3PL giant C.H. Robinson moved half a million drop trailer shipments this year
Logistics giant C.H. Robinson is on its way to setting a record volume of drop trailer shipments this year as it celebrates its 25th year of service. The company says it already moved half a million drop trailer shipments this year.
The 3PL is the fourth-largest drop trailer provider in North America. The Drop Trailer Plus™ program is a $900 million service line for the company, representing more than 10% of its truckload volume. The service includes dry van, temp control, and flatbed modes. Customers can access C.H. Robinson’s trailer pool and some trailers from its carrier network.
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The company’s massive scale helps it to provide a highly competitive drop trailer service. C.H. Robinson is part of the S&P 500 and has over $12 billion market capitalization.
The company’s network of 450,000 contract carriers, for example, allows it to secure nearby drops with competitive rates and high utilization. The scale of C.H. Robinson’s carrier network also provides stability for shippers who can’t risk tender rejections from providers without enough tractors, trailers, or drivers in any given lane at a given time.
“The reason we’re the No. 1 drop trailer provider for some of our largest shippers is that our breadth of carriers allows us to customize and flex a drop trailer program,” Adam McDonough, C.H. Robinson’s VP for drop trailer, said. “We can offer more options for more drop trailer in more places because we’re not constrained by a narrow network. That flexibility allows us to scale a drop trailer program without the shipper having to pay a premium or sacrifice quality of service.”
Drop-and-hook trailer services are growing in popularity. Major logistics companies have launched or scaled up their own drop-and-hook programs in recent years. Uber Freight expanded its Powerloop solution nationally in March. Ryder System launched a new drop-and-hook program in December 2022. JB Hunt launched its own drop-and-hook service, 360box, in 2019.
