Freight transportation: All you need to know and more
When shipping a large amount of material, freight transportation is your most cost-effective means of doing this. No matter the industry or the final destination, freight transportation lets you send goods across the state or, eventually, around the world. However, there are different options when it comes to freight transportation, and if you’re new to the world of bulk shipping, or you’ve used the same service provider since the inception of your company and haven’t shopped around, here is everything you need to know and more regarding freight transportation.
About Freight Transportation
LTL Shipping
There will be times when you don’t have a full truckload to ship out. Perhaps you only have a few crates that take up a quarter of a traditional shipping container. Or maybe you can fill up half a truck, but you can’t wait to fill the other half and need to send the goods out. In these instances (whether it is all the time or only some of the time), LTL Shipping is the way to go.
Short for Less Than Truckload, LTL is a shipping method where your goods will likely be combined with shipping goods from other companies. This way, both you and the other companies will split the cost of shipping. It is a cost-effective means of sending your product out without needing to pay for the entire truck.
When considering LTL shipping options, you need to determine whether your shipping company has a weight requirement. Some may still force you to have a minimum shipping weight and, even if you don’t make the minimum weight, charge you for that amount. At RJS Logistics, there is no minimum shipping weight requirement. After all, when you need to send a product out, you need to send it out. You can’t wait, and you may not need to add unnecessary bulk to the shipment just to reach a minimum.
Full Truckload
You may feel more comfortable having an entire truck all to yourself and your product. In this instance, you will pay for a full truckload. When you fill up the entire truck, your product will travel on a direct route to the final destination. When using a less than truckload shipping method, there might be additional stops along the way to offload (and on-load) product into the rest of the truck. That is not the case with a full truckload. Because all the goods within the truck are yours, there will not be unnecessary stops, and the recipient will receive the product faster.
Now, when it comes to a full truckload, you don’t actually need to fill the entire truck. While filling the truck will be the most cost-effective means of shipping products, if you would rather have the entire truck dedicated only to your products, and you don’t want to plan for the stoppage requirements of other businesses sharing a truck, you can partially fill a truck and then pay for a full truckload. It all depends on what you’re interested in when it comes to freight transportation.
So, whether you’re interested in filling the entire truck or you just want the entire truck at your disposal, the full truckload method will always be the fastest means of freight transport.
Refrigeration
Not all goods can be shipped and stored at varying temperatures. A regular shipping truck will often experience wide shifts in temperature changes while on the route, depending on the weather outside. This might be fine for some construction materials, but if you’re shipping produce or other perishable goods, you will want to take advantage of a refrigeration truck. This form of shipment will maintain a constant temperature throughout the duration of the shipment. By maintaining a single temperature, it will extend the life of the products and help ensure it arrives at the final destination in the freshest state possible.
This kind of shipping truck is available in both LTL and full truckload forms. Most produce is shipped at a similar temperature, so you may be able to combine your shipment with other companies and save money (especially if the products need to be frozen). However, if you need to make sure your product is shipped as quickly as possible (such as if what you’re shipping expires quickly) or what you’re sending has a unique temperature requirement, you may need to use the full shipment method. Just know that both shipping methods are available when it comes to refrigeration.
Knowing The Shipping Days
Before you sign up with a particular freight transportation company, it is essential for you to know what days the company will work on and whether you’ll be forced to withhold shipping on weekends. Some shipment companies will only accept and send out drivers on weekdays. That might throw off shipments for your business if you’re not able to send out orders on Saturday or Sunday. Even if you typically send orders out during the week, there might be an off chance a weekend shipment is required. You need to know this is a viable option when necessary. While other freight transportation service providers may not offer this kind of service, RJS Logistics does. Whenever you might need shipment services, 24-hours a day, 7-days a week, your shipment needs are taken care of.
Receive Information Specific For Your Business Today
It doesn’t matter what your industry is or how long you’ve been in business; if freight transportation is a necessary element of your company, it pays to shop around and learn more about the transportation method and the available options you have access to. Here at RJS Logistics, you have access to a team of professionals who will go over your company’s needs and help you decide what works best for your products, budget, and where you’re shipping to. If you want to know more about how RJS Logistics can revolutionize the way your company ships goods, now is the time to contact RJS Logistics. Customer service professionals will go over all the details and provide you with more specific information for your business.
