Freight - An Introduction to The Basic Principles

The world of freight and shipping is an exciting and very broad field of activity. Whether you are thinking of becoming a shipper, a broker, or planning on shipping something yourself, there is a lot to learn.

Freight is a word utilised to classify the transferral of items and is commonly a commercial activity. Items are normally coordinated into various shipment categories before they are channelled.

Things to consider are:

The nature of the item being carried, i.e. a kettle could be expected to fit into the class 'household goods'.

- How large the object is, both in terms of item sizing and quantity.

- The length of time for the journey.

- The catagories differ, for example; express, parcel, freight, and household goods.

Fine art, furniture items, and such things will normally be reffered to as household goods.

Most small business or personal items, for example envelopes are considered as "overnight express" or "express letter items". They are rarely over a few pounds, and almost always get sent in the carriers typical packaging. Depending on your choice as a shipper, the level of service varies.

Air transport is the normal choice for "Express" goods, at least for some portion of the journey. Even the humble envelope can arrive overnight or could take days.

Bigger items like small boxes are counted as parcel or ground dispatches. These dispatches are seldom over 100 pounds, with no single piece of the item weighing more than about 70 pounds. Shipments are usually boxed, sometimes in the shippers packaging and occasionally in carrier-provided packaging.

The majority of business-to-consumer shipments are parcels. Normally they travel by rail and road, and seldom by air. Depending again on the service levels chosen, delivery times will vary, but most loads will travel 550-750 miles per day.

Aside from Household goods and Parcels, the next catagories are described as "freight".

1. The first class is Less-than-truckload or LTL freight:

The requirements for packaging and size are very similar for air freight and for LTL cargo. Generally the Less-than-truckload LTL carriers use a 28 foot container. Air freight shipments typically need to move at much faster speeds than 500 miles per day. Air shipments may be booked directly with the carriers or through brokers or online marketplace services. Air shipments move faster than standard LTL.

2. The next catagory is (TL) Truckload:

Anything larger than 15,000 pounds will be classed Truckload (TL) in the United States of America. The most economical way to ship this size is on it's own truck rather than sharing, like the LTL shipments.

Legally the trucks can only carry approximately 40,000 Kg or 80,000 pounds including the tractor trailer weight. Large consumer product companies can take advantage of these allowances to cut on costs and increase profits. TL shipments usually travel as the only shipment on a trailer and TL shipments usually deliver on exactly the same trailer as they are picked up on.

Plans for increasing load size include: reducing truck equipment weights for example, by "light weighting" the equipment. This may involve extensive use of lighter-weight materials such as aluminum. When shipping freightage, it is highly important to see the details about pricing, claims, and insurance.

Freight pricing:

LTL rates are quoted per 100 pounds or cwt or per hundred weight. Besides the discount off of base rate created by the freight class, there is typically a second discount applied to the calculated transportation rate.

In the Less-than-Truckload (LTL) marketplace, intermediaries typically receive 50% to 80% discounts from published rates, where a small shipper may only be offered a 5% to 30% discount by the carrier.

Another cost-saving method is facilitating pickups or deliveries at the carriers terminals. By doing this, shippers avoid any accessorial fees that might normally be charged for liftgate, residential pickup/delivery, inside pickup/delivery or notifications/appointments.