Lynden Transport’s Inbound/Outbound Freight Solution Essay

Introduction Today we are going to explain and possibly solve Lynden Transport’s problem of more inbound freight than out-bound. While our solution is not necessarily out-bound freight in the true sense, it is a way for the company to save money. This problem is not unique to Lynden Transport and with them possibly leading the way in the use of our solution, they can continue to be at the forefront of the transportation industry. Our solution is to use a collapsible twenty-foot equivalent unit to solve the problem of empty containers shipped back to the origination point. Some of the problems we will address are; the prices of shipping empty non-collapsible containers, the cost of new collapsible containers, what to do with the old†¦show more content†¦Discussion Lynden Transport has reported eighty percent of the freight in Alaska is inbound freight. This leaves nearly twenty percent for the outbound freight. Not being a math wizard, you can see that leaves a significant amount of empty trailers in Alaska. These empty trailers are then shipped back to Washington costing Lynden almost $800.00 per empty trailer. A Dutch based company has come up with an ingenious solution. Taking a twenty-foot equivalent unit (TEU) and cutting the sides, they have created a collapsible unit that can fold into one-fourth the size of the standard TEU. So now, you can essentially stack four units and ship for the price of one unit. What they have done is take a fiber strengthened plastic composite material and hinged it down the sides of the unit so that it will fold in on itself. They use this composite for a couple of reasons that are interesting as well. The composite is not metal so RFID tags and GPS tracking will have no interference from the TEU its elf. Being a non-metallic composite eliminates the possibility of corrosion and corrosion related problems. Fiber strengthened plastic composite material is also much lighter that the steel used for the traditional units. This point has many solutions in mind. With lighter trailers, you can now put heavier cargo without worrying about having to get a special use permit