What Are The Best Options For Shipping Freight?

Your organization simply wrapped up that costly bit of gear and you are currently prepared to transport it to the client. It took you 10 weeks to manufacture it so the exact opposite thing you need to do is manage harmed or lost freight. Picking the correct transportation strategy is basic on the off chance that you need to limit issues, while keeping your expenses on spending plan. Investing a little energy exploring and contrasting choices can spare you both time and cerebral pains.

When looking for a shipping solution you have the following options:

• Global Shipping Company
• Common Carrier
• Local Trucking Company
• Freight Broker
• Freight Forwarder

The above choices each have advantages and disadvantages:

The global shipping company has terminals nationwide and internationally. They can ship by truck, boat, or plane. Their global network of resources and computer tracking results in timely efficient deliveries overseas. The other disadvantage of this type of service is that loads are handled frequently as shipments are routed through a network of terminals. The more frequently a load is transferred, the higher the risk of getting damaged or lost.

Common Carriers have a network of terminals either nationally or in a region. They are strictly trucking companies. Large fortune 500 companies get volume discount pricing, but the small business and entrepreneurs will pay a higher rate. Once your shipment is over 1000 lbs, cost can be prohibitive. The common carrier will use a local driver pick up your cargo and bring it to the nearest terminal where it will be unloaded from one truck and reloaded to another to go to the closest major city to the final destination. This process is called cross docking. Cross docking can be done several times before the cargo reaches its final destination. This additional handling increases the chances of cargo damage or goods being lost or delayed. The more times a load is handled, the more chances of an unfortunate occurrence.

Freight brokers don't own trucks; they arrange shipments with a variety of other trucking firms. They handle a large number of shipments so they can use this leverage to negotiate lower pricing with the common carriers. This results in lower rates to the client. While the freight broker will negotiate and track shipments for you, they do not take legal responsibility for the cargo: that falls back to the carrier. This legal arrangement can sometimes put the customer at double jeopardy for shipping costs, as they pay the freight broker, but if for some reason, there is a problem between the broker and carrier, the carrier can go back and collect payment directly from the customer.

A freight forwarder is very similar to the freight broker, they negotiate with a variety of carriers to get good rates and handle the logistics and tracking. The major difference is that the freight forwarder takes legal responsibility for the shipment and offers consolidation of shipments. That means that damage or other liability falls on the shoulders of the freight forwarder which handles the claim on behalf of the shipper. Both the freight broker and the freight forwarder have relationships that will get better shipping rates over what the small business could get from a common carrier.

Local trucking company covers a city or slightly larger area. For shipping heavy loads across town, the local trucking company may be your best bet as you can often get competitive rates, on the other hand some of these companies are very small and you may have to wait longer before your cargo is picked up.

Some considerations when choosing a carrier:

Insurance: Many carriers have a standard insurance claim rate that only allows you to recover $.10 to $.50 per pound. If this is not acceptable, then use a freight forwarder as they insure the loads themselves and are able to cover the total cost of the freight.

Expedited Shipments: If a shipment has to get there quickly, don't automatically assume that you have to use air freight. Some trucking companies will use driver teams so the truck is on the road around the clock. The extra driver does cost more but it would still be a substantial savings over air freight. Expedited truck shipping usually takes only day longer than air shipment, also air freight involves more handling which means your cargo has a greater chance of loss or damage.

LTL: LTL stands for less than load and it means just that, some freight companies won't do LTL. This could delay your shipment as the carrier is trying to consolidate enough pick ups to create a full load. Many times a freight forwarder can do LTL with little cost or time penalty.

Back Hauling: Often times a carrier will make a delivery to a destination, but not have a load to take him back home. Back hauling is picking up cargo for returning to the origination point. Many times trucking companies will back haul at a very low cost, since the alternative is an empty load. Some freight brokers and freight forwarders are very good at finding these opportunities and can save you a lot of money. In addition, most times, there is no cross docking with this method so your chances of lost or damaged goods are greatly reduced. For the expensive cargo or fragile loads, this method is the safest way to ship.

In general, the small company will get the best value by using a freight broker or forwarder, but make sure you choose an experienced company. There are many carriers out there that are not dependable and an inexperienced broker may end up going with an "unreliable" carrier, which could result in lost, delayed or damaged cargo.

TracknGo Logistics is a privately owned company located in Blaine Minnesota. Fidelity offers ltl shipping, flatbed shipping, and has the cheapest freight shipping service around.