We're partnering up with them for truck-based air freight services. And, truth be told, truckers are not looking to partner up with just any air freight company. EGL's approach, which includes costly commitments to space well in advance of sales to shippers, is especially attractive to truckers because it helps justify the investment required to fulfill premium offerings. For instance, along with time-definite delivery, the CRST air freight service keeps the same drivers in rotation on particular routes to make the service predictable and efficient and the company negotiates a roundtrip rate to ensure the trucks keep moving. Yet you still have guys who want the one-way rate and then wonder why you don't have the equipment in place the next week.
Experts say shippers have already bought into the shift.
Discussions of rates and service based on mode are still the norm, but the modal distinctions are increasingly giving way to delivery commitments centered on time. For air operators, that will likely mean even more focus on value-added logistics service and on clear delivery commitments. But truckers insist that whatever the air cargo companies do, time remains on their side. I think in air freight they call that overnight. Inc. All rights reserved.