June 14: Effective immediately, FedEx drops 1,400 customers

In a recent statement, FedEx announced that effective “June 14, 2021, and until further notice, FedEx Freight will begin implementing customer-specific actions to control capacity and avoid backlogs in the most capacity-constrained freight service centers.” FreightWaves reported on those volume control actions, announcing that FedEx started “notifying select manufacturers, retailers and logistics companies on Friday that it will stop picking up their goods as of Monday.”

June 21: FedEx reverses some service suspensions

With just one weekend to reevaluate their shipping strategy and make alternate plans, the FedEx Freight cancellations meant failed shipments for the big-box stores they supply. FreightWaves reported that, as of June 21, FedEx has relaxed its initial stance after kickback from the impacted companies and key stakeholders.  

FedEx spokesperson Jim Masilak told FreightWaves that, “We are working directly with select customers to address capacity concerns. Instead of implementing a broad action that would impact freight within entire geographic areas, we have taken a much more targeted approach that is designed to help us balance capacity and demand with the least amount of network disruption.”

What should you do if this happens to you?

With increasing capacity constraints, options are limited for carriers to avoid shipping delays. The question today isn’t whether FedEx made the right choice– the long-term effects of the June 14 announcement and June 21 retraction will be more fully understood as the market normalizes. Instead, we want to talk about how these actions affect you. Are you prepared with a plan in case your carrier drops you as a customer?

At ShipRx, we hope for the best and prepare our customers for the worst. We’ve spent our careers in the shipping industry, and we understand that things can change on a dime. We began writing contracts for the country’s largest carriers and now, we use those skills to help customers like you. We’ve put together a couple of ways that the experts at ShipRx can ensure your services continue, no matter the constraints faced by carriers.

Contract negotiations

As the shipping industry continues to face capacity issues, carriers are imposing additional fees and revoking some of their service guarantees. Companies who trust ShipRx with their contract negotiations save up to 30% on their parcel costs. Protect yourself from unexpected circumstances when you have the ShipRx team on call to negotiate your contracts.

Expert reporting and consultation

Need to make changes to your shipping strategy? Our team of industry experts has created a cloud-based data consolidation platform to help you discover hidden savings and strategize for the future. By visualizing multiple carriers at once, you can see where you’re losing money and which carrier is performing best.  

Get in touch with ShipRx today to minimize your risk in case the unexpected happens. We’re always here to help you secure the lowest rates and recover the refunds you deserve.

Todd Partner