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Freight carriers are involved in the business of transporting goods and production material from one point to another. Freight can be carried via ships, airplanes, freight trains or trucks. Companies that offer such services are referred to as freight carriers.
Types of Freight Carriers
Based on the shipment volume, these carriers can be categorized in the following ways:
*Less than Truck Load Carriers (LTL): These carriers transport small loads of freight, often between 150 and 10,000 pounds. Since hiring a full truck would entail wastage of money and space for smaller shipments, LTL offers a safe and cost-effective means of shipping smaller sizes shipments. These LTL carriers transport shipments through vans, small trucks, and large trailers. Shipments may also be transported through partial truckloads at negotiable prices.
*Full Truckload Carriers: Full truckload carriers use semi trailers to transport freight. Since these semi trailers are between 26 and 53 feet, a substantial volume of freight (between 10,000 and 40,000 pounds) is required to make the transportation economical.
*Parcel Carriers: These carriers handle smaller shipments and packages. Such consignments usually weigh less than 150 pounds.
Contacting Freight Carriers
Although shippers can contact these shipping carriers directly, experienced shippers with lower volumes (< $1,000,000 annual transportation spend) take an alternate direction. Instead, they go to freight brokers who help them find the best freight carriers. Freight brokers provide shipping quotes from various freight shipping carriers, which can be compared and contrasted based on price and service. Freight brokers partner with them to provide shippers highly flexible services at competitive prices. Larger volume freight brokers have significant buying power and accessibility to numerous freight shipping carriers, which enables them to provide shippers superior quality services at affordable costs.
Tips on Choosing the Best Freight Carriers
*Price: Compare quotations of various freight shipping carriers to find the most suitable and cost service for your needs.
*Efficiency: Check past records of these carriers to assess their performance and efficiency. A simple search on Google will give you the info you need.
*Discounts: All carriers will offer discounts for higher volume shippers. |
