Whether we’re talking cases of red chili sauce, boxes of brake rotors, or a handcrafted statue of a whale (yes, we’ve moved that!), proper freight packaging can make all the difference when shipping Less-than-Truckload (LTL). Think of the packaging as a line of defense against the transportation elements: forklifts, shifting pallets, unloading a trailer, all the transitions that an LTL shipment goes through from start to finish. Correct and adequate packaging is something that should be a top priority for shippers and manufacturers that work within any freight space (not just LTL) to ensure freight ships and arrives just as it left their facility.

All freight is different; different values, different shapes and sizes, different ways of packaging. There are countless variations of freight packaging, but here are some general guidelines to follow:

Palletized/Crated/Boxed/Toted

Shrink-wrapped and banded

Marked with clear and accurate labels and packing slips

Minimal freight overhang on the pallet (less than 3 inches on any side)

Besides providing a great level of physical protection, beefing up freight packaging can have immense benefits for your business.

Don’t let poor freight packaging “claim” you as a victim
Great packaging can protect a shipper’s freight from transportation damages, inherently cutting down on costly freight claims. Think of good robust packaging as a business investment. Putting the time, process, and money into proper freight packaging can really go a long way in preventing any damages caused while in transit. In the unfortunate event that freight damage does occur, claims that contain properly packaged freight have a much better chance of being won and paid. According to the Carmack Amendment, an act or default of a shipper, such as improper freight packaging, is one reason why freight damage claims get denied by carriers.

Packed like peas in a pod.
Having all the product densely packaged and contained onto shrink-wrapped pallets or enclosed crates can reduce the risk of having misplaced or missing freight. Think of a shipment of boxes as a Jenga puzzle: nice, neat, and well-stacked but without anything to support it, it can easily fall over, or a piece can be misplaced. Take that same Jenga puzzle and wrap it in shrink-wrap, throw some shipping bands around it, and slap it on top of a pallet. Now it’s nice, neat, well-stacked, and contained into one dense and stable shipping unit that can easily be transported.

Build better relationSHIPs.
Effective and excellent freight packaging can also produce positive business reception from consumers and consignees. Something as simple as how freight is packaged to ship can create a lasting impression on consumers and receivers. It conveys a sense of quality and care in the goods that a shipper manufactures and sells.

Packaging is often a shipper’s first line of defense against transportation mishaps. If you’re ready to learn more about how to effectively package LTL freight, contact us. Need a quote? Click here.

On September 29, The Trinity Foundation held its 13th annual charity golf tournament that serves as one of its biggest fundraisers each year. Money raised from this event goes back to community organizations and events that focus on local necessities, youth leadership development, and health and wellness in Sussex and Kent County, Delaware, and Dorchester and Caroline County, Maryland. This year’s event raised over $12,000 to support the Trinity Foundation’s areas of focus.
This year 24 teams participated in the 4-person scramble held at Heritage Shores’ Golf Course in Bridgeville, Del.
This successful event was made possible by more than 30 sponsors, including Breakfast Sponsorships from Regional Builders, Nanticoke Health Services, and Banyan Technology; Gold Sponsorships from Internet Truckstop and Quantum Edge; and the eager golfers that participated.

“Thank you to all of our Team members, sponsors, and players who helped us to make our 2018 Golf Tournament a success,” said Amanda Lloyd, Trinity Foundation Director. “This event is our largest fundraiser that supports us to be able to maintain a strong presence in our community. It is at the core of our culture and a passion for our team to serve this community.”
This event serves as the Trinity Foundation’s biggest fundraiser that helps to make other efforts possible throughout the year. These efforts include servant leader scholarship awards to graduating high school seniors, Thanksgiving for All that provides meals to local families, a community Touch-A-Truck event, donations to Ronald McDonald House, and distributing toys alongside the Marine Corps for Toys for Tots.
The Trinity Foundation members would like to say a big thank you to all the sponsors and participants of this year’s golf tournament. We look forward to seeing you for next year’s event on September 28, 2019, at Heritage Shores Golf Course.
If you are interested in being a sponsor for next year’s golf tournament, please email [email protected].

Life on the road is tough; long hours on the highway, tight quarters in the cab, no bathroom readily available, and more. These are just a small chunk of things that truck drivers face day in and day out. Many people take for granted the ability to use a clean bathroom, take a hot shower, eat a hot meal, and banter with friends and family.
Around the country, truck stops and travel centers have worked hard to bring the basic necessities to drivers, such as good diesel prices and a spot to park their truck for the night. But others have gone above and beyond to keep them entertained and well fed. So, what are some of the necessities and amenities drivers look for when pulling their rig into their favorite truck stop or trying out a new one? Big focuses tend to be diesel prices, ample parking, security, and cleanliness of amenities.
Fuel up – With diesel prices constantly fluctuating, finding the best price can make a difference, especially to drivers who are owner-operators. However, some carrier companies keep an eye on diesel prices around the areas their drivers are in and recommend fueling up at cheaper locations.
Lots of spots– Parking and size of parking spaces are important when long-haul drivers are stopping to rest. Some phone apps, like myPilot and Trucker Path, will even show the availability of parking spots at a location.
Safety first – Adequate lighting, cameras, and/or security guards all help keep parking lots safer for drivers,especially at locations with a lot of parking.
Clean commode and more – Clean parking lots, bathrooms, showers, etc. Truck stops are a home away from home for drivers so a clean commode, among other things, is of importance.
Here are a few truck stops that have some out-of-this-world amenities for their customers.

Truck Stops with Awesome Amenities

Iowa 80 Truckstop: Walcott, IA

Iowa 80 Truckstop touts over 900 truck parking spots, 24/7 access to food including the family-owned Iowa 80 kitchen with homestyle cooking, 24 private showers, a laundry facility, and a truck wash and service center. But the goods don’t stop there. A barber shop, dog wash, library, movie theater, workout room, dental office, and on-site chiropractor who can also execute DOT physicals, are all features on the property. And we can’t forget about the museum with over 100 antique trucks for drivers to explore during downtime.

Jubitz Travel Center: Portland, OR

Family-owned and operated for over 65 years, Jubitz Travel Center provides a 24/7 full-service restaurant, live entertainment every weekend, 15 acres of fully-lighted, paved, and striped truck parking, 11 private showers and two Jacuzzis, and a driver lounge. Some additional amenities include shoe/boot repair, postal service, a barber shop, an outpatient medical clinic and chiropractor services, and a movie theater.

Creek Travel Plaza: Atmore, AL

Owned by the Poarch Band of Creek Indians, Creek Travel Plaza was ranked the #1 Independent U.S. Truck Stop by Truck Path users. This facility has tons of free truck parking, fantastic customer service, clean and spacious travel bathrooms, laundry facilities with efficient equipment, and a large driver lounge with leather seats and a flat-screen TV. Oh, and let’s not leave out the mouth-watering southern dishes served in the on-site diner. Chicken and waffles, anyone?

Chains and Franchises

Chains and franchise truck stops are usually competitive in fuel prices but likely don’t provide the extra amenities such as access to health care check-ups and barber shops like some of the facilities mentioned above. But it’s still worth calling out some:

There was over two feet of rain and an estimated $18 billion in damages as Tropical Storm Florence pummeled the Carolinas and other parts of the Atlantic. There were 691,000 customers without power and water had closed parts of Interstate 95. As Florence pushed on in the United States, Typhoon Mangkhut hit the Philippines that Saturday and then China on Sunday, causing an estimated cost impact on Hong Kong’s gross domestic products of $627 million per day. Although devastating, these side-by-side catastrophic events are seemingly becoming a norm.

The last two decades have brought about increasingly destructive natural disasters. From Hurricanes Katrina and Sandy to the eruption of Eyjafjallajokull volcano in Iceland to the earthquake and tsunami in Japan. Along with widespread devastation to their physical surroundings, each of these natural disasters has impacted business operations in many cases on a global scale.

Over the years, climate changes are happening at a faster pace than originally anticipated. This has resulted in rising sea levels, which coincides with more severe storms, temperature swings, and volatile precipitation. Because of this, we have seen and will likely continue to see more intense weather that will have greater destructive potential, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

In this blog, we’ll go over the economic and supply chain impacts that result from these events and how you can best prepare your supply chain.

Impacts on the economy and supply chains

Severe weather has exponential impacts on our global economy. According to Aon Benfield’s 2016 Global Climate Catastrophe Report, the world saw $210 billion (USD) in economic losses because of 315 separate natural disasters. That’s 21 percent above the 16-year average of $174 billion (USD).

In 2017, Hurricane Harvey victims saw over 178,000 homes lost, $669 million in damages of public property, around a quarter million vehicle losses, $200 million in Texas crop in livestock losses…and the list goes on.

Additionally, businesses saw significant and expensive losses due to flooding, electrical outage, and employees’ inability to get to work, all causing temporary disruption of the flow of goods and services.

But the impacts of natural disasters reach far beyond the local damages of affected areas. When these natural events happen, numerous businesses find their supply chains shook.

The Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami in Japan and the Thailand Floods in 2011 are both examples of natural disasters that had a much wider indirect economic effect. Both disasters caused severe disruption to global technology supply chains.

After the Thai floods, there was a global shortage of computer hard drives that sent consumer prices skyrocketing until factories were able to get back up and running. When the 2011 tsunami struck, several major car manufacturers were forced to shut down production at factories throughout Europe and the U.S. due to a lack of available parts from factories in Japan, setting off a supply chain reaction that impacted multiple suppliers of parts throughout the wider global economy.

Snowstorms are also a culprit of transportation delays and supply chain worries. If weather conditions drop below a certain temperature truck engines will not start, quickly accumulating snow may mean railroads might not be able to clear the tracks fast enough and snow and ice can make it impossible for planes to travel safely. All causing disrupted supply chains across the country.

Preparing your supply chain

With the increase of natural disasters, ensuring that your business is prepared for the potential disruption is very important. Disaster planning needs to consider not just the direct impact to your infrastructure, but how the after-effects of events far away from your base of operations could affect your supply chain and markets.

Create a disaster preparedness plan

Have a plan ready that outlines what to do in case of emergencies and natural disasters. This plan should take into consideration all types of weather and natural disaster your area is most susceptible to, and perhaps some that would particularly be considered unlikely. Snow in Florida? Probably not, but hey, with climate change you never know. Also, be sure to ask companies you partner with for their disaster plans to ensure alignment with risk management.

Monitor for threat

Supply chain risk management works best when companies have the earliest possible notice of potential disruptive impacts. Keeping up with potential weather, running a data analysis, and running simulations across your supply chain to identify pressure points where natural disasters would most likely impact your operations are all ways to keep up with your disaster preparedness plan.

Be transparent and flexible

Many natural disasters may be impossible to predict (earthquakes, wild fires, etc.) so disruption may be inevitable. Be open with members of your team and companies you partner with about how weather or natural disaster may affect capacity and your company’s supply chain. Additionally, think about substitute work spaces and methods of transport for your goods.

It’s never too early to revisit your risk management and disaster preparedness plans. As we all know, disaster can strike at any moment. At Trinity, we work with a network of over 70,000+ carriers and we’re always looking at the state of the industry and communicating with our customers.

If you’re looking to partner with a 3PL to help manage your supply chain or help your business, fill out our quick form.

Request a quote

Truck drivers keep America moving. Without the men and women in the trucking industry, grocery stores would be empty, gas stations would close, and the everyday items at our disposal would cease to exist at our fingertips.
Here at Trinity Logistics, we want to take time to pay respect to the millions of carriers and truck drivers who log countless hours to deliver freight in a timely and safe manner.
From Sept. 9th through the 15th, time is dedicated to “National Truck Driver Appreciation Week”, when the American Trucking Association and the entire trucking industry say “thank you” to over 3.5 million professional truck drivers.
The millions of professional truck drivers in our country move around 71 percent of the nation’s freight, and log around 450 billion miles every year! Talk about some Road Warriors. Remember to take some time in the coming week to say “thank you” to these hardworking and dedicated individuals who work around the clock to deliver all the goods we need to make our everyday lives function (we’re especially thankful for the coffee that gets delivered).
Be sure to check out our video where we send out some special shout outs and extra praise that truck drivers deserve.

The American Trucking Associations’ (ATA) latest numbers on driver turnover rate show an alarming trend, that carriers are struggling to recruit and retain quality drivers. According to ATA’s report, the turnover rate at large truckload carriers climbed to 94 percent in the first quarter, six percentage points higher than the last quarter of 2017. The stark climb supports a 2017 fleet panel’s observation that the target driver demographic is changing tides, away from primarily white males reaching retirement age, to a younger, less experienced, woman and minority-prominent market.
According to ATA data, nearly 67 percent of the current 3.5 million truck drivers in the United States are white males. Following, are 14.6 percent Hispanic men, men of other nationalities at 14.8 percent, and women at 6 percent of the driver population.
Encouraging Diversity in Trucking
Groups like the Women in Trucking Association are looking for ways to “encourage the employment of women in the trucking industry, promote their accomplishments and minimize obstacles faced by women working in the trucking industry.” For the last decade, this non-profit group has worked to promote the employment of women in the transportation industry, increase the number of female drivers, and increase the number of women in leadership positions in the industry. The National Minority Trucking Association (NMTA) is another nonprofit geared toward assisting minorities “with establishing and growing careers and businesses in the trucking and logistics industry.”
It’s a Driver’s Market
According to ATA’s Chief Economist Bob Costello, the driver shortage should continue, meaning wages will continue to increase and turnover rate should continue to rise. Since there’s such a demand for drivers and not nearly enough of them to take available jobs, there’s not much holding drivers back from choosing a “better” opportunity. Since it’s really a market for drivers, carriers are finding a need to tailor their recruiting and retention processes to a different crowd.
Truck Driver Recruiting
The old school word of mouth, flyers, job boards, and printed advertisements aren’t the best way to reach this “Millennial” truck driver population. According to trucks.com, carriers are turning to more digital recruiting tactics, such as social networking, over more traditional methods like print publications, job fairs, recruiting at truck schools, using outside recruiters, etc.
According to data from marketing firm Randall-Reilly, 79.9 percent of company drivers and 69.7 percent of owner-operators are using social media, with Facebook and YouTube serving as the primary platforms of choice. Creating compelling posts and videos can reach a new driver demographic in the space that they frequent, with the average person checking social media 17 times a day (Digital Trends).
Driver Retention
As prominently displayed in the current driver turnover rate, recruiting drivers isn’t the whole problem, it’s recruiting drivers that will stay for the long haul. Since truck drivers can take their pick so to speak in the current market, perks of the job are more than or just as much of an appeal as the paycheck itself.
According to Inc.com, employees are looking to break the cycle of a “job” and find an employer that will help them have purpose, responsibility, attention, open-mindedness, transparency, to be appreciated, and of course, to be compensated. Drivers, like the rest of today’s workforce, are tired of feeling like they are overworked and underpaid.
It boils down to one overarching theme: employees want to feel appreciated and respected in the workplace. There are hundreds of articles about best driver retention techniques, and it may take some research and surveying your drivers to find out exactly what they’re looking for when developing your retention strategy. FleetOwner stresses the importance of keeping drivers engaged, implementing an orientation survey, an attitude survey that is either yearly or ongoing, and if a driver leaves, an exit interview to determine what caused them to make that choice.
Future of Trucking
The driver shortage and driver turnover rates show the great need to adjust recruitment and retention strategies to fit the changing truck driver demographic. Demand for trucking services is greater than the available drivers, directly increasing freight cost. Analysts at Morgan Stanley say rising costs in the freight industry won’t resolve any time soon, potentially bringing shippers to explore other options like self-driving trucks. Automated trucks of course have been a hotly-debated topic in the industry for years, as you can read in our Shaping the Industry blog post.

When you think of an airship, your first thought may be the infamous Hindenburg and its fiery disaster in 1937. Maybe you think of the Goodyear Blimp or the hot air balloon from the Wizard of Oz. Whatever your mind is first drawn to, you may not have known that airships actually pre-date all other aircraft types. The first airship was a hot air balloon launched more than 200 years ago in 1783. The drawback? There was no way to steer the lighter-than-air aircraft. Soon after, inventors began designing ways to propel and control these types of inventions. Pierre Jullien, Jules Henri Giffard, the Wright Brothers, Charles Renard, and Arthur C. Krebs, all contributed to the development of air transportation and the leaps and bounds the mode has seen. Even though these airships have been around longer than most aircraft, they’re beginning to make their way into the logistics industry. That’s the focus of this installment of our “Shaping the Future” blog series.

The Global Airship Race

The United States-based Lockheed Martin , United Kingdom’s Hybrid Air Vehicles, and French aerospace company, Flying Whales, are just a few competitors in the global airship race, all with current deals in progress.
Flying Whales has developed a 500-foot airship (twice as long as a Boeing 747 for perspective) designed to lift lumber from deep woodland. This cargo airship has a rigid structure with pockets of helium and is powered by a small diesel or electric engine that requires minimal power. To top it off, the Flying Whale will be able to lift an industry-leading 60 tons! The French company plans to open up public stock offerings in 2021, when the model is anticipated to make its first flight.
Lockheed Martin is a step ahead of Flying Whales. More than ten years ago, the security and aerospace company flight tested its airship prototype P-791. The full-scale hybrid airship, that will be able to carry 20 tons of cargo, is expected in 2019. With this new aircraft, Lockheed Martin is heavily highlighting its large cargo capacity, low fuel consumption relative to other forms of air transportation, and faster speed than land or sea alternatives.

Cost and environmental impacts

While the initial cost for creation of cargo airships may be high, the long-term economic and environmental benefits soar. The fuel needs of airships versus airliners are dramatically different. For example, a Boeing 737 burns the same amount of fuel moving from the airport terminal to the runway as an Airlander 10 does on a three-day flight. Additionally, Lockheed Martin’s P-791 burns less than one-tenth the fuel of a helicopter per ton. These cargo airships are structured with pockets of helium and small engines that require minimal gas power. This means that there would be less impact on air quality since the airships burn less fuel than a normal aircraft.
Additionally, airships don’t need runway infrastructure since they can pretty much take off and land on any surface and anywhere, including water. With more than two-thirds of the world’s land area not having direct access to roads or runways, this not only makes airships workable in remote locations without airports, but can also eliminate the need for the intermodal transfers – truck-to-ship-to-truck, etc. – which are the norm in logistics operations.

Carrying Cargo

Air cargo aircrafts can carry heavy weights, however they normally tend to carry bulky but low-weight items such as perishable foods and flowers, so only a small portion of the weight capacity is utilized. Airships, however, have very large internal volumes for cargo storage, making them suitable for the transport of bigger or bulkier items like construction equipment or vehicles.
Finally, it’s worth highlighting Amazon’s airborne fulfillment center (AFC) that “may be an airship” and from which drones could be dispatched to make deliveries to purchasers. While Amazon’s plans are still in the works for these flying warehouses, the mention of airships does indicate a brighter future for these helium filled vessels in the sky. Even though there isn’t a specific timeline for the AFC’s, we are certainly expecting to see more movement with cargo airships within the next few years.

We have just gotten over a volatile year in the transportation market, and that has left a lot of people, both providers and customers, waiting cautiously to see what happens next. Rates are higher than they have been in the past, and capacity is at an all time low. But not everywhere!
Drayage is the transportation of ocean carriers from the port or rail to the end customer, and with the U.S. economy at an all-time high, the country is open for business and a lot of it. That is only expected to increase in coming years with developments, such as the Panama Canal Expansion. Guess what? Trinity can assist with your drayage needs! If you aren’t using Trinity for your drayage needs, you really should be, but I can guess what some of your trepidations may be, so let’s dig right into those.

“My drayage is already handled by my fowarder.”

This is probably the most common rebuttal I hear, and trust me I understand- a lot of our customers are freight forwarders! They are focused on getting your freight across international boundaries, but once it arrives they reach out to companies like Trinity to help coordinate the inland portion, where we are able to utilize our size and relationships to secure you the rate and capacity you need to help your bottom line.

“My customer is shipping door to door to me.”

Then you could be leaving money on the table, and that is certainly not something I would be happy about in your shoes. The freight forwarder your customer is using may not have access to the best possible rates, or they simply may be overcharging you. No matter what, at the end of the day you aren’t that freight forwarder’s customer, which leaves you at a disadvantage. Maybe that’s not the case, but getting your own international quote is free and may save you money! P.S., Trinity does also provide international service.

“Won’t the ELD Mandate affect this like it has everything else?”

The surprising answer is probably not! Detention rates may raise because now the driver’s time is that much more valuable, but with many deliveries happening within 150 miles of the port, most carriers haven’t been heavily impacted. If you are worried about how your unloading time or distance from the port may affect you, don’t- Trinity offers a variety of options including transloading and storing your freight until you are ready to receive it.

“None of my freight is handled in ocean containers.”

Not a problem! Trinity provides so many services there is almost definitely some way we can help you, so why not give us a call. After all, the call and the quote are free!

Women involvement in the transportation industry is not something new. Luella Bates drove a Class B truck from 1918 to 1922. Lillie Elizabeth McGee Drennan is credited as the first commercial licensed female truck driver in 1929. Elizabeth Dole became the first woman to hold the U.S. Secretary of Transportation in 1983. Mary Barra became the first woman to lead a major auto manufacturer (GM) in 2014. At Trinity, 61 percent of our employees are women, with 11 percent of those women in management roles. Even though it’s not something new, women in certain sectors of the transportation industry is considered “non-traditional”.
Right now, women comprise about 7 percent of the overall trucking population. This number is on the rise and so are the organizations that focus on women in the trucking industry. REAL Women in Trucking and the Women in Trucking Association have taken initiatives of encouraging the employment of more women in the trucking industry, promoting accomplishments, helping to overcome obstacles, and serve as a mentor and support network. In this blog we’ll be looking at what is motivating more women to get into trucking, some challenges that they are faced with, and how women truck drivers may play a role in driver retention.

Attraction to the trucking industry

Attraction to the trucking industry varies widely for both men and women. Over 80 percent of women truck drivers came into the industry because of a family member or friend, finding employment as part of a team. Other aspiring women truckers are driven to the industry by the salary that can aid in overcoming personal struggles and the want to become more self-sufficient.
We reached out to some of our female carriers to see what attracted them to the trucking industry. One of our owner-operators said that she was attracted to the freedom that being a truck driver brought while another said that being able to be her own boss was a huge motivator. And let’s not forget, the opportunity to see much of the country. While money, freedom, and travel are great motivators, challenges for women in the industry exist.

Challenges and Safety

Safety is a major concern among many female truck drivers. According to a Women in Trucking’s Best Practices Survey, women truck drivers rated how safe they felt in their job a 4.4 on a scale of 1 to 10. This included all aspects of safety on the job; personal, while driving and stopped, weather, equipment, infrastructure, and other drivers on the road.
To help lessen some equipment concerns and challenges, some companies are beginning to offer vehicle packages that include ergonomic details such as adjusted height, better placement of cab grab handles and dash cluster gauges, a cab security system and more accessible oil and coolant checks.
Others are tackling personal safety concerns head on. Real Women in Trucking will be hosting a self-defense course for women drivers that attend the Queen of the Road on the High Seas cruise this year. The course is intended to bring awareness to the dangers female drivers face while on the road and educate attendees on effective defense techniques.
These and many other advances in the industry are helping to retain women drivers.

Retention and recruiting

Two main factors come into play when trying to battle the increasing driver shortage; retention and recruiting. One study found that women and men truck drivers leave the industry for different reasons and carriers who understand the differences will be more successful in driver retention.
Women tend to be more concerned about the quality of their equipment and relationships with dispatchers, and are more likely to part ways with a carrier if they feel their equipment is unsafe and dispatcher relationships go south. Based on data from Omnitracs’, women drivers are more likely to stay at the same job longer, drive more miles, and have fewer severe accidents than the average truck driver.
On the recruiting side, many companies are pushing for more out of the box solutions that include “non-traditional” truck driver recruits, such as women. To attract more women drivers, carriers that shift recruiting efforts and address women driver concerns are more likely to have a competitive edge over companies that are resistant to change. Women make up half of the American workforce and it’s time to bring that force further into the trucking world.

Even though many shippers are experiencing a volatile start to 2018, consumer expectations remain higher than ever. As supply chains continue to grow increasingly complex, many are left searching for new and creative ways to continue to meet customer demand without breaking the bank.
A Transportation Management System (TMS) is one possible solution to help shippers meet these challenges head on.

WHY TMS?

A TMS gives shippers the tools and capabilities needed in today’s complex world of logistics. Leveraging technology and automation helps best manage supply chain processes through the ups and downs of any market. However in times of tight capacity and increasing rates, the benefits gained prove even more vital.
TMS shippers experience increased:

*With technology and automation doing much of the heavy lifting, a TMS shipper allocates their time and resources to the proactive tasks that drive their business forward.

Get a free supply chain analysis and see if a TMS makes sense for you.