Top 10 Reasons Shipments Get Delayed And How to Prevent Them
Have you ever ordered something online and waited in anticipation for it to arrive, only to find yourself growing more irritated by the day when days turn into weeks with no sign of your new item? We can all relate to the fury of awaiting a highly-anticipated delivery only to track it compulsively then groan when there is another delay. Hence, this is where you can rely on an international courier service such as Deskmate Global Express to save your parcels from arriving late. In particular, these are some of the main causes and creating international shipment problems. Weather incidents like snowfalls, hurricanes, or, in the case of certain cities, floods can create delays in transit and delivery times.
Furthermore, medical items, tablets, perishable goods like food and personal cosmetic products might require climate controlled conditions or have shipping times extended by heat waves.
1. Carrier-related Delays
Carriers can experience delays for a multitude of reasons, such as mechanical breakdowns, no shows, etc To avoid delays at customs, shippers really need to double-check that all their paperwork is not only complete but also accurate. If you team up with skilled customs brokers and look into pre-clearance options, you can really speed up the customs process.
2. Season delays
This is where things get interesting. Peak Season refers to those specific times of the year when freight volumes in the shipping sector significantly increase. These days, there’s more demand than supply, and that’s putting a lot of stress on the supply chain. In the world of ocean freight, the busiest time usually kicks off in August due to back-to-school shopping, stretching all the way through November for the holidays in the US. Following a quiet period in December and the start of January, the Lunar New Year at the end of January and into early February brings production and export activities to a standstill in various East Asian nations.
3. Shipping delays
The habits of consumers have a significant impact on the global shipping sector. Unexpected shifts in what consumers want can swiftly affect the entire industry. Over the past several years, eCommerce and online shopping have been booming outbound. Demand for international products has been a great pressure on the shipping sector. The surge in demand has caused a global backlog of shipments and interruptions to shipping schedules. The building of ships and the growth of necessary infrastructure fell behind the swift increase in demand. As a result, numerous companies have faced Shipping delays had their impacts on the smooth operation and revenue of the companies involved. The reports cite 42% of the online shoppers leaving their carts due to extended and unattractive delivery periods.
4. Issues with Trucking
Shortage of load capacity on trucks and appropriate equipment pose serious challenges in logistics, causing major delivery delays. Shippers and forwarders are having a hard time transporting their cargos with so little supply of chassis, the load-bearing equipment used by trucks. This only ends up aggravating the present delays being experienced by trucking, which results in late shipments and increased costs.
5. Wrong Documentation or Paperwork
Wrong paperwork or missing documentation is one of the most frequent yet also very avoidable causes of shipment delays. The problem is very evident in international shipping where customs clearance is involved. Every shipment has important documents, such as a commercial invoice, packing list, and certificate of origin. Any one of these documents is essential to the least, yet the shipping process can be delayed by their absence or inaccuracies, whether from the origin port at the moment of shipment or at the destination upon customs clearance.
6. Equipment Shortage
A shortage of containers, trucks, or vessels would stop the shipping process from moving forward, especially during peak seasons or global supply .Equipment shortages have been increasingly common with increased demand and disruption of supply chains.
7. Schedule Changes
Schedule changes due to traffic problems are a good cause of shipment delays, particularly when inland transportation is chosen. Certain unforeseen road closures, constructions, or accidents can contribute to the delays of shipments.
8. Inadequate Carrier Capacity
Securing a carrier’s capacity is difficult in any transportation. The season also counts towards a good selling season for capacity. Transportation management system (TMS) ties the forecast of market demand with carrier capacity. A transportation management system also easily integrates with digital freight markets, digital bid platforms, and brokerage partners. Advanced digital TMS solutions offer shippers the significantly quicker, flexible, and adaptive methods to locate capacity at least cost.