Director of 3PL Solutions Geoff Chambers Shares Thoughts on Chassis Shortages with IBNewsmag

Geoff Chambers, Director, 3PL Solutions, Scarbrough Transportation

Geoff Chambers, Director, 3PL Solutions at Scarbrough Transportation, has penned a new column for the November edition of IBNewsmag titled, “How Small and Medium-Sized Companies Can Navigate Freight Chassis Shortages.”

Chambers, a logistics industry veteran with decades of 3PL experience, shared his insight into the latest round of truck chassis shortages.

“Of the myriad challenges miring supply chains, a persistent shortage of freight-carrying truck chassis has been among the most troublesome for small and medium-sized businesses,” Chambers writes. “Getting containers out of terminals has taken up to two weeks when chassis are hard to find.”

“The situation is grim, but there are still ways to work around the chassis-availability problem.”

Chambers then outlines the progression of instability with chassis availability, describing a decade’s worth of challenging circumstances that culminated with the pandemic-era logistics crisis.

“An already fragile inventory combined with an explosion of import container volumes produced huge demand and a limited supply,” Chambers states. “Locations ranging from Kansas City and Chicago to Newark and Long Beach saw dwell times of 10-15 days before chassis became available to move containers.”

While drayage providers have borne the brunt of criticism for this situation, Chambers indicates that it is with these carriers that cargo owners may find a solution.

“Small and medium-size businesses ought to use drayage providers who own their own chassis,” Chambers writes. “Doing so may incur slightly higher line haul charges than the competition — but it is worth paying a few extra dollars to know that the carrier will move your containers in and out according to your ocean contract.”

“Until the situation stabilizes, this remains our most effective path.”

Visit IBNewsmag to read all of Geoff’s comments on chassis shortages.

About Geoff Chambers

Geoff uses experience earned in more than two decades of supply chain experience to lead Scarbrough Transportation and its 3PL solutions.

From his days managing broad supply chain strategies for major international brands to his time coordinating asset-based trucking strategies, Geoff draws from a broad spectrum of logistics roles to inform his work with Scarbrough Transportation. He carries extensive insight into domestic truck and rail transportation, supply chain optimization, project management, and more. Geoff’s interests include education, humanitarian relief, and poverty alleviation.