Santa’s on his way! Retail companies are putting the pedal to the metal to keep pace with record-high online shopping for the holidays.
Delivery Elves Make it Happen
From Thanksgiving until the New Year, online purchasing will rise by 3.6% – but 95% of customers expect on-time, same-day shipping! In an already understaffed industry, shipping and trucking companies are hustling hard to adapt by hiring temporary seasonal workers, expanding infrastructure, and improving their technology.
Click on the image below for an overview of the trucking industry:
(graphic courtesy of www.fleetowner.com)
The holidays illustrate just how deeply trucking impacts our economy and our personal livelihoods. Fleetowner.com reviewed trucking by the numbers for 2015; from the revenue it hauls, to the taxes it pays, it’s easy to see the value trucking provides to the economy!
The Grinch Who Stole Your Cargo
As if you don’t have enough to worry about during the holiday season, according to FBI statistics, cargo thefts spike by 40% around Thanksgiving! Overall, food and beverage items were the most-stolen followed by thefts of electronics, metals, and clothing. Each theft averages a $147,060 loss.
The most-targeted state is Texas, almost double the amount of the next highest state – California, followed by Florida, Georgia, and New Jersey. It doesn’t seem to matter which state the thefts occur as Mondays rank high but weekends (Friday, Saturday, Sunday) account for 34% of all reported thefts.
To safeguard against cargo theft, make sure to remember the following security tips:
- Make sure to have accurate license plate, VIN and descriptive information for tractors, trailers, containers and container chassis for police in the event of a theft
- Secure all trailers, loaded and unloaded, with high-security barrier seals along with hardened padlocks
- Secure all tractors with high-security locking devices such as air-cuff and steering column locks
- Arrive at pick-up and delivery locations well-rested, showered, fed and with a full tank of fuel
- Avoid leaving loaded trailers unattended
How Can BigRoad Help?
Let us worry about making logging easy as you worry about delivering a Merry Christmas to all! BigRoad has been providing hours-of-service management solutions to the transportation industry since 2011. We invite you to setup a demo so that you can experience how easy compliance can be with us!
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