Viking Freight Inc. has improved its direct service transit times from five of its California service centers to Spokane, WA, in an effort to help its customers reach the Pacific Northwest faster, the freight carrier said yesterday.
Service from Bakersfield, Oxnard, Salinas, San Diego and San Luis Obispo to Spokane has been reduced from three days to two days.
“We're providing a direct two-day link between these markets in central and Southern California and Spokane to give our shippers a competitive advantage in delivering products to this inland Northwest hub,'' said Keith E. Lovetro, Viking's vice president of marketing. “Extending our second-day delivery area means businesses can lower their reorder levels and carry less inventory, a goal of most companies that are trying to shorten their supply chains.''
San Jose, CA-based Viking, a subsidiary of FedEx Corp., is a less-than-truckload carrier that provides Western regional transportation service. Commodities such as electrical machinery, transportation equipment, retail apparel and other textile products are commonly transported in these lanes to Spokane.
As part of Viking's latest transit-time improvements, service standards for the following lanes also have been reduced:
· Everett, WA, to La Grande, OR, from two days to overnight.
· Denver to Eugene and Salem, OR, and Salt Lake City to Eugene from three days to two.
· Pocatello, ID, to 19 Viking service centers in California from three days to two.
· Service to and from Pocatello, Pasco and Twin Falls, ID, from two days to next day.
· Service to and from Viking's service centers in Kingman, Phoenix and Tucson, AZ; and Boise, ID, Twin Falls and Pocatello from three days to two.
