Market and industry-specific success depend heavily on how well management and team members prepare for what lies ahead. Keeping up with the peak shipping season delivery trends, market shifts, and customer demands makes the process easier for shippers from start to finish. Predictive planning and statistical baking can help shippers prepare for known and anticipated peak shipping season capacity crunches.
According to Peter S. Goodman of The New York Times, the four peak shipping seasons are more vital than ever.
“With the havoc at ports showing no signs of abating and prices for a vast array of goods still rising, the world is absorbing a troubling realization: Time alone will not solve the Great Supply Chain Disruption.”
The years ahead are likely to be just as volatile and uncertain. Peak season logistics will be critical in local and global supply chain recovery.
Learning From the Past to Prepare For the Future of Ocean Freight Peak Season
Looking at past peak shipping seasons and learning from what did and did not work can help shippers make the most of future peak seasons. The most significant issues facing ocean freight transportation and peak season shipping include:
- Raw material and base product shortages.
- Poor freight market insight and data access.
- Ongoing driver and worker shortages.
- Increases in peak season surcharges.
- Rising interest in e-commerce shipping services.
- Shifting customer demands and expectations.
- Managing inbound freight during peak season demand uncertainty.
Peak season logistics and the associated pressures have increased the demand for omnimodal transportation management systems that can bring together disparate data streams while providing actionable insights for shippers.
Learning from past peak shipping season data can help ensure success in during future demand surges.
What Are the 4 Peak Shipping Seasons?
Understanding the major peak shipping seasons is critical. Knowing the impact on local and global supply and demand for each season allows supply chain participants to seize performance improvement opportunities. Balancing rising costs and peak season surcharges with the increase in orders and profits requires a keen understanding of how each peak season works and how shippers can best interact with customers during these times.
The following peak seasons that relate to fleet management and shipping logistics include:
Back-to-School Peak Shipping Season Kick-Off
For most shippers and freight management service providers, the start of peak season is the back-to-school crunch upon the industry now. With the beginning of the ocean freight peak season, shippers must remain focused on providing the best transportation services possible. Using data from reliable sources provides insights unavailable elsewhere. It ensures shippers can improve capacity management in supply chain operations, no matter how big or small their niche focus might be.
In a recent article about back-to-school peak shipping season, InTek Freight & Logistics highlighted, “shopping for back-to-school merchandise is an important ritual for families, and plenty important for retailers as well, accounting for nearly $110 billion last year when college is factored in. Back-to-school retail also marks the beginning of a key stretch in freight and logistics that traditionally lasts about half the year — peak shipping season.”
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Prepare for Peak Seasons by Partnering With Industry Experts
Technological advances with logistics strategies have unbelievable short-term and long-term impacts that can change local and global supply chains for the better. Advancements in logistical planning, peak season surcharge management, and peak shipping season operations are more manageable when you have industry insight and personalized guidance.
To ready your organization for every peak shipping season download the MercuryGate eBook, “Peak Season: Preparation & Execution Guide for Shippers and LSPs.” It can help you realize an additional 2% on top of typical TMS implementation returns.
