The Fast Lane for the Long Haul: The Advantages of Using Expedited Trucking for Long Distance Shipments

adam • June 9, 2023

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Expedited long-haul shipping could be best for your business

In today’s world, customers expect that goods will always be available and on shelves. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the supply chain struggled to keep up with these expectations, and many items were persistently out of stock, but that hasn’t changed customers’ appetite for on-demand things. In recent years, long-haul, expedited shipping has grown to fill that need for omnipresent availability by offering a faster, more secure way of getting items to the customer. The growth of expedited long-haul shipping provides new opportunities for delivering perishable items more effectively to stores. Expedited long-haul shipping can also address several other risks, including theft, spoilage, and delays.

A Changing Industry Demands Innovation

Customers are increasingly coming to expect fully stocked shelves year-round. As shippers and retailers work to meet those expectations, they search for ever-faster means of transportation while refusing to sacrifice reliability. Many shippers and retailers are turning to expedited long-haul shipments to meet growing customer demands for constant availability.

While expedited shipping has been an option for a while, it has historically been for the last leg of a shipment’s journey. As the demand for timely deliveries grows, long-haul, expedited shipping is becoming more common, and 3PLs are increasingly offering more expedited long-haul options.

The Fast Lane for the Long Haul: 3 Reasons to Choose Expedited Trucking for Your High-Stakes Long-Haul Shipment

Long-haul, expedited shipping could make all the difference when your success depends on delivering goods in a timely, efficient manner. Here are three reasons why expedited shipping may be the right choice for your business needs.

Minimized Risk of Delay

Typically, long-haul shipments make multiple stops and transfers. Each leg of the journey increases the risk of impediments such as traffic, weather, missed appointments, and more that threaten to delay your shipment. When you book expedited shipping, the truck and driver are allocated just for your shipment, reducing the delays caused by all those transfers and stops.

Minimizing delays is especially important for perishable food shipments. The clock for your perishable items is ticking as soon as those foods are picked or leave the production facility, and time is of the essence. Expedited trucking could mean the difference between a shipment delivered on time and one that gets spoiled.

Enhanced Security

Another benefit to expedited shipping is enhanced cargo security throughout the entire journey. Each time a regular long-haul truck stops to pick up or drop off cargo, there are additional opportunities for cargo theft. Food and beverages are among the most stolen cargo in the U.S., so reducing opportunities for theft can save you hundreds of thousands of dollars in lost shipments.

For perishable items, additional stops also mean refrigerated reefers are exposed to outdoor temperatures and can spoil more quickly. Longer transit times also mean more opportunities for equipment, such as reefers, to break, causing issues in maintaining proper temperature regulation. In these cases, expedited long-haul shipping means more temperature security and a lower risk that your goods will spoil.

Long-Term Cost-Effectiveness

Although expedited trucking for long-haul distances may involve higher costs than standard shipping options, the benefits outweigh the expenses for time-sensitive shipments. While it may cost more to ship your goods with expedited trucking, it still costs less than the money you stand to lose if your shipment spoils, is contaminated, or is stolen. It’s just smarter business. Faster delivery across long distances can also prevent production disruptions, minimize inventory holding costs, and avoid penalties for missed deadlines.

Additionally, partnering with expedited trucking companies can pay dividends in customer satisfaction, trust, and loyalty. The ability to meet customer demands promptly and ensure that desired items are on the shelf often leads to increased customer satisfaction and repeat business, which is priceless.

Make the Smart Business Choice: Use Expedited Long-Haul Shipping to Meet Urgent Needs

In some cases, partnering with expedited trucking companies just makes sense from a business point of view. Expedited long-haul shipping can help you get desired goods on shelves faster, minimize the risk of spoilage, delay, and theft, and build consumer trust and loyalty. Ready to get started? Contact Entourage Freight Solutions today.

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Tariffs, Trade Policy, and the Great Freight Fallout

By Nick Terry • April 28, 2025

In 2025, trade policy is no longer something that the freight industry can leave on the back burner. Trade policy today is shaping strategy at every level. From tariff escalations and retaliatory duties to sweeping regulatory changes and targeted maritime fees, supply chain leaders are navigating a freight market in which unpredictability is the only constant. Sourcing decisions are shifting, pricing dynamics are unstable, and long-standing operational models are being rewritten in real time. This edition brings together key stories highlighting the growing pressure across logistics channels. Each development points to an industry moving fast, and often reactively, to keep pace with volatile policy decisions. Tariffs Stall US Freight Recovery as Shippers Pause Orders The recent move by the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) to impose entrance fees on Chinese-built ships calling U.S. ports has only added to the confusion and uncertainty gripping global supply chains and freight operations. Shippers are pausing plans and slashing orders, with truckload volumes, containerized imports, and manufacturing output all showing signs of contraction. Ocean freight spot rates have collapsed: Asia-U.S. West Coast rates have fallen 61% since January to $2,050 per FEU, while East Coast rates have dropped 53.7% to $3,100 per FEU . Blank sailings are rising, with vessels leaving Asia half-empty. Amazon and Five Below are among the major retailers reducing orders from Asia. Container imports jumped 15.3% in 2024, but forecasts now predict a 20-27% decline through the summer. Exporters, particularly agriculture and forestry suppliers, are also squeezed, facing 125% retaliatory tariffs from China. Truckload and intermodal rates remain stagnant, while U.S. factory output fell sharply in March. US Apparel Importers Brace for Long-Term Volume Declines According to Trade Partnership Worldwide, a 124.1% tariff on Chinese clothing and footwear is expected to reduce U.S. apparel imports by 1.6% annually . China still accounts for 41.7% of apparel shipments, leaving limited flexibility for diversion. The American Apparel and Footwear Association (AAFA) is warning of price hikes and mounting infrastructure stress as sourcing pivots toward Vietnam, India, and Indonesia. A looming May 2 deadline for de minimis exemptions could further complicate flows and delay deliveries. Even with a temporary 90-day pause in reciprocal tariffs, the policy uncertainty already affects long-term planning. AAFA CEO Steve Lamar calls the shifting policies “chaotic,” and warned that high tariff pressure will hit both importers and U.S. manufacturers reliant on Chinese components. Port and rail capacity limitations at larger gateways are adding to concerns. Retailers now face rising costs, shrinking margins, and operational delays — all while consumer demand continues to shift rapidly. Freight Pricing Gains Lose Momentum According to the TD Cowen/AFS Freight Index, Q1 truckload rates rose 5.9% above the 2018 baseline, but are expected to decline slightly in Q2. Shippers are responding to tariff threats with aggressive front-loading and shorter-haul routes, driving per-shipment costs to three-year lows. LTL carriers remain focused on profitable lanes and high-quality freight rather than chasing volume. The index forecasts a 0.7% year-over-year increase in LTL rate per pound for Q2 , despite sustained demand softness and macro uncertainty. A key driver behind the softening spot market conditions is a shift to shorter hauls and regionalized distribution, pushing per-shipment costs to their lowest point in more than three years. This trend reflects how retailers and manufacturers are repositioning inventory in response to tariff volatility, as NRF’s Jonathan Gold and DAT analyst Dean Croke noted. Meanwhile, the LTL sector is seeing a 4% rise in fuel surcharges, offsetting lower weights and shorter hauls. With the freight market still under pressure after 26 months of contraction, optimism remains subdued as we enter the midyear period. US Truckload Freight Spot Rates Continue to Fluctuate National benchmark rates have experienced a decline across all categories. As of April 18, dry van decreased by 4 cents to $1.62, reefer by 2 cents to $1.88 , and flatbed by 3 cents to $2.16. This marked the first overall decrease since late January, signaling potential shifts in market dynamics. These changes can be attributed to factors such as tariff uncertainties and tighter capacity, especially affecting the flatbed market. Flatbed rates rely heavily on manufacturing activity in the country, which has been particularly hard-hit by the ongoing trade war with China, and to some extent, with the rest of the world. US Finalizes Tiered Fee Plan Targeting Chinese Ships The U.S. is moving forward with a revised plan to levy voyage-based fees on Chinese-owned and Chinese-built ships calling at American ports. The U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) announced the measure as part of a broader Trump administration effort to counter China’s dominance in shipbuilding and logistics while reigniting domestic ship construction and port infrastructure investment. Starting in six months, Chinese operators will be charged $50 per net ton, with an annual increase of $30 for three years . Non-Chinese carriers using Chinese-built vessels will face lower rates, beginning at $18 per ton or $120 per container, with annual increases. The USTR capped fee applications at five voyages per vessel annually, scaling back its original, more punitive per-port-call proposal after intense industry pushback. The fees are tied to findings from a USTR investigation, which concluded that China’s shipbuilding dominance — producing 29% of global fleet capacity and 70% of all container ships on order — stemmed from unfair trade practices. Exemptions apply to ships arriving empty, those in the Great Lakes or U.S. territories, and some bulk exports. LNG vessel transport restrictions will phase in over 22 years to support U.S. production. China’s largest container carrier, Cosco Shipping Lines, has sharply criticized the USTR’s plan. In a strongly worded statement, Cosco labeled the move as “discriminatory,” and warned it would disrupt global industrial and supply chain stability. Cosco denied allegations from that USTR investigation that claimed China manipulated its shipping and shipbuilding sectors to gain an unfair advantage. The carrier said it upholds “integrity, transparency, and compliance” in global competition and remains committed to ensuring the resilience of international trade. Walmart Investing $6B in Mexico, Central America Store Expansion Walmart of Mexico and Central America will invest $6 billion to open new stores across the region , reinforcing its long-term commitment to growth in Latin America. The expansion will include Bodega Aurrera, Walmart Supercenters, Sam’s Club, and Walmart Express formats, building on a robust network of 3,200 stores across all 32 Mexican states. This latest move echoes Walmart’s earlier $1.3 billion investment in 2016 for regional distribution and operational upgrades. The retailer entered the Mexican market in 1991 with a Sam’s Club in Mexico City. In a statement, Walmart said the new expansion reflects confidence in the region’s economic potential and consumer demand. Globally, Walmart continues to invest aggressively in infrastructure and store development. The company has pledged about $4.5 billion for its Canadian operations and $1.3 billion in Chile to build 70 new stores and a distribution center. In the U.S., Walmart is executing a five-year plan to build or convert more than 150 stores while modernizing 650 existing locations under its “Store of the Future” initiative. Experience Seamless Shipping with Entourage Freight Solutions Entourage Freight Solutions believes in total transparency in the shipping process. That is why we invest in tech solutions that track every shipment extensively, monitor every driver, and extract every bit of efficiency without sacrificing quality. Our state-of-the-art platform utilizes cloud-based GPS tracking to keep you informed, reroutes shipments on the fly to avoid delays, and even responds to real-time market changes to ensure you receive your shipment on time and as soon as possible. Our Services Full Truck Load (FTL): When you need a truck all to yourself. Less-Than-Truckload (LTL): Efficient solutions for multi-stop shipments or combining smaller loads to save on costs. Refrigerated Trucking: Keeping your temperature-sensitive products fresh and safe. Cross-Docking: Strategically located facilities in Shelby, Ohio, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and Romulus, Michigan, for streamlined consolidation, storage, and distribution. Ready to experience a new level of service and control in your freight shipping? Request a quote today to see how Entourage Freight Solutions can help with your freight movement and other supply chain needs.