LD Logistics growing the produce side of operation
LD Logistics growing the produce side of operation
A friend working in the dry freight business introduced Lance Dichter to the transportation industry and the dynamic pace convinced him that the hauling of fresh produce was the area to specialize in.
“I love the fact that at 8 a.m. the rate [on a cross-country load] can be $6,000 and by 6 p.m. it can be 10 percent more, simply because of supply and demand,” he said. “That’s what led me to this phase of the business.”
Mr. Dichter, who is president of the LD Logistics in the Bronx, NY, explained that he had no knowledge of the transportation field nor of the fresh produce industry when he was first introduced to the concept of being a truck broker close to a decade ago.
“My friend showed me what he was doing in the dry freight business and it seemed pretty interesting,” Mr. Dichter said. “I moved to Chicago and went to work for a brokerage there and learned all I could. I then came back to New York and opened up my own company.”
Mr. Dichter said that in the beginning, in 2005, he was working in the dry freight business but started securing produce loads and slowly but surely grew that portion of the business.
“Dry freight is easier,” he said. “It’s all about the rate per mile with everyone quoting the same and trying to undercut you a little bit. In produce, there is a lot more fluctuation. The risk is higher but so is the reward. You can make more per load [with refrigerate freight].”
Mr. Dichter said that LD Logisitics LLC is a third-party logistics firm located on the Hunts Point Terminal Market, which is the northernmost of the five boroughs that make up New York City. It is a non-asset based company that secures loads between independent drivers and transportation companies and produce shippers and receivers.
He said that the firm’s location does give the firm a natural connection with loads coming into or leaving the wholesale market.
But Mr. Dichter said that he tends to specialize in points of origin in California, Arizona and Washington.
“Of course, we work Florida and Texas as well, but we seem to get more loads from the West,” he said. “From New York we typically go to the Northeast and Mideast, but we can arrange loads to anywhere and from anywhere.”
