For manufacturers of hazardous chemicals and petroleum products, intermodal transportation poses a unique array of challenges unlike those encountered by other manufacturers, retailers or distributors. The inherent risk in handling and safely transporting hazmat products makes the process of sourcing qualified intermodal transportation providers more time-consuming and complex—whether shipments are moving by air, ship, rail or truck, or a combination of modes.

All shippers strive to keep costs under control while running a smooth, efficient and time-sensitive supply chain to fulfill orders and satisfy customers. A more significant challenge for hazmat shippers is the need to comply with myriad international and domestic government mandates and regulations regarding storage, packaging, handling, labeling, load securing and transporting hazmat substances. 

According to the American Chemistry Council, in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, chemical producers and their transportation partners have stepped up cooperation with law enforcement agencies, including the Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Coast Guard to combat potential threats. This adds yet another layer of complexity to the shipping equation.

Hazmat transport rules and regulations are well-known and carefully followed by major chemical manufacturers and processors. But, as the primary agents responsible for cradle-to-grave ownership of their products, they need to ensure that these regulations are precisely followed by the carriers they select, which can be a time-consuming process and more challenging proposition once the order has left the custody of the producer’s plant. 

Careful carrier selection is especially important in these times when capacity constraints are affecting shippers in all industries. With heavy reliance on cross-continent flatcar rail and bulk truck transportation, chemical manufacturers face even more of a capacity shortfall than general dry freight shippers, because specialized containerized equipment (e.g., tank trailers, ISO containers) and load securing techniques are required to haul their hazmat freight.   

 

How a 3PL partner adds real value

There are good reasons why so many of North America’s large shippers of chemical and petroleum products opt to work with qualified third party logistics (3PL) partners. A technology-based transportation management partner can add value in numerous ways designed to deliver safety, financial and operation benefits to their shipper clients. Following are a few examples of advantages a 3PL can provide:

Deep understanding of the unique compliance requirements of hazmat transportation. A 3PL with hazmat experience can work collaboratively with shippers to develop and execute solutions that meet their specific needs. They also have the experience and know-how to ensure compliance with safety and environmental standards established by federal and state governments and law enforcement agencies. They work with carriers who know what kinds of equipment and standards are required to transport various classifications of chemicals – and who train drivers according to the tenets of Federal Regulation 49-CFR regarding transport of hazmat and sensitive cargo. This reduces risk and builds in a reassuring layer of supply chain accountability.

Strategic shipment analysis and optimization. With an extensive network of carriers and in-depth knowledge of interconnected rail and truck routes and lanes, a 3PL determines if and when intermodal is a good fit, and can tender directly to its intermodal providers to shorten and simplify the selection process. Within the network, the 3PL also can provide historical information based on each carrier’s track record of on-time service, and demand accountability or eliminate specific carriers for less than stellar performance.

 Shipment visibility every step of the way. A technology-based 3PL can provide 360-degree visibility into every shipment, providing shippers with automated status updates, milestones, delay alerts and other reporting — all readily accessible from the time of order pick-up to the moment of delivery. This carrier-tracking capability not only allows shippers to keep their customers more informed about planned delivery schedules, but also enables the shippers to make better decisions on-the-fly if required while shipments are en route.

Increased efficiency and lower costs. A 3PL can deliver financial and operational efficiencies that help to reduce costs and improve supply chain performance. For example, in some cases, a 3PL can replace inefficient less-than-truckload (LTL) shipments with full truckloads (TL), help avoid expediting fees, and optimize routes and loads in order to improve performance and cost savings.

Sustainability—reducing the carbon footprint in logistics. Like all shippers today, chemical industry companies have become more environmentally conscious and are striving to reduce their carbon footprints by implementing best practices relative to mileage traveled, route efficiency, load optimization, and properly balancing shipment modes, time and costs against customer service expectations. This is destined to become an even bigger issue as government mandates for truck emissions and driver hours of service continue to escalate. By assisting in optimizing the supply chain, a qualified 3PL can help companies achieve their business objectives, while effectively reducing their environmental impact.  

Clearly, for hazmat shippers, a qualified logistics partner offering the right combination of transportation and global supply chain experience can ease the way towards optimization of complex logistics processes. We have proven results of how working with an experienced 3PL provider can reduce risk and often reduce costs. For manufacturers, the result is increased confidence that the products they ship will arrive at their destination in a safe and timely manner—whether across the state, across the continent, or across the world. wt