The economy is usually under stress and the freight shipment are disrupted because of the weather conditions. When there is a storm outside, freight carriers must take into account traffic, delays, possible route changes, and other challenges that impact winter shipments.
Does each region have its weather conditions?
The problems you might face can vary depending on your location. Let’s look at three of the most common regions.
- The West and Rocky Mountains. This region is too snowy. Snowstorms are a common thing in this region. There is a lot of snow that blocks traffic to the West Coast. Also, the heavy snowfalls and rains lead to buckled roads. As for the logistics, cargo senders must pay attention to the region’s weather conditions. It’s also important to update information as often as possible and provide conditions to store goods that require certain temperatures.
- Northeast and Middle West. Ice, hailstorms, and snow lead to road damage. These weather conditions often block whole regions and cities for a few days. To make the roads safer, specialized services cover them with salt. But this process is time-consuming, and sometimes even impossible. Cargo senders must prepare their freight to be stored at low temperatures. In other words, you need to avoid its damage because of the weather. One more tip is to use waterproof labels.
- Golf, Atlantic, and Southeast. There are fewer and fewer storms in December. But rains can lead to floods and blocked roads. This year we face drought and higher temperatures. And such weather conditions also disrupt the shipments. Droughts can impact water lines, and cause wood fires. The drivers can run the trucks through the smoke. If it’s your working location, you need to protect goods from high temperatures. Also, it’s better to add some hours to your shipment duration. Traffic can be slower because of the smoke, and blocked or damaged roads.
Safety tips
Your supply chain must keep moving despite the weather conditions. We understand that freight shipments must be performed in winter as well as in summer. So some tips help to keep your staff, trucks, and goods safe.
First of all, you must plan in advance. Pay attention to three factors.
- Weather conditions. Try to know more about the weather in a certain area, and monitor the weather forecast because of possible changes. It will help to determine the duration of the route.
- Capacity. How many trucks are available? Having this information, you can understand the situation and determine the terms of delivery. Plan shipments considering demand and weather conditions.
- Experience of the customers. If you see that freight shipment is delayed, immediately inform the customers. Moreover, you can tell them about possible delays before shipping. The ideal variant is to hire a specialist who will keep in touch with the customers during the route.
- Monitoring of the markets. The cost of delivery can be higher because of bad weather. Working in regions with extreme weather conditions, you will see that there are fewer proposals. Monitor markets to understand the pricing, and be sure that the cost of service is not too high.
- Choose the freight carrier that is ready to winter weather. You should know whether the transport company equips the truck with extra utilities. Also, you can be interested in whether they have extra things for a driver, such as water, food, and warm clothes.