Streamlining Supply Chains During Widespread Port Congestion

Streamlining Supply Chains During Widespread Port Congestion

Hub Group’s customer-focused approach led by dedicated, problem-solving freight engineers provides the supply chain solutions that shippers need when faced with even the most challenging conditions.

The Challenge

Shippers moving freight through ports over the past two years have been faced with many challenges. From scheduling appointment times to navigating the chassis shortage, to obtaining dray and transloading capacity to securing nearby warehouse or DC space, shippers were faced with unprecedented delays and backlogs. These challenges were both exhausting and costly for shippers who felt the impact of demurrage and detention fees that reached all-time highs in the United States in 2021.

The Solution

Collaboration—As a solutions-driven 3PL, Hub Group was able to avoid many of the service disruptions that other 3PLs struggled with during this pandemic. How? Hub Group spent decades proactively building strategically-aligned networks long before COVID-19.

When consumers started panic buying and spending more through e-commerce, record-breaking freight volumes and tight capacity crippled many shippers. Hub Group’s solid relationships with key players such as carriers, draymen, railyards, and shipping lines, combined with its range of asset-based equipment, made it a reliable resource for customers over the past two years.

Agility—Data-driven decision making with the ability to act quickly is important in keeping the supply chain moving during a pandemic. This became more challenging as shippers began experiencing extreme wait times at West Coast ports. When steamship lines were held up at one port, Hub Group’s multiport diversification abilities provided the equipment and relationships to quickly transload the freight to other, less congested harbors.

Hub Group also used its resources and experience to quickly change modes for its customers when needed, including access to team drivers for over-the-road expedited freight. By proactively using the right mode with full management from pickup to delivery, shippers receive a true end-to-end solution—giving them a distinct advantage over the competition. Access to Hub Group’s easy-to-use, advanced transportation management system, Hub Connect®, also gave shippers the added capability to act fast with real-time information about their freight’s location and condition.

Cost Savings—One of a shipper’s greatest costs is tied to outbound transportation from the ports. Part of the key is to make this leg of the journey as streamlined as possible, avoiding exorbitant demurrage and drayage costs. Hub Group excels in this area by providing “on-dock” rail solutions that allow a customer’s freight to go directly from port to rail without delay or disruption—no drayage needed so no delays, providing fixed capacity with speedy transit time and reliable service.

The Results

As shippers continue to navigate their freight through clogged ports across the globe, Hub Group’s customer-focused approach led by dedicated, problem-solving freight engineers provides exactly what shippers need when faced with even the most challenging conditions.

Hub Group’s solutions combine a series of scalable strategies and are tailored to the individual client’s needs. By leveraging the company’s expertise and top-down collaboration, Hub Group shippers find they can streamline their existing practices and create surprising innovation in their supply chains.


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To learn more:
email: [email protected]
phone: 800-377-5833
web: www.hubgroup.com