What is the difference between shipping and freight? Both shipping and freight refer to bulk transportation of goods. Shipping refers to a smaller amount, whereas freight refers to a larger quantity of goods and denotes commercial purposes. Shipping of goods can be carried out for either commercial or personal purposes.
The four main types of freight transportation are by road, railroad, ocean, and air. Each type has its own processes and benefits. Today, we will be talking about the benefits of truck freight transportation compared to train. While both transportations have their merits, truck freight still comes out top according to some transportation statistics.
Shipping by truck enables more flexibility compared to lack of flexibility when shipping by train. Direct transportation with no go-betweens is possible with truck freight and not possible with train. Truck can provide door-to-door delivery with no bulk breaking whereas with train it is not possible. Train transportation is dependent on road hauler with pre and post carriage with final delivery.
Truck freight takes shorter transit time depending on destinations while train is not adapted to short distances. There is a wide range of truck transportation compared to shipping by train. With truck, it is possible for just in time delivery whereas with train, there is uncertainty of departure and arrival dates. Large deliveries which require a whole or full truck is a very convenient and cheaper than multiple smaller shipment. Sometimes, some large deliveries may not be able to take up the whole truck, and may need to fit on truck already carrying other goods. And some of these items may be delivered to different destination, so they need to be delivered by different trucks.
There are various options available when looking for truck freights but looking for reliable and flexible truck transportation can be a difficult task. The best option is to deal with Shiply which has hundreds of truckload freight shippers ready to bid on your job, with rates much cheaper than usually charged.
How are rates for truck freight calculated? The calculation of truck freight rates mainly depends on the weight of the freight. Most often, the heavier your shipment, the lesser you pay. Truck rates also depends on the shipment density which is calculated by dividing the total weight of the shipment by the total cubic feet. Distance is also taken into consideration when calculating the rates. Destination within the mainland is cheaper compared to international shipping which will incur extra customs and travel costs.
The size of your shipment will also affect the price, depending on the number of pallets to be delivered. There are various truck options such as the standard flatbed truck, the step deck trailer, dry van trailer or refrigerated trailer and some which may cost more depending on your requirement. Another factor influencing the rate is the location of pickup and delivery. Easy to reach areas usually cost less than remote or hard to reach areas which are usually further from urban areas. Weather also play a part in rate calculation. Bad weather condition may be unsafe for travelling on the routes and time taken will be longer and may end up costing more.
