What Is Freight Delivery & Shipping Meaning?

Freight Shipping Meaning

How to Ship Freight

What is freight shipping and what does freight mean? It means shipping large shipments carrying cargo, usually from one business to another. Freight classification does not include the packages that come to your house from your online shopping orders. It means transporting goods in bulk by rail, cargo ship, truck, and airplane.

What is Cargo Definition:
Technically, any shipment that is more than 30 inches x 30 inches x 30 inches is considered freight. It is also a freight class if it is over 150 pounds.

Multimodal freight delivery service can be domestic or international.

Pallet Freight Shipping

Most of the time, freight shipping companies organize large items and load them onto pallets. If it is not loaded onto pallets, then the freight needs to be loaded unloaded by hand. This is a more time-consuming process, so it may cost more. When pallets are used, a forklift operator can load and unload the truck or container.

Most trucks can hold about 26 pallets. They are most easily loaded using a loading dock. If one is not available, then a truck with a gate that can lower easily would be useful.

Each pallet needs to have a label on it. The label should include the phone number and address of the shipping party, just in case any additional information is needed at any point along the way.

What Are the Types of Freight Shipping?

There are several different methods logistics companies can use for freight shipping. These include:

FTL freight shipping – Full truckload shipments are ones that fill the entire truck or container. One shipper uses the full truck.

LTL freight shipping – Less than truckload LTL shipments don’t fill up a full container. Multiple shippers use the container or truck.

PTL freight shipping – Partial truckloads are very similar to LTL loads. The difference is that with LTL, the shipment usually changes trucks and has more handling. With PTL, the shipment almost always stays on the same truck for the whole journey.

Intermodal freight shipping – This type of shipping uses shipping containers that are then transferred between ships, trains, and trucks.

Expedited freight shipping– Sometimes, you need something quickly. Express freight shipments often use air shipping to get things where they need to be even faster than usual.

Types of Freight Trucks

There are also several different types of trucks used to haul freight. These include:

Flatbed trucks – These trucks can haul up to 48,000 pounds. With a flatbed, they can take on many different kinds of loads including oversized loads, and odd-shaped cargo.  The cargo is open to the elements.

Reefer truck – Reefer stands for refrigerated. These trucks are sued to haul any item that needs to be kept cool.

Dry van – These types of trucks are fully enclosed, but have no temperature control. The shipment is shielded from the elements.

Semi-trailer trucks – These are also knowns as big rigs, 18 wheelers, and tractor-trailers.

How Long Does Freight Shipping Take?

What is expedited freight delivery service? The time it takes for your freight to ship depends on what method you are using for shipping. Expedited shipping can take as little as 1 day or as many as 3 days.

Regular air freight is usually between 5 and 10 days. Ocean freight can take anywhere from 20 to 45 days. The times depend on which shipping route is taken and the conditions for travel at that moment.

How Much is Freight Shipping?

There is so much variation in freight shipping that the costs vary depending on several factors including:

• The shipping method used. For example, shipping via air is less cost effective than other modes of transporation.
• The distance the shipment needs to travel.
• The size and weight of the shipment.
• Whether or not the shipment requires any special services like white-glove service.

Is there such a thing as cheap freight shipping? You will need to work with your provider to find the shipping option that works best for your budget. You should get a freight shipping quote before committing to any services so you will have an idea of the cost.

What Can Be Shipped Using Freight Delivery?

Yes, anything can be shipped via freight! That is how all of the products people use daily get shipped all over the world. However, certain items may be restricted or have certain requirements. If you are shipping items that are particularly expensive or luxurious, hazardous, large, or need to be kept warm or cold, check with your shipping provider before booking to make sure you can meet all the requirements.

What is Parcel Shipping?

Freight shipping refers to large bulk shipments. Parcel shipments are smaller packages that are usually sent via the post office, UPS, DHL, or another last-mile service provider. These packages are less than 30 inches x 30 inches x 30 inches and weigh less than 150 pounds.

Small freight shipping would include packages larger than that. To save money, freight carriers shipping smaller amounts would use LTL or PTL shipping.

Contact us for more information on our freight shipping services or to get a free freight shipping estimate.