Celadon Closing

Monday morning, trucking giant, Celadon group, filed for bankruptcy and announced the closing of the Indianapolis-based trucking firm. FreightWaves reports that Celadon is the largest truckload carrier to file bankruptcy in history. It’s a staggering closing, just weeks before Christmas with nearly 4000 employees put out of work. 

And what about those of you who work in the many shipping departments of manufacturers and distributors affected by this closing? What do you do when your primary carrier, the partner you need for industry knowledge, regulations, transportation management, on-time delivery just up and closes on a Monday morning–two weeks before Christmas?

You’re left scurrying to recover loads previously hauled by Celadon.

Here at AM Transport Services, we understand your pain. We know that common industry belief says that working strictly with asset providers is preferable to working with brokers or 3PLs. That is until something catastrophic–like Celadon’s closing–occurs. Then you’re up a creek without a paddle–and so is your freight.

So if asset-based providers aren’t the answer, what do you do? 

Find a small to mid-size, regional third party logistics (3PL) provider because you need a partner you can trust. You see, folks often believe that bigger is better–more resources, more trucks, more people. But the truth is in the world of cloud computing and innovative technologies, small companies are often better positioned to navigate disruption like the Celadon closing.

Access to Resources:

Big companies have more red tape to cut through and often cannot respond to difficulties as quickly or nimbly as smaller counterparts. Smaller companies with leaner operations and fewer operating expenses benefit from the ability to allocate resources to new projects which leads to quicker response and development times.

Smaller Teams:

Smaller companies like AMT are comprised of team members who have broad experience in all aspects of operation. This leads to widespread knowledge and a culture of cooperation which accelerates the speed at which they work. Bigger companies with many levels of bureaucracy are hampered by the ponderous channels employees are expected to swim through, and that means your freight is left on the dock.

Capacity:

Small to midsize 3PLs know carriers you have never heard of and won’t. At AMT, we’ve been in transportation for 30 years. We’ve built relationships with the best small to midsize carriers in the business. They’re on-time, loyal, and they want to haul your freight. In fact, they’ll treat your freight like their own. And that’s a promise.

If the Celadon closing hasn’t got you down, you’re ahead of the game. But who knows when the next mega-carrier will close down? Do you want to trust your freight to a big corporation beholden to stockholders and executives? Or do you want to work with a team of experts who’ll make sure your freight is managed with attention to every detail from pickup to delivery?

We think we know the answer. Schedule a call with the experts at AMT today.