You might be noticing more and more large trucks on the roads these days, especially in the Lower Mainland and Fraser Valley. This is due to the freight shipping conditions improving for the trucking companies that call Vancouver and these two regions home. At Moto Transportation, we understand the challenges of trucking in Vancouver and how it can affect shipping timelines and costs.
In recent years, the Vancouver trucking industry has stabilized. Large domestic and cross-border trucking companies have decided to call Vancouver home, leading to increased competition for services and prices.
Most freight quotes will see the price of Vancouver freight shipping increase when delivering to downtown locations or high-density areas like Vancouver, Richmond, Burnaby, Coquitlam, and Surrey. Traffic on most of the major routes is poor at best, as not much has changed road wise since the sixties. Vancouver, a city with a few bridges and a tunnel, is confined geographically by valleys, rivers, an ocean, a border, and mountains.
These restraints have also affected land value, pushing trucking companies east into Langley, Abbotsford, Mission, and Chilliwack in the search for economical property. The large amounts of land required for truck parking and warehouse freight have made the move east to the Fraser Valley more popular.
Furthermore, due to the increase of Vancouver trucking companies heading east and the congestion at the Surrey (Pac Hwy) border crossing, Canada Customs recently completed a major border expansion for the handling of freight at the Aldergrove border crossing.
In order to help our customers to save on shipping costs, we suggest providing as much notice and as much time to pick up or deliver freight as possible. The more we know about freight in advance, the easier it will be for us to deal with Vancouver traffic and meet expectations. Working to accommodate freight companies will only make things easier on your shipment, especially with the new ELD rules.
Another way to keep shipping costs down is to make sure that supporting documents and commercial invoices are sent in advance, especially for cross-border shipping. This will help keep the freight shipment moving even if the driver is delayed in traffic getting back to the freight terminal.
If you have any questions or would like to learn more about trucking in Vancouver, or if you are interested in one of our freight shipping services (dry van trucking, flat deck trucking, scrap metal trucking, and automobile transportation), please contact the Vancouver freight shipping specialists at Moto Transportation by calling 1-800-400-1681 or by filling out a form on our website for a free quote.