader in safety, service and financial performance.” The plan’s key principles include shifting the focus of operations from moving trains to moving cars, working to minimize operational inefficiencies, and balancing/blending train services and movements to improve the utilization of crews and rail assets. Implementation of this new plan will begin on UP’s eastern North/South corridor between Wisconsin and Texas and is projected to be system-wide by 2020.
The cold weather and holiday shipping season are upon us and so, too, are the annual rate hikes for some accessorial and packaging fees. During FedEx Parcel’s peak holiday shipping period, shippers can expect additional handling surcharges of $3.20/package, unauthorized package charges of $150/package, and oversize charges of $27.50/package. While UPS will be charging a residential peak surcharge of $0.28/package for ground shipments, large packages will be subject to a surcharge of $26.20/package and over maximum limits packages will be subject to a surcharge of $165/package. Shippers should also look out for freeze protect fees. Carriers typically offer freeze protect service between October and April.
AMTR rail freight audits are different. We take the time to get to know our clients and their shipping routines. We dig deep into the details of the products shipped, the origin, destination, consignee, carrier…even the specific railcars used to move the freight. We approach every move with curiosity, asking questions such as: “What did this car actually do?”, “Is the rate correct?”, “Is the rate being charged reasonable?” We also ask questions about what is missing from the freight data. Even the best freight payables departments miss what AMTR audit experts can quickly identify, such as high volume lanes missing from contracts rates, contract rates that appear to be unused, and even whole classes of freight bills such as empty car movements, accessorials, and manual payments that are absent from the audit process. Let AMTR’s freight audit expertise add depth to your transportation knowledge and return overcharge monies to your bottom line.
Detention charges are an increasing factor in truck freight costs. The ELD implementation of last year allows carriers to be even more precise at recording and billing for detention time. As such, it is important to understand detention charges and their application. Detention charges can be identified in customer-specific tariff or contract pricing, a carrier’s public rules tariff or within a negotiated quote. It is common for truckload carriers to charge a flat rate per hour after the first two hours of detention. For LTL carriers, the practice varies. The start time of detention may depend on the size of the shipment, and charges will often be applied in 15 minute increments afterward. Shippers should be curious about the impacts of detention. Reducing detention time requires working with carriers, loading dock personnel, and receiving customers. Reducing detention costs requires an understanding of how those charges are applied and billed. AMTR truck freight auditors are experts in detention charges—let us help ensure your charges are correct!
Curiosity is a well-researched human attribute that is getting a lot of attention in business circles lately. The Oxford Dictionary defines curiosity as “a strong desire to know or learn something.” The most recent issue of Harvard Business Review featured a sequence of articles on the topic. One of those articles focused on the benefits of hiring curious employees, which is especially relevant for our company and our business of auditing. We look for this trait in future employees and have found, similar to what is discussed in research, that our most successful auditors are curious by nature. At AMTR, curiosity fuels our audits. This human trait, combined with audit skill and knowledge makes SMART Auditing® possible. Our inquisitive auditors are always on the lookout for freight cost errors and are eager to investigate the complex scenarios that generate them. Not only does this allow for overcharges to be returned to our clients, but also lessons about what issues caused the errors in the first place. Don’t be satisfied with automated audit solutions that can only address the simplest of situations—be curious about what AMTR auditors can do for you!
AMTR is excited to announce that one of our own, Kelly Kirkpatrick-Lee, has been awarded a Southwest Association of Rail Shippers 2018 George J. Elking, Jr. Scholarship. This is her second time to be awarded this scholarship. She has worked at AMTR for eleven years and currently serves as the Assistant Manager of the Truck Audits Team. Never one to give up, Kelly has pursued a Bachelors in Business Management, often carrying a full academic load while working full-time. She will graduate December 2018 from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. Her academic pursuits embody our company core value of “seek knowledge always”; we are so proud of her. Congratulations to Kelly!
Capacity crunch, rising rates, disruptors and changing behaviors have been noted as possible 2018 trucking industry game-changers, according to Forbes. It is evident that there are some cause and effect relationships between these trends.
The capacity crunch of 2018 has been a popular topic across recent transportation literature, webinars and conferences. The reasons for the crunch can be contributed to several different factors and continues to be a concern for shippers.
Van, flatbed and reefer spot market rates were on the rise in 2017 and have continued upward in 2018. Contract rates have also been on the rise since mid-2017, though at a steadier pace. These rate increases have been attributed to the industry preparing itself for both tight capacity and the decline in driver availability. The combination of rising rates and diesel prices means certain freight bill increases.
Regulatory changes and new technologies are often disruptors in the trucking industry. Some recent regulatory disruptors include hours-of-service changes, ELD implementation, new state-implemented toll charges that are applicable to cargo-carrying vehicles, implementation of the Food Modernization Safety Act (2016), and the recognition of smart contracts as legal instruments in a few states. Technologies that have been identified as disruptors include IoT devices used for monitoring and tracking, new software that allows easier contracting for freight, and even new ‘sharing’ apps, such as those offered by Uber Freight, Convoy and Amazon, that allow a quick connection between available carrier capacity and
ready-to-ship freight.
These trends are all converging to drive a fourth trend—changing behaviors. As rates have steadily increased, carriers have become more selective in choosing shippers with whom they work. Alternatively, shippers are working hard to increase their appeal to carriers by reducing pickup and delivery delays, improving treatment of drivers, and paying freight invoices in a more timely manner.
No matter the trend, carriers want to operate in a safe environment, shippers want freight delivered on time, and all parties want to be paid or billed correctly. AMTR helps shippers navigate industry changes, whatever they may be, by ensuring freight overcharges are not an unintended consequence.
In order to infuse new knowledge, talents and perspectives into our growing business, AMTR has worked over the past year to create a thriving internship program. Bringing onboard interns with varied educational backgrounds and professional experiences has allowed us to slingshot forward on a number of internal projects and accomplish strategic goals much more quickly and creatively than ever expected. As for the benefits for interns, we are working to ensure a fun, part-time job, and a great learning experience. AMTR is proud to announce this year’s interns who have helped us to accomplish so much!
Pictured from left to right:
CJ Summerville—Univ. of Central Arkansas—Supply Chain Major
Alyssa Traylor—Univ. of Central Arkansas—Supply Chain Major
Peter Israsena—Univ. of Arkansas Little Rock—Comp. Sci. Major
Brisa Bartczak—Univ. of Arkansas Fayetteville—Engineering Major
