Supply Chain Management Transportation 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which transportation mode offers the lowest cost per ton-mile for bulk commodities over long distances in the US?
- Trucking
- Rail (Correct answer)
- Air freight
- Pipeline
Correct answer: Rail
Rail transportation offers the lowest cost per ton-mile for bulk commodities like coal and grain over long distances.
Question 2: A shipper consolidates multiple small shipments from different suppliers into one truckload. This practice is called:
- Cross-docking
- Drop shipping
- Pool distribution
- Pool consolidation (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Pool consolidation
Pool consolidation combines smaller shipments from multiple origins heading to a common destination zone into a single load.
Question 3: Under the Carmack Amendment, what is the common carrier's liability for lost or damaged freight?
- Actual loss or injury to the cargo (Correct answer)
- A fixed statutory cap per shipment
- Whatever the shipper declares at booking
- Zero if the carrier used reasonable care
Correct answer: Actual loss or injury to the cargo
The Carmack Amendment makes common carriers liable for actual loss or damage to goods, with limited exception defenses.
Question 4: A 'milk run' transportation strategy is best described as:
- Refrigerated transport for dairy products
- A single vehicle making sequential stops to pick up from multiple suppliers (Correct answer)
- Overnight delivery of perishable goods
- A fixed-route shuttle between two distribution centers
Correct answer: A single vehicle making sequential stops to pick up from multiple suppliers
A milk run uses one vehicle to collect smaller quantities from several suppliers on a loop, reducing inbound freight costs.
Question 5: Which document serves as both a receipt for goods and a contract of carriage between a shipper and an ocean carrier?
- Commercial invoice
- Certificate of origin
- Bill of lading (Correct answer)
- Packing list
Correct answer: Bill of lading
A bill of lading is the key ocean shipping document that acts as a receipt, title document, and contract of carriage.
Question 6: The primary advantage of using a Transportation Management System (TMS) is:
- Eliminating the need for freight brokers
- Optimizing carrier selection, route planning, and freight audit (Correct answer)
- Replacing EDI with API integrations
- Automating customs clearance for imports
Correct answer: Optimizing carrier selection, route planning, and freight audit
A TMS optimizes transportation by automating carrier selection, load planning, route optimization, and freight bill auditing.
Question 7: What is the term for the transportation strategy where a regional DC receives full truckloads and immediately sorts and transfers product to outbound trucks with minimal storage?
- Drop shipping
- Cross-docking (Correct answer)
- Flow-through distribution
- Transloading
Correct answer: Cross-docking
Cross-docking transfers product directly from inbound to outbound vehicles at a dock, avoiding put-away and pick operations.
Supply Chain Management Transportation 2
Which transportation mode offers the lowest cost per ton-mile for bulk commodities over long distances in the US?