What is a drop trailer?
Gilbert International provides several transportation services. We support a drop trailer program among our many transportation services, which allows us to import and export shipments with greater efficiency and economy than ever before.
What Is a Drop Trailer Program?
A drop trailer program is a method of shipment and transport where drivers bring their trailer shipment to a warehouse and “drop” it off there. One driver can then hook up their truck to a new trailer that warehouse workers already loaded and prepared. The drivers can then continue traveling, wasting little time, and consistently making headway on their course.
Once the warehouse handles the initial trailer’s cargo, a new driver can pick up and carry the trailer to its next destination. This new driver also can leave a shipment trailer upon arrival, depending on their workload.
There are several reasons why using our drop trailer service is your best choice for transporting and delivering shipments.
1. Drop Trailer Programs Help All Workers Involved
Drop trailer programs primarily affect and help personnel in two different areas: warehouse workers and truck drivers. Truck drivers no longer have to wait for warehouse workers to show up at a precisely scheduled time, a span that can infringe on their hours of service.
Instead of waiting for warehouse workers, drivers can use that time to keep transportation flowing. Alternatively, if they have met their maximum of eleven hours of service for that duration, they now possess the ability to rest and prepare for their next shift.
For warehouse workers, a driver’s time constraints no longer confine them to a small window of time for which they must be present to unload the trailer’s shipment. Both warehouse and driving personnel’s service time becomes far more economical as they no longer must wait on the other.
Providing a drop trailer program allows us at Gilbert International to keep our prices down, use resources effectively, and give drivers and warehouse workers scheduling flexibility.
2. Drop Trailers Save Time and Abide by the ELD Mandate
On April 1st, 2018, the CVSA implemented an ELD (electronic logging device) mandate that tightened up monitoring freight driver’s time of service. The ELD keeps strict accounts of how long a driver has been in service.
If a driver violates rules regarding their time of service, their commercial driving license (CDL) can be suspended or revoked. A problem like this hinders the fluid transport of shipments.
Because of the lessened leeway with time constraints that drivers now face, the prospect of making sure that they arrive at a warehouse when workers are present to unload and reload puts strain on both workers and drivers.
A drop trailer program circumvents this whole issue. A driver can leave their shipment at a warehouse and quickly continue onward. This program makes scheduling and time efficiency easier for everyone involved.
3. Drop Trailers Reduce Overloaded Warehouses
If you’re dealing with a consistent flow of shipments, drop trailers keep them moving in and out at a fast rate. When faced with an overload of shipments or a lack of available staff, you’ll quickly occupy your available space.
This can prevent a smooth operation, garnering penalties down the road from preventing truckers from continuing en route to their next destination. These penalties can be costly, especially when they accumulate, and prevent your company from working at its full potential.
It can be difficult to align warehouse workers’ loading windows with a truck driver’s schedule as they try to arrive at a location at a given time. With a buildup of freight in the warehouse, keeping the workflow moving after a trucker arrives becomes extra difficult.
A drop trailer program saves time and money without infringing on warehouse or driving personnel’s schedules and work capacities.
Why Choose Gilbert International?
Gilbert International provides a wide array of services, including a drop trailer program that keeps shipment, travel, and delivery on the move. We pride ourselves on executing our transportation, logistics, and distribution services in a way that saves time and money while being attentive to our customers’ needs.
Upholding our name's standard, we deliver the tools and methods for importing and exporting shipments outside of the United States. Being a U.S. Customs bonded organization as well as a foreign trade zone, we easily deliver shipments internationally, specializing in handling business between Canada and Mexico.
We are in an especially prime location for business across the Mexican border, as our headquarters sits right at the edge of Texas near Mexico.
With Gilbert International’s ability to transport across the Canadian and Mexican borders, we can travel to numerous locations, whether in the United States or one of our neighboring countries. Drop trailers allow us to do our job effectively and efficiently in a more cost-effective way than typical freight deliveries and pick-ups.
Our drop trailer service is just one of our many integrated services that include warehousing, distribution, and transportation. We address many components of transportation and logistics, from import/export to freight forwarding to customs consultation.
Having all of these services in one place and covering so many needs sets up a workflow that’s seamless, quick, and easy.
We are members of both the Texas Warehouse Association (TWA) and the International Warehouse Logistics Association (IWLA). We also attend continuous education sessions from the International Warehouse Logistics Association (IWLA), and Warehouse Education and Research Council (WERC). Our credibility has aided our reputation as being a top U.S. warehouse for over eighty years.
To follow up with more information about Gilbert International, be sure to check out our blog.
Find Out More About Drop Trailers with Gilbert International
Gilbert International is here to provide you with international import and export services. Using a drop trailer could be the best choice you could make for moving freight, saving time, money, and labor-hours.
We are a reputable and credible organization that has been in the business for almost a century. If you would like to work together and utilize our drop trailer services, contact us for more information on drop trailers and we’ll help get your shipments moving fast.