Ats Transportation Services

11/18/2022

01/30/2022

How not to ship your car if you don’t want pushback from the trucking company. Definitely an overload

12/23/2020

I have noticed that this year since the worldwide epidemic has continued that people are somewhat more appreciative of the services provided by transporters and less prone to be critical if timing is not as exact as they believe it could be.

Its price has not fallen much going cross country, as there continue to be fewer carrier companies operating. Some transporters have shortened their routes, and some have become contract carriers to new manufacturers like Tesla motors, and Carvana whose advertisements float over the media constantly. Irregularly served locations or out of the major highway places command extra inducement costs to cover drivers' time and fuel which have come to surprise some consumers. But in times of shortages I guess we've all come to the conclusion: if you want something in short supply, you stop questioning the cost based on past supply and buy it. Store shelves get emptied and when product re appears it gets snatched up with or without coupons.If you want protein items and the price went up, you seem to still buy them and are appreciative that they are still in supply. That is what is happening I believe in transportation.

For many years a lot of carriers worked on an edge to keep running, and those that continue to stay afloat now have decided to work on a higher charge basis to finally have a business that they can afford to work and make a more decent living for the number of hours and effort it takes to move cars. I am sure that many of us remember when gasoline spiked into the $5.00/gallon range we also saw the cost of goods in the stores increase. But when it dropped all the store prices did not fall in proportion to their former increases.

So as we leave 2020 and go into 2021 I am not predicting that we'll see any great decrease in transport costs, but have to understand that the costs of living will probably be here to stay with transportation. General freight companies: small package companies, interstate carriers all post annual "surcharges" however the auto transport carriers have been stagnate for years in spite of diesel fuel differences over the past years. Deregulation and competition has helped us consumers, but as the workers in this type of industries continue to be seen as necessary front line people not only are we going to have to better appreciate their help, but of course try not to complain about paying for it as well.

On the plus side of this message is that as more workers see more in their bottom line, other workers will be entering the field and provide more competition again which ultimately should be beneficial to us consumers.

05/06/2020

Trucking goes forward, regardless of illnesses throughout the country. Drivers take efforts to stay apart from people, but still do their jobs. During this period many carriers are being selective about working, worrying about defying stay at home and shelter in place orders, but transportation is a vital necessity so the only issue currently is locating the space you need with the decreased number of carriers currently running.

02/07/2020

I don't like to overload people with excessive information, and don't use facebook to show day by day activities, however a request come to me today from a customer that I solved very quickly which got me thinking about how some brokers act and don't serve customers need adequately. When looking for service from one end of the country do you get the best advice and service from a brokerage which though it might have a significant number of reviews (real or not) but located on the other coast from where your shipment originates? maybe not and here is a suggestion of my reasoning why. A west coast broker may more frequently bring orders to the market that the number of carriers within their market region that are priced right, than the other coast. In addition the West Coast brokers may call upon more carriers to help move loads than brokers from the east coast might when the east coast brokers are overloaded working with snowbird traffic involving hundreds and thousands of people within a 1-3 month time frame.
In addition some brokers like ourselves have a longer lifespan in the business of helping clients and may act in a more supportive manner in helping clients get their wants and needs met, versus "selling" their service.

11/04/2019

Now that November is upon us everyone who is involved in shipping cars will tell you that activity has slowed down from the summer schedules. In fact, it is even more important now than ever to make your car shipping plans with more lead times as less carriers are operating fast west to east runs and the larger business season begins which is taking people and their cars from the northern states to the warmer souther areas in Florida, Arizona, Tx, and So California.

03/14/2019

When you need enclosed service wouldn't you like to have something like this handle your car? Most of the time enclosed carriers are booked up well in advance in addition to the fact that they are used only by 5-10% of the car shipping people. Some cars are rare and expensive, and some people simply want to fully protect their investment against weather.

12/16/2018

Does it really make sense to work with a SouthEastern Brokerage,whose office opens only 8-5,and their office only works m/f?? Is it any wonder that customers get frustrated when they can't get answers in their time zone when they are in the northwest or West? A company like ours starts answering sometimes as early as 6am pacific time, evenings, and weekends. We may not have the exact answer you want, but will always work hard to get it for you. Too many brokers have voice mail as their principal response to a phone call and are slow to respond to calls, unless you are placing orders.

11/11/2018

Californians did not repeal the dreaded gas tax that affects both cars and trucking companies. Therefore unless the gas rate base costs decline greatly it is hard to forecast that trucking rates for cars into or out of California will drop much this winter. The electronic log book has made an impact on drivers time who were not prepared and thus costs remain high, if one wants their vehicles to move promptly. The political climate does not seem to impact transportation from my perspective , so the only factor that might have a nudge on rates is quantity of vehicles and people moving over the next few months into and out of California.

With that said, as a result of the terrible fires in both Northern and Southern California many people are displaced, and vehicles (machinery) burned up and lost which want replacement. I believe that that impact on car sales new and used will rise for a while, that probably will not reach out to too many auto transporters which don't already have contracts with dealers currently.