Averitt Express, Cookeville, Tenn., released the results from its third annual State of The North American Supply Chain Survey. More than 1,600 shippers from a wide variety of industries throughout North America participated in the survey, which was conducted in late 2017.

The survey consisted of a series of questions aimed at gauging the supply chain challenges that shippers experienced in 2017. They were also asked questions to measure the use of and interest in various supply chain services in comparison to data taken from the previous years’ surveys.

Some of the questions asked in the survey included:

• Are businesses predicting an increase or decrease in shipments in 2018?
• What were the biggest challenges with carriers in 2017?
• Will shippers use air and rail services in 2018?

Conclusions from the survey included:

• 75.89% of the individuals surveyed expect their shipment volumes to increase in 2018.
• About 33% of respondents had challenges with customs clearance in 2017 – a 4.58 percentage point increase from 2016.
• Compared to the previous year’s findings, the survey showed a 22% increase of shippers that plan to use air services and a 28% increase of those that plan to use rail services in 2018.

“The information taken from the survey will help us to be better able to address the needs of our shippers in 2018,” says Wayne Spain, president and COO.