When it comes to US exhibitors shipping full truckloads both to and from domestic tradeshows we frequently get asked why the rates are not always the same since it is after all the same distance. In the interest explaining why, it is most easily explained by the single biggest contributing factor which are “markets”.
A market in the US can vary from a city to a state. In these markets, supply and demand of trucks vary from one to the other which ultimately effects capacity or equipment availability. For instance, if there are many trucks wanting to go in a particular direction and there is only 1 shipment currently available in that region, cost is driven down because it creates competition amongst those carriers for that particular shipment. Conversely, if there are fewer trucks available, the rates will generally increase because the shipper is now competing for the truck.
A particular example in which we recently came across this scenario was a client of ours who was shipping from Las Vegas, NV to Denver, CO for a show and then returning the exhibit back to Las Vegas after the closing of the show. The rate for the return shipment was roughly 70% of the original delivery. The reason being was that a higher rate per mile had to be paid to the truck to compensate for the lack of available shipments currently in the Denver market.
It is important to note that these markets are ever changing throughout the year and that the rate for the exact same shipment a year prior may not be the cost for the current shipment(s). This can be frustrating at times when it comes to budgeting a show. Because of this, we at AMR constantly monitor these markets and try to project your cost at the time of the show, instead of giving you the current market price.
