What Is a Drop Trailer?

In terms of trailer logistics, a “drop trailer” is a trailer truck that’s left, or “dropped”, at the shipper’s facility. It can then be unloaded or loaded by the receiver as needed, allowing the driver to leave and deliver more trailers. At a pre-arranged time, either the original driver or a new driver will come to retrieve the drop trailer. In essence, it’s a more efficient way to deliver supplies. It permits the receiver to unload it at their convenience, and it does not require the driver to do much more than drop it off and pick it up later.

Drop Trailers Save Time

Without using a drop trailer, shipping company drivers are expected to arrive at a specific window of time to make their deliveries. These windows are easy to miss, both due to unpredictable driving conditions such as bad weather or traffic and due to the ELD mandate setting mandatory rest breaks. Even when the window is met, it can take hours to load or unload the trailer, giving each driver less time to spend delivering other shipments to other customers. This can harm the shipment company overall, especially if fees must be paid due to delays. Additionally, a driver can only be on the road for 11 hours a day per the FMSCA. This means that reaching delivery windows and taking part in the unloading or loading process can severely limit how much a delivery driver can actually do each day. Putting it all together, traditional shipments can be difficult to make, time-consuming to complete, and easily influenced by factors beyond the driver’s control.

With drop trailer logistics, arriving at the right window of time isn’t necessary; the trailer simply needs to be dropped at the facility and picked up later. There’s no more hassle with reaching the destination on time, and the driver no longer has to be involved with unloading or loading the trailer. Instead, the driver can spend that time delivering more drop trailers, saving money and allowing more customers to be satisfied at once. When a different driver is the one retrieving the dropped trailer, the process is even smoother. Suddenly, the work of carrying trailers can be streamlined, allowing for a smooth and continual process. It also results in faster and more accurate delivery times, meaning more work can be done in a shorter amount of time. This is good for everyone involved and can make the company seem more reliable overall.

Drop Trailers Save Money

Another benefit of using drop trailers is that they can help fix and avoid supply chain issues and rising inflation prices. When less time is needed to drop off trailers, that’s also less time that the driver has to spend working, meaning that the shipments themselves don’t need to cost as much. The customers save money, while carrier companies can have more profit for less time and stress.

Drop Trailers Help Customers

It’s not all about the carriers. When customers work with drop trailer companies, they’re more likely to be satisfied and continue working with those companies again. This is because shipments are done faster, cheaper, and more accurately. Customers will be able to trust that their supplies are arriving on time due to the elimination of delivery windows and loading work that might otherwise force a driver to be late. Meanwhile, the ability to save money with each shipment means that customers will often end up favoring the drop trailer program over a traditional shipping program.

Should Shipment Companies Use Drop Trailers?

It’s not just customers and carriers that can benefit from the use of drop trailers. Shipment companies can benefit as well, provided that their cargo isn’t perishable, such as boxes of produce that need to be kept at the right temperature. A shipment company that’s looking for greater flexibility, a way to ship out a consistent volume of supply, and a way to avoid the hassle of loading time windows and delays, can make great use of incorporating a drop trailer program into their shipping process.