What is the difference?
- Thread starter UnEx11
- Start date
UnEx: I define Expediting as Door-to-Door; Exclusive use; Time sensitive, P/U and Deliver on the customers schedule, not the carrier.
A courier is typically local P/U delivery service with scheduled, dedicated deliveries or, on call to take one or more items to or from one or more customers.
I think the greatest difference between expediter and courier is the door to door and exclusive use. If not that then you are truck load or less than truck load (LTL) carrier.
No one person or carrier has a lock on the definitions. Some LTL folks call themselves expediters, perhaps because it sounds faster and exclusive.
Terry
A courier is typically local P/U delivery service with scheduled, dedicated deliveries or, on call to take one or more items to or from one or more customers.
I think the greatest difference between expediter and courier is the door to door and exclusive use. If not that then you are truck load or less than truck load (LTL) carrier.
No one person or carrier has a lock on the definitions. Some LTL folks call themselves expediters, perhaps because it sounds faster and exclusive.
Terry
Operating radius would be one of the biggest differences to me. Couriers run within a usually pretty limited geographic area like a city or metro area while expediters are limited only by running off into either of the oceans.
Leo Bricker
OOIDA 677319
truck 3034
73's K5LDB
Support the entire Constitution, not just the parts you like.
Leo Bricker
OOIDA 677319
truck 3034
73's K5LDB
Support the entire Constitution, not just the parts you like.
terryandrene, I'm going to be a bit pedantic(I've been waiting for a chance to use that word!)here and take issue with the exclusive use part of your excellant responce. While that is necesary most of the time, just meeting the customers needs is all that really needs to be done. It's not unusual to pick-up something only going 300 miles early in the day for next morning delivery. This creates an opportunity for a 2nd load and some extra bucks. When it's busy this has helped my bottom line.
It's
>not unusual to pick-up something only going 300 miles early
>in the day for next morning delivery. This creates an
>opportunity for a 2nd load and some extra bucks. When it's
>busy this has helped my bottom line.
I think it's great you've said that because there is no finite definition; only that which we believe to be commonly accepted by most folks in a given field.
I say get your money any way you can, whether it be one load at a time or two or more. That is not the issue or the reason I said exclusive use. When a customer hires our respective carriers, he has in effect hired us. That customer has the right to revise his shipping need and advance the delivery time to meet his schedule, not ours. If he can't unload his freight without first removing someone elses or, you're delayed at the first delivery and can't make the ETA of the second delivery, you've lost that customer forever. After all, they are paying premium prices for a premium service. I believe when you take on two or more customers you take leave of your expediter title and become an LTL carrier.
Terry
>not unusual to pick-up something only going 300 miles early
>in the day for next morning delivery. This creates an
>opportunity for a 2nd load and some extra bucks. When it's
>busy this has helped my bottom line.
I think it's great you've said that because there is no finite definition; only that which we believe to be commonly accepted by most folks in a given field.
I say get your money any way you can, whether it be one load at a time or two or more. That is not the issue or the reason I said exclusive use. When a customer hires our respective carriers, he has in effect hired us. That customer has the right to revise his shipping need and advance the delivery time to meet his schedule, not ours. If he can't unload his freight without first removing someone elses or, you're delayed at the first delivery and can't make the ETA of the second delivery, you've lost that customer forever. After all, they are paying premium prices for a premium service. I believe when you take on two or more customers you take leave of your expediter title and become an LTL carrier.
Terry
Point well taken. I've never had a problem with a multiple, but I know that it has happened on occasion. But, when a customer changes the aggrement they should understand that it may be difficult. The truck may have only 1 load on and decided to shut down for a break because he had the time to do so. If the consignee has a crisis all of a sudden, they still may have to wait a while.
I adopted my use of the above definitions after taking a poll on EO about a year ago. I asked the EO members and several different carriers' recruiters and the consensus was as I indicated.
Now that we've got a discussion going, how 'bout everyone joining in and help us decide an ideal definition of Expedited Freight and Expedited Carrier. Keep it short and sweet with not much more than 5 key-word phrases. Any lurkers from other trucking related sites, feel welcome to jump in with your ideas.
No tangible prizes but, we'll rate you two positve points for the best entries.
Terry
Now that we've got a discussion going, how 'bout everyone joining in and help us decide an ideal definition of Expedited Freight and Expedited Carrier. Keep it short and sweet with not much more than 5 key-word phrases. Any lurkers from other trucking related sites, feel welcome to jump in with your ideas.
No tangible prizes but, we'll rate you two positve points for the best entries.
Terry
greg334
Veteran Expediter
Ok I was a courier after I left college. There was no travel limits, many courier companies are local but a few are international.
I think the difference is in the items being transported. When I did this work, I never had anything bigger than a dog, yep a golden retriever but never any freight. I was bonded and I did on a couple occasions was escorted. Nope not the female escorts, I wish.
I think that the key thing is there is a cross over between the two on the company level; I mean a company can define it self as a courier company but expedite fright.
Oh yea, as a courier, there was sometimes no big rush to get somewhere, it is all about not losing things. I took checks to Trump (I think that who it was for, don’t remember) and had all weekend to get to NY but I was responsible for the checks and it limited my ability to sightsee.
I think the difference is in the items being transported. When I did this work, I never had anything bigger than a dog, yep a golden retriever but never any freight. I was bonded and I did on a couple occasions was escorted. Nope not the female escorts, I wish.
I think that the key thing is there is a cross over between the two on the company level; I mean a company can define it self as a courier company but expedite fright.
Oh yea, as a courier, there was sometimes no big rush to get somewhere, it is all about not losing things. I took checks to Trump (I think that who it was for, don’t remember) and had all weekend to get to NY but I was responsible for the checks and it limited my ability to sightsee.
I am finding EO and this forum to be a wealth of knowledge. I am impressed with the professionalism and courtesy of the members.
I am looking to start my own company. Most likely start as a local courier co., however, I see the potential in 'exclusive use' dedicated freight.
I currently own my own business that centers around the 'small parcel' environment and am looking to expand.
I am looking to start my own company. Most likely start as a local courier co., however, I see the potential in 'exclusive use' dedicated freight.
I currently own my own business that centers around the 'small parcel' environment and am looking to expand.
Tennesseahawk
Veteran Expediter
Very simply, expedite freight is whatever the customer is willing to pay an expedite rate to put on an expedite truck. I've heard so many weird things going expedite, it's hard to catagorize. What does a donated organ have to do with new x-boxes or tires or nuclear plant parts or a ball gown? That stuff goes on our trucks.
They call us when it needed to be there yesterday, when it needs extra care, when they don't trust a regular freight company, or they need to track the shipment. We pamper the customers. And for that, they're willing to pay expedite rates.
They call us when it needed to be there yesterday, when it needs extra care, when they don't trust a regular freight company, or they need to track the shipment. We pamper the customers. And for that, they're willing to pay expedite rates.
That was a pretty good way to put it T-hawk. Sometimes you wonder why they decide to expedite something. I once hauled a 10# box full of samples of styrofoam packing popcorn from Concord,On. to Ada, Ok. What made it really weird was how much time I had to do it. I shut down for sleep in Indy and still delivered 12 hours early. Seemed to me 2nd day UPS would have done the job just as well.
This may shed some light!
Courier: Except Air
(Establishments primarily engaged in furnishing delivery of individually addressed letters, parcels and packages (generally under 100 pounds) by truck or other land vehicle. Included are establishments that perform intercity transportation as well as establishments that, under contract to them, do the local pick-up and delivery.)
Messenger
(This industry group comprises establishments primarily engaged in providing local messenger and delivery services of small items within a single metropolitan or within an urban center. These establishments generally provide point-to-point pickup and delivery and do not operate as part of an intercity courier network.)
Trucking:
Industries in the Truck Transportation sub-sector provide over-the-road transportation of cargo using motor vehicles, such as trucks and tractor-trailers. The sub-sector is sub-divided into general freight trucking and specialized freight trucking. This distinction reflects differences in equipment used, type of load carried, scheduling, terminal, and other networking services. General freight transportation establishments handle a wide variety of general commodities, generally palletized, and transported in a container or van trailer. Specialized freight transportation is the transportation of cargo that, because of size, weight, shape, or other inherent characteristics require specialized equipment for transportation.
Expediting or an Expediter is the same as a Courier, on a larger scale. Most of the time, a courier company stays in the city or metropolitan area of a city. Their customer base are local businesses needing to get parcels or small packages from point ‘A’ to point ‘B’ ASAP, or as Terry mentioned doing routes or scheduled pick ups throughout the day.
When a driver working for a courier company gets a delivery going 200, 300, or 400 miles, that driver most always has to deadhead back to his base in order to receive another job. Even those courier companies that have multiple offices in other cities will not share the deliveries with their sisters. Expediting is done the same way, but all expedite companies have a national customer base, needing to move anything from A to Z but generally ship larger items that most courier companies are not set up and equipped to move.
Because of the fast pace our life styles have adapted to, expediting became very popular around the turn of the century.
Here is a story from a very dear friend of mine, who sums up the expediting industry very well:
“Many, many moons ago (approximately 15 years ago) there were only a few, truly qualified expedited carriers. It was a new service that was offered only by a few exclusive companies. These carriers were truly innovative and rode the wave of a new and upcoming business model in the automotive manufacturing business; it was called Just-in-Time or JIT.’
That is what expediting is or was called! Still is I think?
“As the JIT concept grew outside of the automotive arena - so did the opportunities for the carriers. For many years, these few carriers (and owner operators) enjoyed triple digit growth, as they were the only game in town. The carriers set the freight rates and the shippers were eager to pay "whatever it took" to get the freight to its destination. Many of us on this forum were fortunate enough to have benefited during these earlier times when the freight was plentiful and the rates were outstanding.
That was then, this is now.
As the industry grew so did amount of companies who wanted their piece of the pie. It was inevitable - triple digit growth catches a lot of attention. As truckload carriers were experiencing a major downturn in freight rates - expediting was busy raising their rates.
Where would you want to be?
The first waves of new companies were from full truckload carriers starting their new expediting divisions. Then a few years after that, there was a near avalanche of smaller mom and pop operations.
For the first time in the history of the industry - expediting was getting crowded and marketplace competition kicked in. Over the last five years, expedited freight rates have fallen. One could even suggest that they were artificially too high for the marketplace, similar to what happened in the tech stocks a few years ago.
For those of us who remember the "good ole days" it is sometimes frustrating when we look at what we had and where we are now. The fact of the matter is the rules of this industry have changed. There is a great book available at Amazon.com called "WHO MOVED MY CHEESE?" that deals with the constantly changing business arena and how we should respond to the changes.
So where are we headed?
The rules of engagement have changed. If you operate your business expecting 1985 - 1999 rates and freight you will not survive. Your business plan has to be smart. You must prepare for long stretches of slow times. You must be truly independent minded, if you depend on the carrier to solve all your issues, you are headed for a big disappointment.
Rich M. has a great business plan and has proved over the many years in this industry that you can be successful - but you have to plan it that way. As the saying goes. Failure to plan is planning for failure.
Those are my thoughts and the way I see it.â€
I too see Lawrence’s concept the very same way. As you can see, there really is not much of a difference between a ground courier and an expediter, other than the territory covered, and the size of the loads, most of the time. Hope this is of some help to you.
Courier: Except Air
(Establishments primarily engaged in furnishing delivery of individually addressed letters, parcels and packages (generally under 100 pounds) by truck or other land vehicle. Included are establishments that perform intercity transportation as well as establishments that, under contract to them, do the local pick-up and delivery.)
Messenger
(This industry group comprises establishments primarily engaged in providing local messenger and delivery services of small items within a single metropolitan or within an urban center. These establishments generally provide point-to-point pickup and delivery and do not operate as part of an intercity courier network.)
Trucking:
Industries in the Truck Transportation sub-sector provide over-the-road transportation of cargo using motor vehicles, such as trucks and tractor-trailers. The sub-sector is sub-divided into general freight trucking and specialized freight trucking. This distinction reflects differences in equipment used, type of load carried, scheduling, terminal, and other networking services. General freight transportation establishments handle a wide variety of general commodities, generally palletized, and transported in a container or van trailer. Specialized freight transportation is the transportation of cargo that, because of size, weight, shape, or other inherent characteristics require specialized equipment for transportation.
Expediting or an Expediter is the same as a Courier, on a larger scale. Most of the time, a courier company stays in the city or metropolitan area of a city. Their customer base are local businesses needing to get parcels or small packages from point ‘A’ to point ‘B’ ASAP, or as Terry mentioned doing routes or scheduled pick ups throughout the day.
When a driver working for a courier company gets a delivery going 200, 300, or 400 miles, that driver most always has to deadhead back to his base in order to receive another job. Even those courier companies that have multiple offices in other cities will not share the deliveries with their sisters. Expediting is done the same way, but all expedite companies have a national customer base, needing to move anything from A to Z but generally ship larger items that most courier companies are not set up and equipped to move.
Because of the fast pace our life styles have adapted to, expediting became very popular around the turn of the century.
Here is a story from a very dear friend of mine, who sums up the expediting industry very well:
“Many, many moons ago (approximately 15 years ago) there were only a few, truly qualified expedited carriers. It was a new service that was offered only by a few exclusive companies. These carriers were truly innovative and rode the wave of a new and upcoming business model in the automotive manufacturing business; it was called Just-in-Time or JIT.’
That is what expediting is or was called! Still is I think?
“As the JIT concept grew outside of the automotive arena - so did the opportunities for the carriers. For many years, these few carriers (and owner operators) enjoyed triple digit growth, as they were the only game in town. The carriers set the freight rates and the shippers were eager to pay "whatever it took" to get the freight to its destination. Many of us on this forum were fortunate enough to have benefited during these earlier times when the freight was plentiful and the rates were outstanding.
That was then, this is now.
As the industry grew so did amount of companies who wanted their piece of the pie. It was inevitable - triple digit growth catches a lot of attention. As truckload carriers were experiencing a major downturn in freight rates - expediting was busy raising their rates.
Where would you want to be?
The first waves of new companies were from full truckload carriers starting their new expediting divisions. Then a few years after that, there was a near avalanche of smaller mom and pop operations.
For the first time in the history of the industry - expediting was getting crowded and marketplace competition kicked in. Over the last five years, expedited freight rates have fallen. One could even suggest that they were artificially too high for the marketplace, similar to what happened in the tech stocks a few years ago.
For those of us who remember the "good ole days" it is sometimes frustrating when we look at what we had and where we are now. The fact of the matter is the rules of this industry have changed. There is a great book available at Amazon.com called "WHO MOVED MY CHEESE?" that deals with the constantly changing business arena and how we should respond to the changes.
So where are we headed?
The rules of engagement have changed. If you operate your business expecting 1985 - 1999 rates and freight you will not survive. Your business plan has to be smart. You must prepare for long stretches of slow times. You must be truly independent minded, if you depend on the carrier to solve all your issues, you are headed for a big disappointment.
Rich M. has a great business plan and has proved over the many years in this industry that you can be successful - but you have to plan it that way. As the saying goes. Failure to plan is planning for failure.
Those are my thoughts and the way I see it.â€
I too see Lawrence’s concept the very same way. As you can see, there really is not much of a difference between a ground courier and an expediter, other than the territory covered, and the size of the loads, most of the time. Hope this is of some help to you.
Tony...A great job at defnining a industry whose lines have become so blurred it is beyond belief.
It comes right down to the fact that Expedite has become a Buzz Word that company after company uses to get the business.It then becomes the customers job to sort it out who can really deliver the time sensitive freight best.
Before Expedite There was and is "Hot Shot".generaly a Pick-up dually,pulling a goose neck trailer.
It comes right down to the fact that Expedite has become a Buzz Word that company after company uses to get the business.It then becomes the customers job to sort it out who can really deliver the time sensitive freight best.
Before Expedite There was and is "Hot Shot".generaly a Pick-up dually,pulling a goose neck trailer.
Tennesseahawk
Veteran Expediter
Even hotshot has a dual meaning. I've heard it used (and use it) for the expediting companies that get their business from the overflow of other expedite companies.