International Furniture Transportation and Logistics Council website: iftlc.org
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News
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ANNOUNCEMENT
August 1, 2011 Worldwide Logistics will be increasing its rates on average approximately
ten percent. The ten percent increase will be the product of a GRI in its tariff of seven
percent. The greatest impact on its rates however will be the result of WorldWide Logistics'
treatment of "Percent of Invoice" (POI) rate structures, "Seat" rate structures, "Palletized"
Furniture shipments, and minimum revenue per stop.
Company officials state that Specialized Furniture Carriers have suffered far too long from
the practice of POI pricing. POI rates in general have had a very negative impact on Return
on Investment due to a number factors including but not limited to under valuation,
discounted shipments and carriers' inability to confirm shipment valuation.
The application of "Seat" rates on upholstery shipments has led to further revenue
degradation for Specialized Furniture Carriers. Seats are not a consistent uniform unit of
measurement and typically fewer seats can be loaded on a trailer than anticipated as a
result of the reliance of seat count representation from certain shippers.
The recent surge in the number of "Palletized" furniture shipments has had a dramatic
negative impact on revenue per load. Typically pallets are not squared off above with
product and there is product overhang. As a result loads can not be adequately cubed out
above the palletized shipment and product overhang invades the adjacent foot print further
reducing the ability to cube out the trailer. The result is a lack of cubic footage space
utilization and a revenue short fall on the trailer.
The growth in prepaid freight programs in recent years has resulted in overwhelming
revenue declines on a per stop basis. The reduction and in some instances the elimination
of minimum charges has resulted in revenue levels that make it unprofitable to facilitate the
delivery.
These rate structures and shipping practices along with ever increasing costs and
government mandates are challenging the survival of the Specialized Furniture Carrier
industry. In the absence of diverting equipment to haul alternative commodities with a
reasonable yield these rate adjustments are necessary and are critical to Worldwide
Logistics' ability to deliver the level of service the furniture industry demands. The net
impact of these rate adjustments to the retail price of furniture will be less than one percent.
From Richard Eanes, Chairman, Worldwide Logistics, Inc, Martinsville, VA