Trucking Companies Roll With Supply Chain Punches

Grocery chains seeking greater control over inbound inventory and manufacturers pursuing more sustainable shipping are making business hotter for refrigerated freight haulers.

Trucking companies that haul temperature-sensitive freight, especially food products, may be more recession-proof than companies that carry consumer dry goods. But increased interest in retail inventory management and environmentally sensitive shipping practices are placing new demands on refrigerated fleet operators. In many cases, its a question of shipping more freight with fewer trucks, as shippers and retailers look to save money and cut carbon emissions.

Kraft Foods, for example, cut more than 50 million truck miles from its global supply chain over the past four years by shifting freight from highway trailers to barges, boats and railcars.

We think about miles, piles and idles when moving our product, said Steve Yucknut, vice president of sustainability at the $42 billion food products company. Were finding ways to drive fewer miles, reduce inventory piles and eliminate idling trucks.

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