Regional Reigns
By Staff -- Logistics Management, 8/1/2003
Less-than-truckload carriers continued their difficult journey over rough roads last year. Like their truckload brethren, the LTL companies were whacked by increasing insurance prices and spiking diesel fuel costs. Companies that cross borders bore the additional burden of compliance with new security regulations that threatened to slow their international deliveries.
But it wasn't all bad news. On the plus side, last year's reduction in air cargo capacity had many shippers turning to the highways to get their goods through—and plenty of them stayed on the ground even after air capacity began creeping back up. And, of course, there was all that extra business that fell off the back of CF's trucks when that carrier shut down just a little less than a year ago.
All in all, it was an uneven year for the LTLs, including regional carriers, and you can see that reflected in their Quest for Quality scores. In every region, overall numbers for on-time performance and customer service were down. Scores for information technology, however, were up across the board, and value saw an uptick in every region except the Northeast/Mid-Atlantic. Equipment and operations was a mixed bag: Scores were up in two regions and down in two.
Those ups and downs notwithstanding, a total of 15 regional motor carriers were noted by Logistics Management readers for their quality of service. Many are repeat winners. In fact, the five Northeast/Mid-Atlantic region winners are the same as last year, with a bit of shuffling. New Penn Motor Express moved from second to first place this year, posting a score of 35.53. Pitt Ohio Express, last year's winner, was right behind with 34.96. A. Duie Pyle, meanwhile, held onto its third-place slot with a 34.80 score. Con-Way Central Express zipped past Ward Trucking with 34.47, and Ward took fifth with 33.81. The Northeast/Mid-Atlantic category's average satisfaction score slipped ever so slightly from 33.76 last year to 33.63.
USF Holland and Con-Way Central Express placed first and second in the Midwest/North Central region, the same positions they held last year. Both motor carriers dropped a bit in their total scores, with USF Holland netting 35.83, down from 2002's 36.31, and Con-Way Central hitting 33.88 compared to last year's 34.81.
The average weighted customer-satisfaction scores were up slightly in the South/South Central and Western regions. The South bumped up to 33.29 from 32.81, and the West rose to 32.85 from 32.04.
In the South, readers selected four winners, with three returning from last year. Averitt Express took first place, jumping to 34.61 from its 33.98 score in 2002. Saia drove in with a 33.77 score to garner a second-place finish. Meanwhile, Southeastern Freight Lines, last year's top dog, took third with 33.44. And AAA Cooper Transportation rounded out the list in this category with a score of 33.42.
Way out West, FedEx Freight popped into first place over three returning winners, posting an overall score of 36.66—the highest of any regional LTL carrier this year. Lynden Transport, with 34.61, slid into second place, while USF Reddaway improved on its 2002 score of 33.87 to take third place with a solid 34.15 total. And Con-Way Western Express, last seen in the winners circle in 2001, closed out the category with a respectable 33.18 score.
This year's survey also asked respondents about their less-than-truckload booking and tracking practices. Just under half (46 percent) said they're using the same number of multiregional and interregional LTL carriers as they were two years ago. The vast majority (86 percent) reported that they are not using transportation exchanges to book or monitor their shipments. Only one-fifth, meanwhile, said they use transportation management software to keep tabs on their carriers' performance.
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