If you aren’t familiar with the concept of nearshoring, you likely will be soon. After decades of offshoring (i.e., moving certain operations overseas to lower costs), many U.S. businesses are bringing their manufacturing closer to home today.
Business transportation capabilities cover the spectrum, from large corporations that maintain massive truck and semi trailer fleets to small businesses that own no vehicles or trailers. But nearly all companies experience situations when having a trusted semi trailer provider comes in handy.
If you’ve been in the transportation industry for a while, you’re probably familiar with liftgate semi trailers. You might have used them or, at least, seen them in action. But if you’re new to the business, you may be unfamiliar with liftgate trailers you rent or lease and interested in learning more about them.
There was a time when perishable goods were rarely transported farther than around the town where they were grown or manufactured. Things are much different in today’s connected world. In the U.S., products are continually moving from coast to coast and everywhere in between, and they have to be properly protected throughout their journeys.
Nobody in business—from manufacturers and retailers to semi trailer leasing companies—will soon forget the supply chain issues spawned by the pandemic and worsened by various other issues. (Remember that massive barge jamming the Suez Canal?) The challenges companies faced kept logistics professionals up at night, frustrated consumers, and caused significant revenue drops for many organizations.
Companies and individual consumers have always returned products for reasons ranging from item defects to incorrect size or color to simply a change of heart about the purchase. And when those transactions took place in small numbers, the companies would handle the returns in whatever way made sense at the time. Often, there was no clearly defined process.