Preparing for Peak Season 2024: 8 Guidelines for Carriers to Have a Successful Shipping Season
Peak Season gets underway before Thanksgiving with pre-Peak trailer repositioning opportunities, but it really gets into gear on Black Friday when holiday freight starts hitting the road in earnest.
The hectic holidays mean there are some specific requirements for carriers and drivers who want to participate in Peak Season with Coyote.
Before you or your driver teams begin hauling for Peak Season 2024, here are some guidelines to follow that will make booking smoother, payment quick and simple, and the freight continue to come your way.
1. Join the Coyote Network
Carriers who want to haul Peak freight will need to join Coyote’s carrier network in order to be assigned freight.
Not in our network yet? Join here.
2. Set Up Automated Shipment Tracking
Shippers during Peak Season are more attentive than ever to transit times and on-time deliveries. To improve visibility for everyone during this complex time, we require all carriers participating in Peak shipping to enable automated tracking.
Carriers can easily provide automated tracking updates by downloading the CoyoteGO® app for carriers. In addition, you can also use CoyoteGO to browse and book freight in our digital load board any time of day.
Don’t have a CoyoteGO account yet? Request one here.
3. Sign Up for TriumphPay
Coyote is part of the TriumphPay open payments network. For Peak Season 2024, all carriers who haul in Coyote’s network must be signed up for TriumphPay to receive payment.
For more details about the TriumphPay platform and how to register and connect with Coyote, consult our Carrier FAQ.
4. Provide Excellent Service
Participating carriers are expected to maintain a 99.5% on-time pickup performance throughout the duration of the season and to meet expected transit times consistently.
Participating drivers are evaluated on a weekly basis for their performance on these service metrics.
Please drive safely. All carriers who haul in the Coyote network must comply with all applicable laws and regulations, including, without limitation, hours of service laws and regulations.
5. Make Sure Your Drivers Are Ready
Your drivers must be fueled up and fresh on hours of service at the start of each day. Coyote also needs to have your team driver information for each load at the time of sale.
Make sure all load information is correct before your drivers start hauling. You can confirm and update truck numbers assigned to a load by logging into CoyoteGO.
For more information about how to update your details for your active loads, click here.
6. Get Certified
Participating drivers must be licensed to transport freight in all 48 contiguous states in the United States.
All participating carriers must also have at least $25,000 in trailer or non-owned interchange insurance and a validly executed Non-Owned Equipment Services Amendment with Coyote.
7. Be Aware That Routes May Change
Given the dynamic nature of the holiday shipping season, please understand that planned routes are subject to change and per mile rates may be adjusted.
Any changes will be communicated in the load notes, which you will need to accept as part of hauling that load. Detention and layovers are also not granted for Peak freight.
8. Communicate
We know unexpected circumstances may come up, and we rely on you to keep an open line of communication with Coyote.
If your drivers do run into any issues in transit, please report those immediately to UPSPeakTracking@coyote.com or give us a call at 773-365-5650.
Here’s to a safe and successful Peak Season!