Reliable transportation, whether by land, air, or sea, is important to any industry. In the floral industry, reliability rises to a entirely new level because of the need for speedy, on-time, temperature-controlled service. Palm City, Florida-based Armellini Express Lines, Inc. is one of the few carriers dedicated specifically to the floral industry. Established in 1945, Armellini strives to provide the premium service demanded by our customers, while mindful of the critical need for the safe operation of our vehicles.

Meeting the needs of our customers, while emphasizing the safety of the public and our drivers is not always easy. Recently imposed government regulations have reduced the number of hours a driver can be on-duty and driving. This hours of service reduction affects service to our customers as well as our drivers’ income. We adjusted our business practices in order to maintain industry-leading Carrier Safety Administration scores.

It is becoming more common for larger customers, such as mass-market retailers, to review CSA scores and approve or reject carriers based on their scores. What is the CSA score and why is this important? If you are interested in learning more, please visit http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov.

Although safety is our top priority, the most important thing to our customers is service. Market research shows the following in order of importance concerning what customers look for when choosing a carrier:

• On-time delivery.

• Accuracy of delivery.

• Ability to guarantee temperature control.

In our competition-friendly industry, carriers face several challenges to meet those demands. Two of these challenges are driver recruitment and utilizing current technology and equipment.

A driver shortage is a growing problem. Hiring skilled drivers who are willing to meet the demands of “just-in-time freight deliveries” and the physical challenges of the role has always been difficult. Carriers are voicing concerns about the driver shortage and the effect this shortage has on service in our industry.

The change in Hours of Service Regulations went into effect in July 2013 and industrywide, carriers are struggling to meet customer delivery needs with fewer drivers and fewer legal hours of drive time. With the government imposing these new regulations, we need to correct the driver deficit in order to maintain existing customer needs and to support you as you grow your businesses. Hiring additional drivers to service existing customers, plus improving retention of currently employed drivers by raising their wage, costs more every year. Carriers are now in need of drivers more than ever and we will continue to recruit, train and do our best to retain drivers.

Improvements in technology and equipment are also needed to keep our customers better informed, to improve delivery accuracy and to maintain the appropriate temperatures during transit. Carriers routinely need to purchase new trucks and trailers to replace the old, to minimize breakdowns and to continue to provide on-time service. Over the past five years there has been a 30 percent increase in the cost of the trucks and trailers, and next year’s prices will be even higher.

But no matter how stressful the demands are on all of us, we’re committed to working together with you to provide consumers with the products that they love. We are confident in our abilities and we are proud to provide valued transportation services to the floral industry.

Danean Allan works at Armellini Express Lines Inc. in Palm City, FL. She can be contacted at [email protected].