Over the past few years, volatility in the logistics industry has disrupted supply chains in just about every sector. Delays in production and shipping are particularly damaging to those working in the construction industry. Because a construction project requires intricate planning and scheduling, ensuring the timely procurement and delivery of heavy equipment and building materials is essential. Otherwise, construction projects can run into problems.
Even in the best of times, managing a construction project is challenging. Making sure all the necessary construction equipment and materials arrive when needed but aren’t sitting around unused for long periods of time is a constant balancing act.
If any construction equipment or materials are delayed, it can have a cascade effect, creating delays in other parts of the construction process and causing the whole project to fall days or weeks behind schedule.
This is, unfortunately, all too common. One report says that only 39% of construction projects are completed on time.
However, you also don’t want construction equipment or materials to arrive too early, either. It’s estimated that construction site theft results in $1 billion in losses each year. The recovery rate for these thefts is only about 20%.
Both of these scenarios can significantly affect a construction company’s bottom line.
If any construction equipment or materials are not where they need to be on time, whether because their shipment has been delayed or they have been stolen, work on the construction project comes to a halt. However, if you’ve got workers scheduled for days when that happens, you still have to pay them.
On top of that, you’ll also need to pay workers for any days that must be added to the schedule to make up for the lost time. All these extra expenses not only affect you, but likely affect your clients as well. If you consistently go over budget, they likely will not want to work with you in the future.
Less-than-truckload (LTL) shipping can help ensure that you stick to your schedule. With LTL, instead of hauling cargo from only one customer, the freight of multiple customers is combined and transported in one trailer. Each customer pays only for the capacity that their freight takes up, making it a more economical option.
This system also allows construction companies to avoid having large amounts of valuable construction materials sitting around construction sites where they can be relatively easily stolen. Only ship what you need at any given time.
To further enable construction companies to stay on schedule, LTL shipping also allows for just-in-time delivery of only what is required at any given time. That way, you only get what is needed, when it’s needed.
Because of the space constrictions caused by sharing a trailer and the tight schedule of an LTL driver, additional fees may be added for certain delivery circumstances that are common in the construction industry. It is important to be aware of these fees so you can avoid them, or at least build them into your budget.
When a pickup or delivery location is secured or difficult to access, which is generally the case for construction sites, carriers charge a limited access fee. This fee covers the additional time required for the truck to make its delivery. A limited access fee may be unavoidable in many circumstances, but since every carrier charges different amounts, knowing in advance allows you to consider different fee options when selecting a carrier.
Carriers charge overlength fees for excessively long cargo that affects a trailer’s capacity to accommodate other freight. Generally, these are applied if an item is over 8 ft in length. The fees often increase in 4 or 8 ft increments. For example, the fee for an item that is only 10 ft long would be lower than one that is 16 ft long.
These prices also vary quite a bit from carrier to carrier, so it’s important to choose a carrier with low overlength fees if you know you’ll be shipping excessively long materials, such as lumber or pipes. If possible and practical, you can also cut your materials in half to avoid these fees entirely.
Koho’s team of LTL experts can help you avoid fees like these and determine the best ways that LTL shipping can keep your construction projects on schedule and within their budgets. Visit gokoho.com today to learn more.
Over the past few years, volatility in the logistics industry has disrupted supply chains in just about every sector. Delays in production and shipping are particularly damaging to those working in the construction industry. Because a construction project requires intricate planning and scheduling, ensuring the timely procurement and delivery of heavy equipment and building materials is essential. Otherwise, construction projects can run into problems.
Even in the best of times, managing a construction project is challenging. Making sure all the necessary construction equipment and materials arrive when needed but aren’t sitting around unused for long periods of time is a constant balancing act.
If any construction equipment or materials are delayed, it can have a cascade effect, creating delays in other parts of the construction process and causing the whole project to fall days or weeks behind schedule.
This is, unfortunately, all too common. One report says that only 39% of construction projects are completed on time.
However, you also don’t want construction equipment or materials to arrive too early, either. It’s estimated that construction site theft results in $1 billion in losses each year. The recovery rate for these thefts is only about 20%.
Both of these scenarios can significantly affect a construction company’s bottom line.
If any construction equipment or materials are not where they need to be on time, whether because their shipment has been delayed or they have been stolen, work on the construction project comes to a halt. However, if you’ve got workers scheduled for days when that happens, you still have to pay them.
On top of that, you’ll also need to pay workers for any days that must be added to the schedule to make up for the lost time. All these extra expenses not only affect you, but likely affect your clients as well. If you consistently go over budget, they likely will not want to work with you in the future.
Less-than-truckload (LTL) shipping can help ensure that you stick to your schedule. With LTL, instead of hauling cargo from only one customer, the freight of multiple customers is combined and transported in one trailer. Each customer pays only for the capacity that their freight takes up, making it a more economical option.
This system also allows construction companies to avoid having large amounts of valuable construction materials sitting around construction sites where they can be relatively easily stolen. Only ship what you need at any given time.
To further enable construction companies to stay on schedule, LTL shipping also allows for just-in-time delivery of only what is required at any given time. That way, you only get what is needed, when it’s needed.
Because of the space constrictions caused by sharing a trailer and the tight schedule of an LTL driver, additional fees may be added for certain delivery circumstances that are common in the construction industry. It is important to be aware of these fees so you can avoid them, or at least build them into your budget.
When a pickup or delivery location is secured or difficult to access, which is generally the case for construction sites, carriers charge a limited access fee. This fee covers the additional time required for the truck to make its delivery. A limited access fee may be unavoidable in many circumstances, but since every carrier charges different amounts, knowing in advance allows you to consider different fee options when selecting a carrier.
Carriers charge overlength fees for excessively long cargo that affects a trailer’s capacity to accommodate other freight. Generally, these are applied if an item is over 8 ft in length. The fees often increase in 4 or 8 ft increments. For example, the fee for an item that is only 10 ft long would be lower than one that is 16 ft long.
These prices also vary quite a bit from carrier to carrier, so it’s important to choose a carrier with low overlength fees if you know you’ll be shipping excessively long materials, such as lumber or pipes. If possible and practical, you can also cut your materials in half to avoid these fees entirely.
Koho’s team of LTL experts can help you avoid fees like these and determine the best ways that LTL shipping can keep your construction projects on schedule and within their budgets. Visit gokoho.com today to learn more.
Liftgate Maximums
Average Limits Across Carriers
Maximum Length
66.5"
Maximum Width
65.5"
Maximum Height
79"
Maximum Weight
2,750 lb
