Urban Delivery Hubs Present Solutions to Final Mile Shipping – Transport Topics
It has long been a fact of life for shippers: The most expensive leg of any shipment — whether freight or parcel — is the final-mile leg. The longer the item spends with the last-mile delivery driver, the more it’s going to cost the shipper.
Added in the maze of urban settings, the infrastructure becomes a not-so-friendly environment to semi-tractors hauling 53-foot trailers. Plus, longhaul drivers’ pay structure is not set up to reward them, with all the stops and delays that happen in these cities.
An evolving — and still developing — concept to address the issue is the urban delivery hub (UDH). Described by some as the “Amazonization of last-mile delivery,” the concept has actually been in practice for nearly two decades.
