Above: M/K Express picks up material at ports along the East Coast (shown: Baltimore) and arranges for customs brokerage if a customer needs that service as well.

Third-party logistics firm places metal anywhere its clients want, and straightens out the paperwork, too

April 2016 - Coming off the Great Recession, many shippers found it difficult to book carriers that had the right equipment and personnel to move metals, especially as so many Class 5-8 truck owner-operators left the industry entirely. To this day the supply of flat bed trailers in North America remains tight.

However, M/K Express Co., in business since 1984, used the down cycle to improve its third-party logistics (3PL) capabilities, including its core competence—metals.

Besides the specific industry knowledge, the East Butler, Pennsylvania-based company has built its reputation on being a trusted service provider, General Manager DeWitt Weldon says.

M/K Express operates 30 trucks and runs agent office terminals in Florida, Kentucky, Michigan and Pennsylvania. It has operating authority in the lower 48 states and delivers coast to coast. Miles traveled approaches 3 million per year, says Weldon.

Linking loads with carriers that have flatbed trailers is a necessity.

The organization is built on a network of small fleet owners and independent contractors. Although the company is primarily non-asset based, it can also arrange for equipment—van trailers, step decks and refrigerated trailers, as well as flatbeds—as necessary to meet customers’ specific freight demands.

“If we don’t have our own equipment available, we can utilize partner carriers,” Weldon says. The company has numerous working relationships with qualified, reliable carriers that help them provide additional capacity to serve its customers.

Ports of call

M/K Express picks up “a lot of imported material along the East Coast. We can also help arrange for customs brokerage if a customer needs that service as well,” Weldon says.

In many cases, the customer has already arranged customs clearance through the foreign mill that exports the material.“The designated customs broker sends us the Delivery Release Orders, signifying the port of entry and warehouse in which the material will be stored when the order is unloaded,” he explains.

Depending on how much material is imported in a particular order, M/K Express will make daily pick-up and delivery arrangements, “and keep running material until all the inventory in that order is accounted for and delivered to the customer.”

Weldon says using a company like M/K Express for imports saves time and effort for many customers, especially those that don’t need to become experts themselves with the process.

“When a company imports steel, for example, they have to coordinate pick-ups with pier personnel, communicate back and forth with individual carriers, schedule delivery appointments, manage piece counts, etc. It’s a lot of legwork,” he says.

On the other hand, if a third-party logistics provider like M/K Express handles inbound and outbound cargo, “companies don’t necessarily need to have a traffic department. Someone from their purchasing department can call us to assist. Some of our customers don’t have in-house logistics departments,” Weldon continues, “so we function in that capacity. That’s part of our service; it’s value added at no extra charge. Even if the customer does have a traffic department, using us frees them up for other work. We handle all the arrangements and get it done. They can be hands off.”

M/K Express is adept at managing traffic between a metal distributor’s multiple branch locations.

Stocking location

There are many occasions when a service center or metal consumer cannot take immediate delivery of the material they ordered. Perhaps their own warehouse is temporarily full; or it’s a processing location and not a depot. 

“We can also provide warehousing,” Weldon says. “When you have freight at the pier facilities, there’s only so much free storage time, then they start assessing storage charges. If delivery schedules get too tight and a customer can’t receive their material before the free time expires, the storage fees can add up. If a customer is dealing with that type of issue, we have the capability to transport and store their product at a secure off-site location, and we can charge much less than at the port.”

When the customer is ready to receive its import tons, M/K Express will then arrange to have it picked up and delivered. “Customers like to take advantage of that option,” he says.  

Handling volume

There are M/K Express customers that order large quantities of metal products. “That’s what we call our project business,” says Weldon. “Last year was a big year for imports,” and the volume contained on a single ocean-going vessel may equal 40 to 50 truckloads.

Another “project” function, he says, is freight management. “We have large customers that may have 30 branches. We can help manage the movement of products between each location. We’ll take the time to learn the customer’s material handling requirements, shipping/delivery schedules, etc., and manage the inter-plant freight transfers accordingly. We’re not the largest organization, but we have the experience, resources and knowledge to get the job done. We also have the capability to give our customers more personalized service than perhaps they get with a large 3PL.” 

Weldon emphasizes that M/K Express’ rates are based solely on transporting the products. “Customers can give us the necessary paperwork and we’ll handle the steps in between to the final delivery—all at just the cost of the transportation. We manage the freight as a value-added service so we can have the opportunity to haul it.” MM