Coordinating schedules with carriers, drivers, and employees isn’t always an easy task. Thankfully, drop trailers offer a unique solution that benefits all three parties. But don’t just take our word for it — here are seven benefits of using a drop trailer for your transport needs:
How Does a Drop Trailer Work?
A drop trailer refers to a truck trailer that is simply “dropped” at its destination rather than loaded or unloaded right away. Such a program offers benefits to carriers, drivers, and shippers since there’s no need for all three parties to combine their schedules and needs.
After the trailer is dropped, it is unloaded at a more convenient time — so having staff on-hand at the time of drop off isn’t necessary. That being said, a drop trailer should not be left for more than one week, and using such a program shouldn’t replace the use of a warehouse.
All of this means that the use of drop trailers helps a supply chain become more productive to the benefit of everyone involved.
Benefits of the Drop Trailer
Here are seven benefits of drop trailers that small carriers need to know about:
1: No Extra Equipment Needed
Drop trailers do not require extra equipment to load or unload. Instead, the trailer is simply dropped off and unloaded at a time that’s convenient for the shipper.
Once the trailer is unloaded, the trailer is then picked back up at a time that’s convenient for the carrier and driver. At the end of the day, drop trailers provide win-win benefits to both carriers and shippers.
2: Easier to Hook Up and Unhook
Drop trailers are quickly unhooked during drop-off so that the carrier quickly moves on without needing to unload all the cargo. Similarly, they are easily hooked back up to any truck to be hauled away once they are empty and ready to go. Overall, drop trailers are a great way to keep your operations moving at the desired speed.
3: Lower Costs
Costs can include:
- Initial cost
- Drivers time
- Late delivery fees
- costly fines
- Weight capacity
- Volume of shipments
- Amount of freight
- Efficiency of your supply chain
Drop trailers potentially lower shipping costs. This is because delays in unloading increase detention times for drivers and lead to detention charges for shippers that are costly.
Using a dedicated trailer with a set schedule also helps avoid delays due to unexpected issues on the part of the carrier or the driver that end up costing you business deals.
So while it seems like this option is more expensive, it easily pays for itself through the money it saves you.
4: Better Fuel Economy
Another way that a drop trailer help saves you money is through better fuel economy. As you know, gas is expensive.
One tank of gas easily costs hundreds of dollars — so clearly, this is an area where you want to save if you can. Since drop trailers offer more direct and efficient services, you’re saving on fueling costs as well.
5: No Abrupt Stopping
Since drop trailers operate on a set schedule, there’s no abrupt stopping to worry about. Not only is this beneficial for your goods, but it’s also beneficial for your overall timeline.
Instead of struggling to find a drop-off time that works for all parties, the carrier develops the best possible route to avoid delays and get you your shipment in record time.
6: You Can Control The Drop
Perhaps the biggest benefit of using a drop trailer is the element of control. Oftentimes, shippers are left at the mercy of carriers unless they’re willing to pay the big bucks to influence their routes and schedules.
With a drop trailer, it doesn’t matter when the drop occurs since unloading isn’t required. So instead of worrying about having warehouse employees on hand to unload a loaded trailer, you develop a schedule that’s beneficial for you and simply unload at that time.
7: It Requires Less Skill
Finally, drop trailers require less skill since they’re so easy to hook up and unhook. With a drop trailer, you don’t have to worry about a driver shortage or having the right people on hand when the carrier arrives at the shippers' location.
The trailer is simply dropped off in a designated area and unloaded when convenient. They can also be easily moved without a lot of skill if you need more room.
When a Drop Trailer Makes Sense
Clearly, there are a lot of benefits to using a drop trailer for your transport needs. Here are some specific conditions wherein using a drop trailer program would make a lot of sense:
- If you are constantly shipping a consistent volume of goods (at least two shipments per week), then using a drop trailer benefits you.
- If you need more dock space, then using a drop trailer helps you open up valuable space on in-demand loading docks.
- If you want more flexibility with delivery windows, then using a drop trailer makes it possible to scheduleloading and unloading when it’s truly convenient.
- If long loading times hurt your operations, then using a drop trailer helps improve loading times, and therefore, relationships with carriers.
- If you have enough space to temporarily store extra trailers until they can be unloaded, then a drop trailer program benefits you.
When a Drop Trailer Doesn’t Make Sense
While a drop trailer program works in a lot of situations, it’s definitely not a one-size-fits-all solution.
Here are some specific conditions wherein using a drop trailer program wouldn’t make much sense:
- If you ship perishable goods, then using a drop trailer program wouldn’t work for you.
- On a similar note, if your shipments are time-sensitive, then using a drop trailer program leads to problematic delays.
- Finally, if you don’t want to partner with the carrier to implement such a program, then a drop trailer program isn’t the best idea.
Conclusion
If you want a program and a freight carrier that works for you, look no further than RPM. RPM handles more than 15,000 shipments a month and was named a “Top Freight Broker” by Transport Topics Magazine in 2021.
We cater to a variety of different industries ranging from consumer packaged goods to automotive inbound and everything in between. We are able to do this thanks to our robust network that leverages more than 30,000 experienced carrier drivers. Reach out today to see how we can meet your supply chain needs.
Sources:
Detention Time Is Getting Longer for Truck Drivers, Study Finds | BusinessInsider
The Real Cost of Trucking - Per Mile Operating Cost of a Commercial Truck | The Truckers Report
How to Ship Perishable Products | Big Commerce
