BendPak, a manufacturer of garage equipment that started a private fleet to haul its merchandise, has started hot shot transportation provider Bolt Transport to deliver time-sensitive and less-than-truckload (LTL) freight, according to a Bolt Transport press release.
“We started Bolt Transport to serve our customers and other shippers that need to transport long and heavy, hard-to-move loads,” said Pat Weber, BendPak's director of sales and business development. “Bolt’s goal is to help customers cut their shipping expenses and help alleviate the current lack of freight capacity in the U.S.”
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“Hot-shotting” refers to delivering time-sensitive or oversized LTL freight within a set timeframe to a single customer or location. Along with traditional hot-shot service, Bolt Transport also offers small-package delivery, “high touch” white glove services for handle-with-care packages, messenger services, and logistics solutions. Logistics offerings include coordinating and moving materials, inventory, or equipment. Bolt will expedite deliveries, installs, and contractor timelines for customers as part of its hot shot operations.
The Bolt fleet is domiciled in two locations: Theodore, Alabama and Santa Paula, California. The company runs medium-duty trucks and 45-foot tarped flatbeds for hot shot hauls, as well as smaller trucks for lighter-duty services.
Bolt, in the press release, argues that hot shot delivery is safer than traditional LTL deliveries. In order to fill an entire van trailer with freight, LTL carriers must stack it. Stacked freight can lead to damages, scratches, and unhappy customers. As a hot shot carrier using a flatbed trailer freight is more likely to arrive undamaged.
Bolt drivers call into customer service 24 hours before delivery and Bolt can track the vehicles and transit times for each load. This is to give customers confidence that their products or equipment will be delivered on the date promised.
