LTL on-time rates fall below 70%

By Staff -- Logistics Management, 8/1/1998

Less-than-truckload carriers' transit-time performance for March, April, and May failed to reach even the 70-percent on-time mark. According to an analysis of 40 key lanes across the country conducted for Logistics by Strategic Technologies Inc., LTL carriers met their own standards for on-time delivery just 67 percent of the time.

STI looked at a total of 21,472 shipments weighing less than 10,000 pounds that moved in those lanes between March 1 and May 31. As in previous reports, performance varied widely among the lanes measured by STI. On only seven of the lanes did carriers exceed 90 percent on-time performance. On 11 lanes, on-time performance fell below 50 percent. On the four worst-performing lanes, less than 10 percent of shipments arrived on schedule.

As always, it's important to note that the STI figures look at overall performance of LTL carriers. Individual carriers can and do operate at far higher on-time rates.

The on-time performance is measured against the carriers' own published transit times. The table includes a sampling of performance on lanes around the country.

Transit Times

Origin Destination Published Actual % on-time

Mira Loma, Calif. Las Vegas, Nev. 1.42 1.47 96.1

Atlanta, Ga. Orlando, Fla. 1.06 2.86 24.5

Melrose Park, Ill. Jessup, Md. 2.00 3.28 34.2

Mira Loma, Calif. Phoenix, Ariz. 1.56 1.59 98.1

Edison, N.J. Lumberton, N.J. 1.00 3.43 6.4

Dallas, Texas San Antonio, Texas 1.13 1.41 81.9

Santa Fe Springs, Cal. Fullerton, Calif. 2.31 2.75 66.2

Jackson, Miss. New Orleans, La. 1.00 1.12 91.0

Atlanta, Ga. Memphis, Tenn. 1.05 2.43 36.8

Hendersonville, N.C. High Point, N.C. 1.00 2.20 48.8

Total sample (21,472 shipments) 67%

"Published" represents carriers' average published projected transit time in working days. "Actual" represents average actual transit time.

Source: Strategic Technologies Inc. (STI provides freight rating, payment, and reporting services and acts as a network for communication of electronic load tenders and shipment-status messages for shippers and carriers.)