What Is Freight Forwarding and How It Benefits From Street Turns
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Numerous freight market forecasts call for a continued downturn in 2023. However, the global freight forwarding market is expected to increase and return to pre-pandemic levels, reports SupplyChainBrain. The rebalancing will precipitate new mergers and acquisitions (M&As) throughout the industry, which will further to restore demand for freight forwarding services and asset-based drayage. Still, many underestimate the value of freight forwarding. What is freight forwarding, and what does it have to do with a street turn interchange? Let’s take a closer look at what freight forwarding is and how working with a street turn interchange can help forwarders thrive amid market instability.

What Is Freight Forwarding?

Freight forwarding is an intermediary process between the cargo owner or the company that moves the shipment and the final destination. Forwarders rely on networking contacts and contracts to keep transportation cost-effective and perform both buy and sell functions. Further, forwarders tend to have significant investments in technologies, platforms, and partnerships that help them reduce overhead and streamline operations. The need for cost control is absolute, and for today’s freight forwarders, finding the low-hanging fruit is crucial to surviving this increased era of M&As. Part of that is working with asset-based service providers that develop and leverage next-generation technologies.

For example, Supra is continuing to build new technologies to support asset management and enable carriers of all sizes to participate and stay competitive. As a leader in drayage in San Pedro Bay Complex area, Supra would be an ideal candidate for freight forwarders that want more technology and efficiency.

Now, let’s take the conversation a step further. If freight forwarders can tap the potential to technology, including a street turn interchange, how does that translate into better options for the forwarder?

Increased Fuel Efficiency

Whether handling a Maersk street turn or a CMA street turn, trucking companies and shippers need to utilize every mile on the road fully. The street turn definition is relatively simple. Running trucks without a container and only relying on a fixed network results in lost opportunities for efficiency.

Rather than making endless trips between two points to leave containers at importers or exporters, a street turn interchange means that each trip can continue to pick up another container from an exporter and take it to the next destination or back to the port. This street turn definition is the ultimate value and maximum use of assets possible with the Supra street turn interchange, 121 Bermuda.

Increased Import/Export Throughput

All importers and exporters operate on time-sensitive schedules, and if delays occur, it contributes to increased delays further down the supply chain. Combining imports and exports into a single truck move that involves three parties, instead of relying on two separate trucks to move between the three, eliminates waste and maximizes asset utilization. This is a vital resource for avoiding the buildup of empty containers in third-party yards and docks.

Since the containers are actively moving throughout the street turn interchange, there’s an inherent opportunity to manage costs better. Further, higher container velocity makes it easier to manage operations by reducing the administrative work that goes into paying carriers while also cutting the number of drivers needed in half.

Regulatory Compliance

Freight forwarders love technology, but technology can be confusing. That combined with the growing list of regulations and requirements for operating drayage services and cross-docking capabilities. Forwarders may serve as the importer or exporter of record and handle all customs management needs. These are regulation-intense processes, and each step is almost universally scrutinized. However, using technology to speed up the process and track movements while reducing waste, will go a long way to enabling regulatory compliance. That’s also an important fact as sustainability grows more critical to the cross-global trade network.

Meanwhile, customers want continuous contract flexibility and absolute visibility into every activity. As a result, the technology behind a forwarder’s use of a street turn interchange must be easy-to-navigate and simple to deploy. Such flexibility allows forwarders to scale operations, when necessary, rebalance their networks, and keep freight moving smoothly.

Streamline Freight Forwarding With Supra’s Street Turn Interchange

Freight forwarding will face plenty of challenges in 2023, and rather than trying to manage increasingly complex logistics networks, it’s better to turn to a street turn interchange. The interchange yields significant benefits and will help forwarders simply move goods from port to importers and exporters.

Check out available street turns to get started, and don’t forget to get your quote now by trying Supra’s new Online Rate Tool, DrayMaster, and get your quote within a minute:

Don't worry about asking, what is freight forwarder costs, with DrayMaster in your corner and a readily available street turn interchange.

Or get in touch with Supra’s Sales Team at (424) 267-1155 or by email: rfp@snecorp.com