How specialized drayage and transloading helped a manufacturer achieve 100% on-time delivery

• Schneider coordinated specialized drayage, transloading and flatbed transportation to move overweight 40,000-pound containers of rail car components from the Port of Chicago.
• An extra-long forklift and specialty chassis enabled the freight to be handled safely, despite the customer’s equipment limitations.
• Schneider achieved 100% on-time delivery and 100% freight acceptance while helping the manufacturer maintain production schedules.
• The successful solution avoided demurrage and per diem charges and became an ongoing service for the customer.

For nearly a decade, Schneider has had a strong relationship with a customer who assembles and manufactures rail car parts. In fact, the manufacturer has outsourced most of its freight management to the transportation provider’s Supply Chain and Distribution Management (SCDM) division. 

That means the Schneider SCDM team handles a wide range of transportation functions for the manufacturer, including but not limited to securing capacity for shipments and scheduling delivery appointments. As the relationship and workload grew, the customer asked Schneider to help with more complex transportation needs.

The manufacturer learned that an overnight arrival of bolsters (large metal sheets that fit between the wheels of rail cars) had landed in port in Chicago. It notified Schneider to help move the bolsters to a warehouse in southern Illinois. The bolsters were shipped in 20-foot containers and were overweight at 40,000 pounds.

Schneider quickly devised a sophisticated equipment and logistics solution to address the heavy product weight. Specifically, the containers required an extra-long forklift for transloading because the plant didn’t have the staff and equipment to handle the product the way it comes into port. Schneider also needed a specialty chassis for dray services and flatbed coordination to smoothly transport the bolsters from Chicago to the warehouse.

Extensive expertise in moving freight in and out of ports and an extended network enabled Schneider to efficiently manage the customer’s service needs. 

Schneider acquired the three core components necessary for a successful freight move out of the port: 

1. A drayage carrier 
2. A transloader 
3. Flatbed delivery 

Schneider utilized its own assets and third-party logistics providers to create and implement a fast solution. 

With the correct equipment and processes in place, Schneider was able to: 

• Oversee the removal of the bolsters from the ocean containers
• Reassemble them to the length of the flatbed trailer
• Send them to the manufacturing plant 

With several pieces to fit together and a tight turnaround, Schneider delivered a seamless solution. Key outcomes included:

• Providing 100% on-time delivery
• Achieving 100% acceptance of freight
• Meeting production schedules
• Avoiding demurrage and per diem costs
• Devising a timely solution for a complicated issue

What the customer initially saw as a one-time need is now a shipment that Schneider manages consistently. The manufacturer saw the value that Schneider brought to this work, including the expert assembly of specialty equipment and flawless execution of the logistics.

Now when Schneider gets the call that a new shipment is on its way, the team has a proven solution in place to move it efficiently from port to plant.