H&M Bay is committed to do our part to lessen the global environmental impact of freight shipping. That’s why we’re in the less-than-truckload business and proud to hold the SmartWay seal (in partnership with the Environmental Protection Agency) since 2009, doing what we can to help minimize our environmental impact with responsible temperature-controlled freight transportation while simultaneously making shipping more efficient.
H&M Bay alone transports 20 million pounds of refrigerated and frozen temperature-controlled goods each week. We transport dairy products, meat, plant-based foods and beverages, bakery goods, frozen goods and many other cold goods nationwide through our 3PL LTL transportation. With nine locations on both coasts of the United States, H&M Bay makes sustainable cold chain transportation easy for companies when keeping it cold counts. The fact that we take our environmental responsibility to heart is one of the many reasons our customers appreciate working with our family business.
Along With our Population, Food Freight Transportation is Growing
The growing freight transportation industry plays a vital role in the feeding of America and the transportation of its goods. As reported by SmartWay, freight shipment grew by 50% between 1990 and 2013, and is expected to double again by the year 2040. That means it’s more important than ever for every step of the supply chain to do their part to protect the environment.
SmartWay is doing a fantastic job working to minimize pollution in the trucking industry. But the work can’t be theirs to do alone. Since 2004, they have saved U.S trucking companies $41.8 billion dollars in fuel costs and saved 150 million tons of air pollution from being emitted into the atmosphere, among other achievements. H&M Bay is proud to affiliate with this critical program of environmental preservation, working to maximize efficiency in the growing freight industry.
Less-Than-Truckload (LTL) Shipping Creates a Smaller Carbon Footprint
H&M Bay specializes in temperature-controlled LTL transportation options nationwide, helping reduce transportation emissions. Many shipments that food manufacturers transport don’t require a full truckload of space. H&M Bay addresses this issue by offering LTL shipping, where several separate shipments from varying food, beverage or commodity manufacturers can be consolidated into one truckload, reducing the number of trucks required to transport the goods to nationwide locations. The result of LTL shipping is not only greater efficiency, but less pollution, with fewer trucks making fewer trips. While not 100% of our independent trucker carrier network is required to hold the SmartWay badge along with us, we’re grateful to those who do.
Balancing Supply Chain Impact on Economy and Emissions
Transportation is a significant contributor to the United States economy, but also is responsible for a large portion of the greenhouse gas emissions in the United States. That’s why it’s imperative to assess where transportation and freight can be improved in regard to pollution and continue to strategically minimize the environmental impact from shipping.
While all steps of the supply chain are critical for a functioning economy, the third-party logistics (3PL) and transportation industry play a large role in generating revenue for the United States. The shipping and transportation industry contributed $1.63 trillion dollars to the United States economy in 2019, equating to 7.6% of the annual GDP (SmartWay). However, the shipping and transportation industry also contributes to 50% of the NOx emissions, 30% of the VOCs emissions, and 20% of the PM emissions in the United States annually (SmartWay).
H&M Bay appreciates SmartWay’s resources that help assess and ensure maximum efficiency in our industry transportation methods. SmartWay offers clear steps on freight sustainability strategies, which can reduce emissions released into the atmosphere. If more transportation companies commit to take part in better practices for the environment, we can together significantly reduce the pollution emitted from the industry.
A Sustainable Approach to 3PL Cold and Frozen Freight Transportation
H&M Bay continues to be a premier sustainable LTL provider and consolidator of perishable and frozen goods. We recognize the role transportation plays in pollution and have centered our business around LTL to help our valued customers goods travel with other like-temperature goods to reduce the number of our independent network of trucks we send on the road at any given time. If you’re looking for a sustainable LTL transportation partner to help store or carry your cold or frozen goods across the nation, please reach out to us to request a quote.
