There is an adage in economics: “People will consume an infinite amount of a free good”. Shippers and consignees treat trucking resources as free goods, causing expensive and inefficient supply chain delays.

 

Economic incentives can change the behavior of everyone in the supply chain. Cargo owners—shippers and receivers of goods transported by truck—would use trucking capital and labor efficiently.  Trucking companies—paid for time currently wasted by cargo owners that force truckers to wait to load and unload—will allocate their resources efficiently. Truck drivers will deliver the goods faster without driving faster because cargo owners treat their time as the valuable resource it is.