LTL news: UPS Freight cuts down transit times in the Southeast and Southwest regions
More TT reductions for other regions expected later this year
Jeff Berman, Group News Editor -- Logistics Management, 5/12/2008
RICHMOND, Va.—UPS Freight, the less-than-truckload (LTL) subsidiary of UPS, said earlier today that it has reduced transit times on nearly 1,000 traffic lanes originating in metropolitan areas in the Southeast and Southwest regions to various locales throughout the country.
The company said in a statement that transit times have been reduced by one or two days from points in 11 states, including Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Texas. It also noted that rates will not be adjusted as a result of these changes, which follow enhancements made in more than 8,000 lanes last year.
“This initiative better serves [shippers], because it is reducing the time of their supply chains, cutting costs, and makes them more competitive in moving freight,” said Ira Rosenfeld, UPS Freight spokesman, in an interview. “It also provides more direct routes that cut down on excess miles.”
He added that direct routing provides shippers with the ability to move freight much more quickly. Other benefits, he said, are helping to reduce highway truck traffic and reducing fuel costs.
While today’s news focuses on the Southeast and Southwest regions, Rosenfeld said UPS Freight will likely have additional announcements later this year for other regions of the country. UPS Freight said that specific lane enhancements and updated time-in-transit maps are available at ltl.ups.freight.com. For future examples, the company cited placing all of New England under a two-day delivery umbrella from Memphis, Tenn., and shipments from Charlotte, N.C., reaching destinations as far as Dallas and Columbia, Mo., in two days.
“This is a network that is constantly evolving,” said Rosenfeld. “And part of the reason for that is that our customers are coming to us and telling us this is what they need. Not as many companies are holding large inventories, so shippers need things a lot quicker when they need it, and where they need it. So we are listening to what they are asking for.”
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