Hot Supply: Logistics Preparation in Summer 2024

In the summer months, the bustling logistics and trade lanes are steadily heading toward their peak in 2024. This July–August period is the equator for the global supply chain and has characteristics that you can easily take into account to increase the profitability of your operations.

Temperature-controlled logistics plays a crucial role during this time, ensuring the integrity of perishable goods and sensitive products throughout their journey. Let's take a look at demand fluctuations, the tariff landscape, particular aspects of summer shipping by sea, air, and land, and other factors. Continue with our article to dive deeper into the peak season logistics trends that will impact you every year in any market, as awareness is counter to any uncertainty.

Summer shipping features

Logistics preparation for the peak season

Summer is a valuable time to prepare and eliminate all the problems and glitches in your processes so that you can relax during the peak season in the fall with uninterrupted delivery of goods. It's a good moment to review your supply chain optimization and expand your trade by scaling up and focusing on summer logistics. Now let's take a closer look.

Increased demand

How is market activity in logistics during peak season determined? There are three factors to consider: seasonal demand, annual purchases, and market capacity. It is the seasonal demand that you can work with, adjusting to it to ensure the stability of your supplies.

To explain the factor of increased demand, choose the simplest justification, such as "In early June, we observe a large volume of deliveries of fruits and drinks and barbecue items, and in August, the supply of these products decreases because, during the school season in the fall, retail trade increases."

Of course, the increase in demand for certain categories of goods is a lucrative vein for carriers, as it means new opportunities to cover markets and take on larger freight volumes. Specifically, shippers need to be vigilant and check the carriers' reliability, timely receive a favorable freight rate, and track cargo in real-time.

Processes are out of sync

The different pace of the production season for many industries causes processes to be out of sync, which slows down effective collaboration. Of course, this is true all year round, but it is especially noticeable in the summer due to the seasonality of goods and their logistic temperature requirements for storage. That's why summer logistics planning must be taken into account for profitable logistics and trade beyond the borders of one city to the intercontinental.

In addition, such uneven surges in fast delivery freight traffic attract suppliers and carriers. In turn, this causes even more congestion, reduces the capacity of certain ports, or even makes entire regions very crowded.

Instability of spot rates

The spot tariff market depends on supply and demand, namely the distribution of economic activity in different parts of one country and several regions of the world. This is due to the heterogeneous dynamics of an increase or decrease in the volume of cargo traffic.

In addition, the low capacity of transportation networks, namely high port congestion and less frequent availability of transport vehicles, contribute to a significant increase in the rate of spot tariffs. Furthermore, temperature-sensitive logistics also play a crucial role, as the need for specialized handling and equipment to manage heat-sensitive goods can drive up costs and impact overall tariff rates.

Extreme weather conditions

Heat is a destructive force for logistics infrastructure in regions where it is high. Famous cases include the summer of 2013 in China, 2018 in France, the Netherlands, and Germany, the 2019 heat wave in India, and the record-breaking 2020 heatwaves on the US West Coast (California). In these incidents, the significant destructive impact of heat led to the deformation of railroad tracks, fires in infrastructure areas, disruption of transportation networks, lower water levels that paralyze river ports, loss of human resources, and much more. Temperature-controlled freight forwarders are essential in mitigating these effects, ensuring that perishable goods and sensitive products remain safe and intact despite the challenging conditions.

Temperature peculiarities

Wondering how to ship chocolate in summer to avoid melting? Or perhaps shipping candles in the summer is more relevant for you, or you just don't have a sweet tooth? Talking about temperature peculiarities of your goods to ship. Controlled temperature logistics is crucial here.

Keep in mind that you are not trying to freeze your product as much as possible in transit, only to keep it at its original marketable temperature. This requires refrigerated containers of 20 or 40 feet, pallets, and other equipment. 

• Ensure that the reefer containers or trailers are pre-cooled to allow for on-site temperature assessment;

• Be sure to note the temperature requirements during delivery on the bill of lading;

• Utilize pallets to allow for more air access;

• Portable temperature recorders will also serve as additional tools for you, as their data is a legal basis for making claims in the event of default by the parties;

• Loading and unloading operations should also be carried out under temperature control.

Thus, cold logistics must ensure that the cargo is in good condition.

You are always welcome to fill out the Request a Quote form to receive an individual offer for the transportation of refrigeration cargo to any destination with various shipping requirements.

Holiday season

Finally, always remember delays and possible shutdowns in certain markets during international or national holidays. We've already explored the impact of the Chinese Golden Week on the supply chain, and in the summer, the following national holidays may be next in terms of impact: Eid al-Adha in Muslim countries, the Chinese Dragon Boat Festival, US Independence Day, Unity Day in India, Obon in Japan, and similar national holidays in Israel, South Korea, Singapore, etc. 

To help you prepare for peak season logistics, you can explore a list of top countries to which you can plan your nearest deliveries. The SeaRates team will always help you. 

Examples of favorable rates that you can find for any hot destinations in the Logistics Explorer tool are:

*Actual rates are valid until August 12.

How to deliver cargo in the summer before the peak season?

Once you've mastered predictive supply chain planning and identified your priorities, move on to practical tips from the SeaRates team on how to facilitate your supply chain in preparation for the peak season.

Discovering alternatives

Choose between air and sea transportation in favor of the former if your priority is the speed of delivery:

Utilizing all the benefits of LCL (Less Container Loading) transportation to reach more customers in selected destinations and keep the transportation budget in check:

Trade lanes optimization

Route optimization will always come up on your list of "how to improve your supply chain," and practical solutions are to get a reliable carrier, negotiate all the conditions to meet your shipping requirements, and master the logistics IT tools that help you calculate distances and transit times for any route.

Point-to-point quoting

Is your summer freight and shipments characterized by unpredictable volumes in sufficient quantities, one-off shipments via new routes by sea, air, or land, and non-standard requirements? Reliable spot rates can be found in Logistics Explorer for selected dates and a variety of individual shipping requirements:

An additional benefit for carriers is the ability to create Structural Quotes through the SeaRates shipping platform. Check out the functionality to promote your services by providing Breakdown or Lumpsum quotes for real shippers' requests.

Innovative approach 

SeaRates technologies are aimed at simplifying, scaling, and optimizing your logistics processes both within a particular region and globally. Do you currently have the level of cooperation with customers and partners and market visibility to set up the process of providing or receiving favorable rates directly in a couple of minutes?

You can experience this advanced process firsthand with the Logistics Map tool. According to your role as a shipper or carrier, you find a logistics service provider/warehouse owner, or real freight request and continue to cooperate according to your needs. 

Shippers, you get a high level of promotion of your request among verified and reliable carriers.

Carriers, you have access to real requests from shippers, with which you can easily fill your queue with a batch of shipments to the required destination.

Contact us to find out more benefits for both the shipper and the carrier.

With market transparency and automated worldwide shipping processes, we provide you with a unique experience of personalized logistics preparation. Ensure the safety of your cargo with ease and save your time to enjoy the summer.

It's great that you've made it here and gone through the key tips to simplify your freight transportation. To profit from personalized global freight solutions, go to the quote form or receive customized IT services for your trade and logistics operations.

Overcome the summer boom with SeaRates

As of now, you are aware of what summer means for the global supply chain and how to counteract the main challenges in logistics processes effectively. To get through the hardships easier, you can rely on a dedicated team of professionals to provide you with expertise and customized digital solutions for cargo shipping. Our team at SeaRates is always on hand to address your urgent needs during this hot season. 

Stay in the thick of things and gain the best international logistics experience by contacting us at [email protected].