ALS offers a variety of competitive fixed and flexible pricing models to meet our many different customers needs. We do this because we want you to be able to decide which price and service combination best fit your needs. Sometimes you may be satisfied with the lowest price you can get because transit time is not as important a factor for some shipments where it may be for others.

DISCOUNT PROGRAMS

As many of you know we are a wholly owned subsidiary of The Parker Motor Freight Company of Michigan. You may have an account and discount program in place with Parker Motor Freight. As you are probably aware the Parker Motor Freight discount program you have in place with Parker Motor Freight is for transportation service within Parker Motor Freight direct service points and with Parker Motor Freight connecting line service partners. Even though ALS is not considered a connecting line service partner, it is always ALS's primary goal to honor the discount you have in place with Parker Motor Freight and provide you with as much price transparency as possible. However, shipping to and from some points, and depending on the size of the shipment and transit time, two things can occur, we may cheaper or we may be more expensive. Discount programs are for less-than-truckload (LTL) shipments. The pricing format for LTL is formulated by freight classification and rate/cost per hundred weight.

The pricing format for truckload service, flatbed and other specialized services is based on weight/space occupancy (volume) and mileage (or price per mile). This format is substantially cheaper than using a discount formula for volume shipments.

DYNAMIC PRICING

Since the trucking industry was deregulated in the '80's this meant that transportation service providers could compete on price whereas, prior to deregulation, price was governed by tariffs that were kept on file with the proper state and federal authorities. Deregulation is also what enabled the many different discount plans to come into existence today. Another beneficial outcome of deregulation has been the increasing number of transportation companies able to enter the marketplace because the barriers to enter the market were nearly eliminated outside government mandated safety and insurance requirements. This lowered the cost to enter the market.

The ever-increasing aggregate available capacity of trucks combined with the knowledge of where this capacity is by leveraging today's high-speed communication infrastructure supported by the Internet and networked computers is the intersection where ALS can provide the benefit of dynamic pricing.

How can you benefit from this? There are several ways actually. I'll list a couple and provide some examples.

1.) You have a shipment that you want to ship from Detroit, MI to St. Louis, MO about 500 miles. The shipment may require only 20% of a trailer. It's 4 PM and you need it delivered to St. Louis by 7 AM. No LTL carrier will be able to meet this schedule for the LTL discounted price you have in place with them. By most accounts it will require you to hire a truckload carrier and pay for all the space on that trailer even though you only need 20% of the space, and by industry average it could cost you around $900.00. ALS has a constant almost up to the hour monitor of available capacity that is likely heading to, through or near St. Louis that can meet your scheduled requirements. And, can do it for considerably less money.

2.) You have a shipment and you are seeking the least-cost method to move it. Leveraging our knowledge of the available capacity for where you are shipping to or from we can often take advantage of available capacity that would haul your shipment as a backhaul at a less costly option than hiring a truckload carrier as a headhaul.

3.) You may also take advantage of a blend of lower prices with transit time considerations through a service ALS provides called dynamic pricing.

A final word on dynamic pricing. Dynamic pricing is a format that we use because you may require special services for special situations. If you are a customer who wants the reliability of fixed price costs that's what we're here for as well. If you wish to take advantage of dynamic pricing from time to time you may do so and your other fixed price rates will not be displaced should you opt for dynamic pricing when it best serves your needs. Likewise if you use dynamic pricing from time to time the price may likely vary from time to time. Whatever fixed price program you have in place will be your "default" pricing. However, when you choose dynamic pricing the price may fluctuate from occasion to occasion even for repeat shipments.

Less-Than-Truckload Pricing (LTL)

One of ALS's greatest benefits we offer to our customers is competitive, non-transferred LTL shipping. Because we do not operate like the typical LTL carrier that uses break bulk terminals and cross-docking of shipments at different regions of the country several times before final delivery this has to added benefits. One is less risk for loss or damage inherent in avoiding cross-docking. The second is faster transit time because your shipment is actually in transit not sitting at a break bulk terminal.

When you consider these factors with our already competitive and sometimes even cheaper prices for LTL shipping many find all this to be a truly compelling reason to use ALS for their LTL shipping as well as any other need for transportation services they have. It is recommended that you visit our section on transit time to find out more about how this plays a factor in price.

Truckload Pricing

ALS provides consistent truckload pricing for enclosed van, climate control, flatbed and specialized services. If you have the need or desire to contact an ALS Representative for pricing for these services you are always welcome to call us at 800-551-9399 or 517-764-7500 or e-mail us. You may also use dynamic pricing for these services should you choose.

One of the most common questions we hear in this area of pricing is why do rates vary from region to region of the country even though the distance traveled and the type of service I request is the same? The most common reason this happens is because of over or under capacity of available equipment and return cargo in certain areas of the country. This creates an imbalance in supply and demand of either or both and can as a result in the price differentiation between otherwise similar shipments.

FOR EXAMPLE

Your shipment going 600 miles from Detroit to Philadelphia can cost you almost $1100.00. While the same shipment going to St. Louis can cost around $800.00, why is that? Up and down the Eastern 3rd of the US the number of available trucks vying or competing amongst one another for return shipments back to the Midwest far outnumbers the available cargo to haul. This environment leads to aggressive pricing and downward pressure on rates for this cargo. Carriers who transport goods to and from this region of the country know this. It's been this way for decades and will not likely change soon.

As a result this tends to drive prices up in the Midwest AND the Western part of the US for shipping goods to the East because every carrier already knows they will have to haul goods back out at rates below cost if they are even fortunate enough to find something to haul out. Other factors that contribute to this pricing phenomenon is, the Eastern 3rd has many major highways that are pay-per-use or Toll Highways, this is costly for trucks. And, finally, the Eastern 3rd and particularly the New England Region is extremely populated and is wrought with traffic bottlenecks and congestion that make travel by truck even more costly. The situation in the Midwest is not as dramatic as the East and that is why you see these price variations for similar service.

In other areas of the country where agriculture is a chief driver of a particular economic region of the country, rates to and from those areas tend to fluctuate throughout the year. Good examples of these states would be California and Florida. Lot's of people and businesses in those areas of the country like theme parks, Hollywood and tourism. In fact if California were a separate country statistics indicate it would be the 6th largest economy in the world. The problem, as it relates to transportation of common carrier goods, is there aren't many actors looking for a ride to Chicago in truck. Nor are theme park visitors looking to buy a ticket to ride in one either. As much as we love our business they don't seem to share our passion. Giving Senior Citizens in Florida a ride would likely require some sort of handicap access and….and….never mind, you get the point.

Which leads us back to what is there to transport? Agricultural related goods. How does this affect price? Well, basically when its harvest time it's goin' gangbusters for available cargo to haul from these regions of the country, so much so, these poor farmers can't find enough trucks to haul all the stuff. This drives prices for them up, up and up. In fact the cargo pays so good carriers will drive empty from 100 to 500 miles away just to get their hands on the highly coveted bounty. So, you can probably imagine that from time to time you can ship goods to these areas of the country much cheaper than other times of the year. When the harvest is over the rates will adjust up and down accordingly. It's as though you can almost see the "invisible hand" that famed economist, Adam Smith, refers to when describing free market dynamics.

Many of our customers like to take advantage of these price fluctuations when it benefits them through the use of dynamic pricing. Participation in this service feature of ALS does require you set up an account. Doing this allows us to provide you with a customized version of this service designed to function according to your specifications for pricing and service.

To get up to speed on learning what other factors play a role in truckload pricing, it is helpful and recommended that you visit our page on equipment, and transit time inside ALS University, gaining a background on these issues will assist you in understanding pricing and service no matter which carrier you decide to select. If you're comfortable enough with your knowledge of these issues you can just skip it.

It is worth repeating that you can always count on ALS to provide you with fixed, long-term and ongoing pricing as we always have and always will if that's what you want. Some customers even use both in fact we encourage you to do the same. It never hurts to save money when you can, and if you have established rates with ALS and wish to try out dynamic pricing it won't affect the other rates you have established with ALS.

Flatbed and Specialized

We offer all the same features to pricing for flatbed and specialized services. It should be said that it is often the case that flatbed and specialized transportation equipment service is often slightly higher in price with the price rising higher, but maintaining industry wide comparability with the more specialized service and equipment you may require. The reason for higher pricing relative to enclosed van trailer service comes largely from two factors, available supply compared to enclosed van trailers, and flatbed service is often more labor intensive due to manually securing and tarping items and time consuming sometimes due to extra time required to safely load and unload very large items.

For detailed information about selecting the most appropriate equipment and service requirements to best fit your shipping needs it is recommended that you visit the section on selecting the right equipment. There you'll find helpful information to assist you in avoiding costly mistakes that can stem from requesting the wrong type of equipment. You can also learn about what the rules of the road are for shipping items that may exceed legal length, width, height and weight restrictions and how these factors play a part in determining the best price and service mix for your needs. There is also a list of the many different types of equipment relating to flatbeds and specialized trailers that will give you insight into selecting the right trailer configuration so you can avoid over paying for something you didn't really need.

We do offer partial shipment pricing for flatbed and some specialized services. To learn more about how we do this you should see the section on transit time.