Find out how one idle skel could cost a business $16,000 in 20 days, and how SCF intermodal containers can put every skel to work.
Ever had the brakes put on your business by not having enough equipment? Or had sudden changes in contracts or freight requirements leave expensive trailers collecting dust in the depot?
There are all kinds of reasons why a trailer-only fleet could end up costing your business, but there are also ways you can enhance your line-up and bottom line – such as investing in SCF’s intermodal containers.
The missed opportunities of an underused fleet
Having the wrong equipment for the job at hand means leaving expensive trailers idle at the depot. And every empty trailer is another missed money-making opportunity.
A trailer, for example, could complete two deliveries in one day, bringing in a total of $800 in revenue. But just 20 days of that trailer sitting unused at a depot could set a business back as much as $16,000.
When a fleet of skels (typically used for wharf cartage) experience a reduction in work, those skels often sit idle. But by adding a tautliner container to the mix, they can be repurposed for PUD work and can generate additional revenue.
This approach has the potential to bring in thousands of dollars in extra revenue per day, while keeping owned or leased skel assets productive.
With intermodal containers, you can act quickly to swap out container types in response to each job’s needs. They are a wholly flexible solution, letting you put one skel to work on a wide range of freight types so that you can jump on any revenue opportunity that comes your way.
The high-stakes issue of low availability
In the freight industry, change is constant. Freight requirements and profiles evolve frequently and low availability of trailer fleets can cause delays, missed deadlines, untaken opportunities and unhappy clients.
By enhancing your fleet with SCF intermodal containers, you can easily switch between freight types in as little as 10 minutes. And with a fleet of over 16,000 units and stock available in SCF depots around Australia, getting your hands on the right container for your freight is simple – meaning you can respond to changing demands immediately.
Ever-rising equipment and operational costs
Transport equipment is also getting more and more expensive. Being locked into one category of equipment and sourcing model can reduce abilities to manage costs and remain competitive.
Skels and intermodal containers offer an alternative way to source equipment and tend to be at a lower cost. For example, leasing a refrigerated container can cost up to 25 per cent less than leasing a refrigerated trailer.
Meeting evolving customer demands
Throughout the freight industry, clients are looking for ever broader and more innovative transport solutions. If a company can’t act fast to meet those changing needs, they could likely go elsewhere, bringing the revenue with them.
For example, a company might transport lengths of steel on flatbed trailers but may also need to move steel coils. Instead of sourcing entirely new trailers for the coil work or risking losing the client, the company could implement a skel and container solution like a single skel with a Transiflat container (a flatbed equivalent) for steel lengths, and an end-door or side-door container for the coils. This would be a cost-effective way to expand the fleet and meet all the job’s transport needs.
In this area, SCF’s intermodal containers can also help to relieve customers in times of pressure with flexible solutions and services. The company offers purpose-built containers designed to complement fleets of traditional trailers with a new level of flexibility so that you can keep up with your clients’ evolving needs, whatever they may be.
Watching new revenue streams drive off into the distance
Intermodal containers can let businesses transition between freight types with speed and ease – from an end-door container to a side-loader, from dry to refrigerated, or from road-only to rail. With intermodal containers, a single skel can be transformed into multiple possible revenue streams.
Why bring intermodal containers into the fold?
Adding intermodal containers to your fleet means adding to your bottom line.
SCF’s purpose-built intermodal containers have all the same features and functionality as traditional trailers, but at a far lower cost.
Intermodal containers let you move numerous freight types with just a single skel – opening new doors to new revenue opportunities.
They also provide the ability to expand from road-only into road-and-rail; growing your business’s footprint and unlocking new territories and potential clients.
Intermodal container availability is high, meaning you can respond to changing freight requirements quickly and enhance your fleet with just the equipment you need, just when you need it.
Don’t miss out on the chance to lower your costs and level-up your growth.
Talk to SCF today and find out how enhancing your traditional trailer fleet with intermodal containers could transform your business – and its bottom line.
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