Dynamic Decision Support for Regional LTL Carriers

The regional Less-than-truckload Trucking industry has changed substantially over the last few years. Large national LTL carriers are increasingly pushing their way into what were once regional markets. Driving the change is a combination of technology, a shift in production to Asia and economies of scale which allow third-party logistics providers and national LTL carriers to move into traditionally regional markets. To compete with these national carriers, which enjoy economies of scale, regional carriers have to provide better service at lower costs. Costs can be reduced by reducing the Transportation and Handling Costs and by managing drivers efficiently. This book presents methods to reduce the daily Driver requirements for regional LTL carriers and to reduce daily costs of Transportation and Handling. One effective way to decrease driver requirements is by using Meet-and-turns. This book discusses the theoretical ramifications of the use of meet-and-turns and how it affects driver requirements. This book will be useful for people Operations Managers at regional LTL carriers and for companies developing planning software for LTL carriers.