What Shipping Method is Best for Cargo and Freight?

Moving cargo and freight can be accomplished via a number of ways. Before choosing what is best for your freight and cargo shipping, consider several different factors.  Determine your freight dimensions or width and length, in addition to freight weight, storage needs, delivery requirements and fragility. Once you have identified these factors, you can better decide what shipping option and transport services in Utah are best for your load.

There are several different options, and a listing of four of these options is described for you to consider.

1. Full Truckload Freight Shipping (TL)

Full truckload TL shipping moves cargo or loads that are large enough to use an entire semitrailer. The loads are typically more than 15,000 pounds. By using transport services in Utah and TL shipping, you gain the benefits of:

• Cost savings. One full truckload is more cost-effective than several small shipments.
• Freight is not handled in transit. No additional handling reduces the change of damage.
• Full truckload carriers have insurance, and you can be assured that they are moving your freight safely.
• You calculate your pricing structure by the miles traveled rather than the density of the load.

2. Less than a Truckload or LTL Shipping

If you have more than 150 pounds of freight, but less than a full truckload, less than truckload shipping might be your most economical and efficient choice. Less than a truckload freight shipping imitates a “hub and spoke” form of delivery where local terminals are the spokes, and larger terminals are the hubs. A trailer is packed with a mixture of goods from different transport services in Utah, which are collected from different spoke terminals until the trailer is filled. The total freight is brought to a hub terminal where it is sorted and consolidated for additional transportation. Transit times are longer for LTL loads than TL shipments, but there are some benefits like:

• LTL shipments are less costly than hiring a full truck and trailer.
• There are additional services outside of dock to dock transportation available. These are liftgates, non-commercial shipping, notification options, and inside pickup and delivery.
• LTL freight shipping allows for zone shipping or carriers bypassing a parcel carrier’s traditional zone. If you can bypass a traditions parcel carrier’s zone you will save charges from crossing different zones in one delivery.

3. Expedited LTL freight shipping

E-commerce is expected to top over $2 trillion worldwide in the next few years, and the need to ship goods efficiently and safely by using transport services in Utah will be necessary. At times, the businesses and consumers making purchases need their good in a very short amount of time.

That’s where you need to use expedited shipping. Expedited shipping alleviates unnecessary delay as much as possible to get goods where they need to be in a timely and efficient manner. It may be a hospital in need of medicines, factories that are looking for replenishment of goods, or any other number of time-sensitive applications. Expedited freight shipping is used to get freight to its destination quickly. Transport service in Utah will expedite your shipping loads, but it does come at a premium price. However, the benefits are well worth the cost. Some benefits of expedited LTL freight shipping are:

• Dedicated transportation moves the freight from pickup through delivery in the most efficient and timely manner possible.
• Shipments are driven by a team of two drivers, which reduces transit times.
• Less handling and fewer stops along the way increases the security of the shipment.

4. Intermodal Transportation

Intermodal transportation is combining transport services in Utah with different ways of shipping products. These include rail, truck, ship, or even airlines. Intermodal transportation streamlines the shipping process.

Every year 25 million containers are moved via intermodal transportation. As rail and air access, broadens and companies are looking environmentally friendly and modes of shipping, intermodal transportation is becoming the preferred method of shipping. The intermodal shipping process begins with a container moved by truck to the rail, then back to a truck before arriving at its destination. It also involves moving a container via truck, then rail, then air cargo. Intermodal shipments move long distances between major areas with flexible delivery times. There are several benefits offered by intermodal freight and cargo transportation. These are:

• Rail travel requires less fuel consumption than road-based transportation. This lower fuel costs and contributes to a greener environment.
• Expanding rail network in North Amerian increase the number of destination options.
• Freight is moved safely and securely since ride quality in a train is similar to highway driving. Most freight commodities are insured up to $250,000 while in rail transit.
• Air freight gets your cargo and shipments to their international or intercontinental destinations efficiently and quickly.

Cargo and freight shipping is not limited to just these four options, but these are a significant representation of the shipping market and transport services in Utah. Use your chain management executive to help discover the best and most effective ways of transporting your goods from one destination to another.