Finding and hiring a reliable trucking company nowadays is not that difficult, however, it does require a lot of time and effort spent on looking for one. With so many truckers and truck shipping companies providing their services, it can be quite daunting to find the one that will help you with your business shipments.
In order to shorten your search process and narrow down your list, try basing your search on the following tips.
Utilize Load Boards
If you want a number of truck shipping companies to bid on your trucking needs, make sure to drop your shipment on one of the load boards and have the trucking companies bid on that project. This is one of the oldest and simplest ways of finding a company that can satisfy all your truck shipping requirements and needs.
Scour the Web
Another simple and easy method of looking for the best truck services is to simply go online and do some browsing. All you have to do is type what you need in a search engine and go through the results. However, keep in mind that you will probably get hundreds or thousands of results. Make sure to devote some time, in order to go through at least some of them, so as to get a clearer picture in regards to the services that are currently on offer. Also, remember to search Federal and industry databases such as the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration and see if various motor carriers are deemed fit to offer truck shipping services. Lastly, it would be also good to check out some reviews and impressions of other individuals or businesses. Status Transportation Reviews, and check the experiences of others.
Industry associations
You can also utilize and contact various trucking industry sources and see if they can help you locate reliable truck shipping companies in your local area. This way, you will most likely hear about the successes and failures of a certain trucking company and how it handles its services and projects. For this purpose, you can rely on the Association of Transportation Intermediaries, which provides accurate reports regarding negligent carriers that back-solicit, double-broker or cancel their services at the last minute. With its help, you can easily avoid all kinds of shady services providers and unpleasant experiences.
Use a Carrier Qualification system
If you run a business that sends out regular shipments of fragile products or materials, make sure to implement a carrier qualification system, in order to avoid service failures and cargo claims. With this in mind, always remember that some service failures are simply out of your control. In the business of truck shipments, one must always incorporate a calculated risk. Due to the unpredictable nature of truck shipment services, many consider this calculated risk as a necessity. With the help of a Carrier Qualification System, you can rely on carrier qualification guidelines and template contracts, so as to ensure your diligence in selecting a proper shipping service, in case you need to deal with insurance policies and claims.
Industry publications and magazines
Lastly, you can always rely on publications that include truck and truck shipping services. These are issued on daily or a weekly basis and can be of great help if you are new to the trucking business, as they contain all the necessary information pertaining to truck service providers.…