Circle Hones in on Drayage as Shortages and Delays Persist
Circle Logistics (Circle), one of the fastest-growing Third-Party Logistics (3PL) providers in the nation, officially announced that it has launched a drayage division to provide support at the Port of Detroit, the largest seaport in the state of Michigan. This initiative was developed to alleviate heightened pressures stemming from global shortages in equipment and labor that have extended turnaround times and delays within the drayage process. Through its extensive network of industry leaders and providers, Circle will now provide drayage offerings for its customers, servicing the U.S. and Canada.
Intense backlog at shipping ports has become a prevalent issue affecting every facet of global freight. In addition, the culmination of driver, rubber, truck and chassis shortages has produced a trickle-down effect, making drayage operations increasingly difficult to execute.
“When analyzing the current state of the supply chain we identified an opportunity to apply our most successful end-to-end logistics service philosophies to the drayage industry,” said William Costello, Terminal Manager, Circle. “For the past decade, Circle’s operations have committed to providing no-fail service that establishes visibility and reliability, even in the most complex market conditions.”
Included in its division offerings, Circle will connect customers to their private pool of chassis to help alleviate the chassis shortage that has been limiting drayage processes at ports all over the globe for the last year. The matter has only gotten worse since the Norfolk Southern Railway recalled more than 5,000 domestic chassis just last month alone. Circle’s private pool of chassis will be available to haul inbound loads and facilitate necessary processes.
Circle’s drayage division will also move 20, 40, 45, and 48ft. intermodal containers and service 53 ft. domestic lanes. The division will offer truck to port service, pre-pull, storage, same day expedited shipments, and tracking of containers for smoother deliveries with optimized Reefer monitoring. Equipped with open top in/out of gauge containers, flat rack & tankers, and Overweight 20ft & 40ft Tri-axle moves, its capabilities can thoroughly execute a wide range of drayage operations.