What is freight shipping? Freight forwarder company tell you

Freight shipping is the transportation of bulk goods by road, multimodal transport (rail and road), ship, or air. Freight shipping transportation is an indispensable part of the operation of many e-commerce enterprises, especially when it comes to international transportation.

Freight shipping transport means transporting bulk goods within the domestic or global scope by air, land, or sea. The goods are loaded on pallets or insubstantial, large containers and transported by one or more means of transport.

The classified freight shipping

Any cargo larger than 30 inches x 30 inches x 30 inches or weighing more than 150 pounds is considered freight shipping. Transportation at these sizes is usually more cost-effective by parcel.

Freight shipping cargo can be loaded on trucks, pallets, or floors. Floor-loaded trucks require manual unloading, while pallet inventory can be quickly loaded/unloaded using docks or forklifts.

A standard truck can transport up to 26 pallets. Typical dimensions of pallets are 48 inches wide by 40 inches long, with a maximum height of 80 inches. Any pallet with a height greater than 48 inches is considered a double-layer pallet.

Truck cars and containers are usually four feet above the ground. The warehouse is equipped with an elevated wharf to load and unload trucks.

If the storage facilities are not equipped with terminals, another solution is to use forklifts or loading equipment to load/unload trucks.

If there is no dock or forklift at any transfer location, you can book a truck with a lift door service at an additional cost.

Freight shipping mode

There are five freight shipping modes to choose from entire vehicle (FTL), less than carload (LTL), entire partial vehicle (PTL), multimodal transport, and expediting. The following explains the difference between each:

1. complete vehicle (FTL)

A full container can be used to transport inventory. Vehicle freight shipping can be transported by road or railway. Most FTL containers can transport 24 to 26 pallets. FTL shipments are direct shipments from the pick-up point to the destination (for example, from the manufacturer to the fulfillment center).

2. less than carload (LTL)

LTL shipments are 1 to 6 pallets. LTL freight shipping is the most commonly used method. In less than carload freight shipping, e-commerce inventory is usually transferred to different trucks on the way to the destination.

3. some complete vehicles (PTL)

Partial truckload (PTL) shipments are between 6 and 12 pallets. For PTL cargo, once the inventory is loaded on the truck, the possibility of inventory being transferred to another truck during the journey is very low.

4. multimodal transport

Multimodal transport usually involves a combination of Railways and trucks, but it can also be a variety of railways, trucks, and ships. One of the benefits of using railways as part of freight shipping is reducing fuel use and transport costs.

5. urgent

Expedited freight shipping is used for time-critical freight shipping, usually involving trucks and air freight. Of all the freight shipping modes available, expediting is the most expensive.