Mauricio de Jesus Rosendo pulls conifers off a pallet at Bountiful Farms. For load stability, larger plant material is loaded first, followed by smaller plants. Photo by Vic Panichkul
Mauricio de Jesus Rosendo (left) and Sebastian Lopes load plants into a truck at Bountiful Farms Nursery Inc. in Woodburn, Oregon. Getting plant material loaded properly is key to them arriving safely at the destination. Photo by Vic Panichkul
Crew Leader Celso Barron drives an ariculated loader to carry a pallet of arborvitae into a truck at Bountiful Farms. For safety and efficiency, Bountiful Farms uses well-lit articulated loaders to load trucks and assigns a crew leader for each load to supervise loading. Photo by Vic Panichkul
Getting nursery material from point A to point B safely and undamaged is a fluid process, according to freight brokers and nursery owners. It requires precision at the loading dock and careful monitoring during transit.
Often, what is done prior to calling a carrier is a vital first step.
Robert Bissell of Left Coast Logistics (Lake Oswego, Oregon), said he starts by talking with a nursery to get a sense of what they’re shipping. “Is it durable enough for a dry van or even rail, or do we need to find a refrigerated trailer for the move?” he asks.
With that information in hand, he starts by matching carriers with the job, beginning with studying their safety ratings on carrier monitoring services like Carrier411 and RMIS Carrier Directory.
“We look at a carrier’s safety record, operation, insurance, authority, equipment and overall track record before putting them on a load,” Bissell said. “From the brokerage side, safety really starts with selecting the right carrier.”
Matthew Frederick of K&M Distribution Inc. in Rogue River, Oregon, said he is familiar with many of the carriers he works with. Even so, he too begins his selection process by turning to Carrier411. “It starts there,” he said.
The platform is designed for brokers, shippers and other logistics professionals. It tracks carrier fitness in multiple categories, including driver safety and vehicle maintenance.
“Driver safety and vehicle maintenance are the two biggest indicators of how your carrier is going to be able to make the transit,” Frederick said. “If they have a bad driver-safety score and their vehicle maintenance is low, then those two combined are a very good indicator that there is going to be a problem in transit.”
In the screen capture above, the company always knows where the containers are when they’re on the railroad, whether they’re moving, where in the shipping process they are. The tracker also indicates when doors have been opened or closed and the temperature inside the container. Photos courtesy of Independent Dispatch Inc.
VIN verification
In addition to checking databases, qualifying carriers involves matching VIN numbers to the trailer hauling the load. “That is part of our due diligence,” Frederick said. “We try to make sure we get the last five VIN numbers on the trailer, so we know that they’re covered under insurance.”
K&M also calls carriers to verify the identity of a dispatcher or a driver to ensure against double-brokering, or re-tendering of loads. This practice that has become more common and can increase risks with safety and liability.
“There is so much double-brokering going on, and so many people going around the rules these days, that it is a full-time job just qualifying carriers,” Frederick said. “Honestly, it’s the hardest thing we do.”
Bissell added that the dispatchers at Left Coast Logistics, which works strictly with nurseries, have a minimum of 15 years of experience in the shipping business. “That helps ensure that we get qualified, experienced carriers,” he said.
Once a freight broker qualifies a carrier, brokers work to align transportation equipment with the product being shipped. This is particularly so, Bissell noted, when dealing with refrigerated freight, which is particularly sensitive to damage during transit.
“Maintaining the required temperature throughout the trip is critical to getting the product to its destination in good condition,” he said.
At Bountiful Farms Nursery Inc. in Woodburn, Oregon, owner Todd Nelson said that when transporting material in dry vans, loaders work to protect product from temperature extremes by lining metal sides with four-by-eight sheets of cardboard to prevent plant material from touching the metal, which can become too warm or too cold during transit.
“It creates a small insulation barrier,” Nelson said.
Securing loads
The next big concern for freight brokers, as well as nurseries, involves properly securing loads with load locks, straps and other devices.
“Usually, when we are delivering to independent stores and retailers, the product is floor loaded, and we require four load locks and a picture of the load secured before they leave a site,” Bissell said. “If the material is ever on rolling racks, we would need a trailer with E-Track, and then that driver would need at least 12 straps to better secure the load.”
“Securing the load is a huge process,” Nelson said. “We know that the truck leaving our docks will be traveling potentially several thousands of miles to its destination and we just really want to make sure that the load is secured.”
Frederick said K&M requires its carriers carry a minimum of four load locks, in part to accommodate partial load drops. “I have a rate confirmation that says you have to have a clean trailer and minimum four load locks,” he said.
Load security also involves proper loading procedure. Nelson said his load supervisors start with heavier material if possible and add lighter material toward the end of the loading process.
“There is a bit of an art to loading a truck, and our crews are trained how to put that jigsaw puzzle together so that the load rides the safest,” Nelson said.
Nelson added that Bountiful Farms assigns a load manager for each truck, and the nursery has instituted multiple safety features for the loading process, including using articulating loaders with reverse beepers and keeping well-lit machines on the docks. And loading supervisors at Bountiful Farms bring years of experience and training into the process.
“There is a bunch of training that goes into the communication with the individual running the loader with the ground crew who are loading and unloading the pallets onto the semis,” Nelson said.
Safety flags
The nursery also places safety flags in front of each semi at its loading dock and instructs drivers not to depart until that flag is removed.
“That way we don’t have a truck driver mistakenly pull away from our docks thinking that his load is full,” Nelson said. “There can at times be 20 trucks at our docks, and if you’re just yelling or whistling and saying, ‘Hey, you’re good to go’ two different drivers could take that information and mistakenly both leave.”
Bountiful Farms also stays on top of shipments during transit with a monitoring system that allows the nursery to track the location and temperature of a load.
“We basically have live data as to where our load is and what the temperatures are so we can have that as an insurance to make sure that the driver is where he says he is and that the reefer was set to what we asked it to be set at,” Nelson said.
Freight brokers also regularly track loads as a means to protect shipments from damage and to help ensure time schedules are met. “If there is a delay, mechanical issue, weather problem or any other unexpected situation, we want to know about it as soon as possible so we can communicate with the customer and work with the carrier to address it,” Bissell said.
Jim Bambach of Independent Dispatch Inc. (Portland, Oregon) noted that tracking loads is also a big part of intermodal shipping.
“We always know where the containers are when they’re on the railroad, whether they’re moving, where in the shipping process they are. We can also tell whether the doors have been opened or closed, which adds an additional layer of oversight during transit. And if there are ever any sort of delays, if we see anything that doesn’t seem right, we reach out to the railroad and work within their system to try to identify what is happening and to address it with them so the container is not delayed any longer than is necessary,” Bambach said.
Communication is key
Whether shipping by rail, intermodal or truck, good communication throughout the process is a key for ensuring products arrive safely at their destination, according to brokers and shippers. Bambach said he starts communicating with carriers early in the process, before the shipping season begins. “We sort of do a pre-season reset, and just reiterate to them our expectations to get off on the right foot,” he said.
West Coast Logistics communicates with carriers at the start of the delivery process and throughout delivery, Bissell said. “We make sure the carrier understands the pickup and delivery requirements and any special handling requirements.” The company talks to drivers at least twice a day during transit, he added.
Ultimately, Bissell said his job is getting the right carrier and the right equipment with the right shipment and then staying involved throughout transit until the bill of lading is signed. “From a liability standpoint, good carrier selection, proper documentation, clear instructions, shipment tracking and consistent communication are all important,” he said.
Frederick echoed that, noting that attention to detail is invaluable in mitigating issues that can arise at multiple points in the shipping process and ensuring products arrive safely and undamaged at their destination.
“Those mistakes can really affect the supply chain and have the potential to damage relationships, and relationships are really important in this business,” Frederick said. “So, if we can avoid that, we will.”
From the November 2026 issue of Digger magazine | Download PDF of article