Once an afterthought in supply chain strategy, yard operations are suddenly in the spotlight in 2026, as companies realize that what happens in the yard can quietly drive up costs and stall operations. 

A market analysis published by Better Supply Chains argues that those problems aren’t rooted in a lack of technology, but in how yard work is governed and executed day to day. In many networks, performance still varies wildly from site to site, with inconsistent processes, reactive labor decisions and limited accountability masking inefficiencies that can manifest in the form of detention fees, overtime, safety incidents or missed service commitments.

"Trailer yards sit at the intersection of transportation, warehousing, labor, and asset utilization," reads the report, authored by industry analyst Bart De Muynck. "Despite this role, yard operations are frequently managed independently at the site level, with limited standardization, visibility, or enterprise oversight."

Industry sources cited by the analysis estimate that roughly 90% of yards still operate without dedicated management systems or consistent frameworks that measure performance. And even in cases where technology is being used, it's often being deployed unevenly across different sites, and lacks visibility across entire networks.

That disconnect, the report notes, is why yard issues can often surface elsewhere in the supply chain. As a result, bottlenecks in the yard can slow dock operations, throw off transportation schedules, and force warehouses to cover service gaps with overtime, all while the root cause remains largely invisible. Those small breakdowns can also snowball over time, impacting reliability, and driving costs higher in ways many businesses struggle to trace back to the yard itself.

To address these issues, the analysis recommends that organizations take stock of their current yard systems, identify the areas with the most risk and variability, and find technology partners that can help with standardization and network governance.

"Those that take this step will be better positioned to reduce cost volatility, protect service performance, support electrification and sustainability objectives, and build more resilient, scalable supply chains," the report concludes.