OTR vs. Florida Warehousing

As Transportation Capacity Tightens, Companies Establish Inventories Closer to Customers: OTR vs. Florida Warehousing

With the current volatile market regarding the over-the-road transportation (OTR) industry — rising costs and the scarcity of trucks and drivers — it is getting harder and harder for manufacturers to move products competitively to end users. In this environment, how can you increase your speed to market, improve service to your customers and mitigate shipping delays? Establishing an inventory is a clever alternative to the rising costs of OTR transportation.

Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) manufacturers are turning to Star Distribution Systems, Inc. to accommodate forward positioning of their inventories and are taking advantage of Star’s guaranteed short-haul transportation solutions in the Florida market. Star, which specializes in LTL (less-than-truckload) freight consolidation, operates over 1.5-million-square-feet of rail-served warehousing facilities in Central Florida (with a brand new 100,000-square-foot cross-docking facility opening spring of 2022).

Progressive CPG companies are now pursuing long-distance intermodal options and boxcar for inbound transportation vs. OTR. A single boxcar can carry the equivalent of four truckloads of freight, and manufacturers can fill multiple boxcars on the same train, thus reducing the costs and headaches associated with finding dozens of trucks and drivers for the OTR portion of your transportation needs. By establishing your inventory in Florida — the third most populated U.S. state — you have confidence in serving a large segment of your customers.

Because we have CSX rail service to all our facilities (spotting 5 days per week), it is simple to ship to Star and have us provide our award-winning logistics support, fulfilment and secondary transportation to your customers.

We would love to help you improve your supply chain in the state of Florida. Nobody in our industry knows our market like we do or cares more about the success of your business than we do.If you would like to discuss the advantages of using Star Distribution Systems for your forward placement of inventory, warehousing and last mile delivery services, contact Larry W. Jimenez, Jr., Vice President Business Development, at (813) 267-6740 or [email protected] or visit www.stardistribution.us.