What factors do you need to consider to better control your freight costs? Are there hidden charges you should be aware of? Is the domestic freight market predictable enough to make qualified decisions? Let’s see if there’s a practical road to understanding trucking rates.

If your products are shipped by truck, you’re paying for it. Whether you have your own fleet or have to rely on a third party, having a reasonable knowledge of the factors influencing your trucking costs just makes sense.

As we uncover the information you need, it’s important to realize there are two distinct facets in discussion: trucking rates and truck freight rates. Trucking rates apply to you directly (your costs as a business owner), whereas truck freight rates are the costs incurred by carriers – owner operators and trucking companies.

How to Calculate Trucking Rates

For most physical business, freight and trucking costs are a significant and often revolving part of your operating overhead. Therefore it makes sense to understand the basics so you can break down these costs into smaller increments that help you determine the best trucking rate per mile.

Trucking freight rates are calculated using a per-mile (or kilometre) basis. Therefore, the most important metric when calculating truck rates is the number of miles between your point of pickup and final destination.

Having an average rate per mile for trucking and reasonably accurate information of current freight rates is essential for predicting your shipping costs, providing quotes and negotiating shipping rates with your customers.

What is a Truck Freight Rate?

A truck freight rate is the price a specific broker or shipper will pay a carrier to haul a load. Because the average trucking company only only one to two trucks, the aggregated number of small businesses becomes staggering. This also means there can be a huge variation in pricing from company to company.

Is this a problem or an advantage? When you realize just how competitive the domestic freight market is, you certainly have an opportunity for a win. The trick is in being informed and doing your homework through due diligence.

Factors That Determine Truck Freight Rates

There are number of standardized factors used to calculate truck freight rates. Some of them are predictable or fixed, others are variable. As a group, they’re all taken into consideration when determining truck freight rates.

1. Distance

Whether local or long haul, the distance between start and finish points is an important part of determining trucking rates per mile.

2. Weight

The next most significant factor is the weight of the shipment. For instance, moving crates full of dumbbells is going to cost more than boxes full of ping pong balls.

3. Density

Shipment density is another factor that determines the volume of space a shipment will take up in the truck. This in turn impacts your trucking per mile rates. For all intents and purposes, calculating the shipment density is fairly straight forward: divide the shipment weight by its cubic feet. In other words, shipment weight divided by cubic feet = shipment density.

4. Base Rate

All trucking carriers have established base rates for shipments. Although most rates are usually cited per $100 dollars, they will vary based on the carrier and transporting lane. Your base rate also includes both fixed and variable costs and variable costs. Fixed costs are items such as insurance and equipment leases. Variable costs are those that fluctuate such as fuels expenses and driver pay.

5. Classification

Freight classification plays a significant role in freight rates. For instance, hauling hazardous materials is far different and requires extra precautions compared to shipping stuffed animals.

The National Motor Freight Traffic Association (NMFTA) has defined 18 classes of shipments that affect freight rates per mile. Freight classification is determined by factors such as:

• Product density
• Value of goods
• Handling needs
• Stow-ability
• Liability

Types of Trucking and Haul Rates

The type of truck used for transport will affect the overall cost of trucking. For instance, you’ll need a far more powerful vehicle to haul an oversize bulldozer compared to a vintage automobile. In a similar fashion, you’d want to ship frozen foods in a reefer rather than a flatbed.

Heavy Haul Trucks

Heavy haul trucking companies will use common per mile cost factors such as:

• Fuel expenses
• Repair and maintenance expenses
• insurance for trucks
• Highway tolls and fares

If you’re moving heavy products, a good rule of thumb is to keep an eye on both local and national trucking rates.

Flatbed Trucks

As for flatbed truck rates per mile, the national rates average $3.14 (USD) per mile. However, depending on your location a shipping points, specific areas may have higher or lower rates.

Fair prices for flatbed truck services consider things like:

• Trailer type
• Load-to-truck ratio: the number of loads vs your available trucks
• Cargo weight
• Destination
• Other services such as oversize loads, warehousing, loading and unloading

Refrigerated Trucks

Refrigerated trucks or reefers are equipped with a refrigeration unit for goods that need low temperature control. Since they consume more fuel, reefer freight rates are higher than that of other trucks of the same relative sizes. This difference ultimately factors into your freight prices per mile.

Dry Vans

Perhaps the most common type of truck you’ll see on the highways, dry vans have a non-temperature-controlled sealed trailer and represent a fair benchmark for determining the average cost per mile of truckload freight.

What’s the Going Rate for Trucking Per Mile?

In order to understand the scope of the trucking industry and determine a competitive rate per mile, you need to know how much trucking companies actually charge per mile. Their cost per mile is influenced by such factors as:

• Fuel
• Repairs and maintenance
• Insurance
• Roadway Tolls

For many operations, financing is also rolled into the cost per mile. Typical financing charges for trucks and trailers can range from 0%-30% of revenue.

As of July 2021, trucking rates per mile remain steady. Here are the current rates for the most popular freight truck types:

Trucking rates (in USD) for the most popular freight truck types within the last few years have hovered around:

• $2.30 to 2.86 per mile for dry vans
• $3.19 per mile for reefers, with lower rates of $2.47 found in the Northeast
• $3.14 per mile for the average flatbed
• $2.95 to $3.76 per mile for heavy haul according to heavyhaulandoversized.com

As we’ve experienced recently, inflation and interest rates have been impacting the economy. Resulting in rising fuel prices over the past year thus creating a huge variable when calculating transportation rates.

Company vs Owner-Operator Trucking Rates

In contrast to company drivers working exclusively for a trucking firm, owner-operators own or lease their own trucks. As a form of networking, owner-operators usually work together with a trucking company in order to find trucking jobs and leverage back-office support.

This autonomy comes at a cost though, as owner-operators have to deal with additional stress and the burdens of financing, maintenance, health insurance and related operational expenses largely on their own.

In terms of trucking rates, owner-operators generally earn an average of 75% percent of the loads they take. The balance of the percentage goes to the trucking company.

For a deep dive into the intricacies associated with the operational costs of trucking, please refer to this comprehensive industry pdf: https://truckingresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/ATRI-Operational-Cost-of-Trucking-2022.pdf

Trucking Rate Terminology You Need to Know

Building a knowledge base on trucking rates also means understanding the terminology. Other than  pricing, there are a few trucking industry terms you should be familiar with:

Consignor: The entity that sends the freight to its counterpart the consignee.

Consignee: The entity that receives the freight from the consignor.

Carrier: A business that offers shipping services.

Bill of Lading (BOL): Also called a freight bill, the bill-of-lading is a record of all details of the shipment and the agreement between a carrier and the shipper.

Loss and Damage: Loss and damage rates only cover shipments in transit or in storage facility operated by the carrier.

Full Truckload (FTL): Also termed TL, an LTL shipment requires the use of a whole truck.

Less Than Truckload (LTL): Shipments that don’t utilize the full capacity of a truck.

Drayage: Drayage is a form of short-haul trucking that connects the different modes of shipping such as ocean freight or air freight.

Pallets (or Skids): Plastic or wooden stacking platforms that usually measure around 40″ by 48″.

SKU: A Stock Keeping Unit, a method of recording individual items of a different kind, size, or freight.

CWT: A standard shipping weight unit equivalent to 100 pounds.

Finding the Best Trucking Rates is Not as Hard as You Might Think

From trucker shortages, supply chain issues to the prospect of extra charges, the trucking landscape is full of – at times unpredictable pitfalls. But with a solid understanding of the trucking field and its players, you increase your ability to react with agility.

Contact Brimich and Packaging today and talk to an experienced professional who can quote trucking rates tailored to meet your company’s specific needs.

Without cross-border logistics, international shipping quickly becomes a major headache for smaller businesses. Luckily, your logistics partner has remedies to help facilitate the movement of products from country to country.

It would be fair to say the international trading landscape is becoming more complex. But considering global transportation and supply chain industries are constantly evolving, a more appropriate statement recognizes that the nature of cross-border shipping has never stopped changing to begin with.

Let’s have a look at how logistics fits within the global supply chain, and possible solutions to effectively managing international shipping.

What is Cross-Border Logistics?

Cross-border logistics is an integral section of the supply chain that focuses the efficient flow of products as they pass from country to country. Along with providing transportation services, its purpose is to facilitate compliance with legal and tax regulations as products are shipped across international borders.

Types of Cross Border Freight Shipping

Cross-Border TL/LTL

Whether you have full truckload or less-than-truckload cargo to import into and export out of Canada, we have the logistics expertise to expedite freight shipments and reduce the risk of costly border delays. We can even help expedite imports into Canada valued at $3,300 or less.

International Freight Forwarding

We can help manage the import of goods into and export of goods out of North America and facilitate delivery into the Canadian market. We pick up shipments offshore and load containers onto ocean liners for delivery into Canada.

What are the Challenges to Cross-Border Logistics?

The problem is: how to seamlessly manage courier, freight, freight forwarding, air cargo and associated international supply chain needs. The solution is: through cross-border logistics.

The very nature of logistics involves the handling and tracking of goods as they move through your supply chain. When your products need to move through another country, cross-border shipping multiplies the complexity of getting your products to their destinations. Additional paperwork, the potential for customs delays and multi-carrier handoffs are just a few of the issues that make moving products across borders much more complicated than is reasonable for smaller business.

Every business wants to main a competitive edge in the marketplace. A firm can help improve its operational position by maximizing logistics strategies that affect the movement of products as they navigate across borders.

Logistics partners with experience in cross-border freight management must have professional people, systems and processes in place to help facilitate the transition of goods from one country to another.

Without help from a third party logistics professional, critical tasks quickly wind up outside a small company’s capabilities. Some of these tasks include:

• Shipping
• Order tracking
• Tracing
• Liabilities
• Carrier handoffs
• Meeting expected delivery times
• Returns and Reverse Logistics
• Customs paperwork and clearance

Cross-Border Shipping vs Local Shipping

The need to move products across borders arises from one of two conditions: products on their way to final destination or, materials are being transported to facilitate the manufacturing process. For example, one shipping path would be a smart phone on its way from the manufacturer to the distributor or retailer, whereas the other would be the import or export of components and raw materials that constitute the smart phone itself.

Anyone who’s run an inventory-based business knows that, when bringing in significant quantities of supplies from another country, duties become a serious consideration when budgeting and projecting costs. It’s usually more cost effective to try and source local fulfilment for the products you need. Drawing from inventory that is stocked regionally gets around a host of cross-border complications in that duties, customs, trade tariffs, shipping and associated international paperwork has already been taken care of.

Not only can a business leverage the current trend of “locally sourced”, there’s the added benefits of supporting local economies and keeping working capital within the region itself. But as much as it may be preferred to find sources locally within your own borders, this isn’t always possible.

Still, the flow of goods across borders shows no signs of any serious degradation. If anything, international shipping and logistics is booming:

“”Overall, the value of global trade reached a record level of $28.5 trillion in 2021,” the report says. That’s an increase of 25% on 2020 and 13% higher compared to 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic struck.”

source: UNCTAD’s Global Trade Update

Logistics Shipping and Technology

In today’s business world, particularly with the rise of e-commerce, the mere thought of trying to manage shipping without the aid of technology is a non-starter. Technology effectively helps provide end-to-end supply chain visibility and reduce operating costs. On the international front, electronic data solutions provide easier management of logistics functions such as:

• Route planning
• Warehouse management
• Coordinating shipping partners
• Freight preparation
• International commercial terms management
• Other required import and export documentation

For businesses on the receiving end of cross-border shipping, implementing a system that allows products to arrive Delivered Duty Paid (DDP) helps to reduce friction from unexpected charges at end points. But capabilities such as this depend on improvements derived from actionable data provided by digital operations.

Additionally, being able to respond effectively to customer demands also requires international logistics networks to have transparent systems in place. Better logistics providers incorporate international tracking systems to monitor basic shipping needs such as end-to-end order tracking and in-flight delivery changes.

Problems Facing International Trade

Due to the sheer number of globally recognized borders, the challenges facing international logistics are immense. Inherent roadblocks arise from how each country administers their own international customs and border management.

To try to make importing and exporting processes as seamless as possible, efforts are constantly being made to harmonize, simplify and standardize cross-border trade procedures. One solution is to lessen restrictions on border controls by shifting certain responsibilities to suppliers and end users through supply chain security. But these same efforts would also have to incorporate contingencies that curb the ability of less scrupulous entities looking for ways to manipulate the system by way of loopholes. Without proper governance, these unintended consequences carry the possibility of undermining public safety and economic security.

Ultimately, the goal of smooth cross-border logistics operations should minimize the regulatory burdens placed on businesses. For government controlled agencies, efficient border management implies the best use of inspection resources and encourages good compliance behaviour. The downstream benefits resulting in a healthier business environment and wider range of social and economic benefits.

Additionally, relying on cost-effective outsourcing from other countries depends on a consistent cross-border supply chain. But over time, this consistency occasionally gets disrupted as laws governing international trade change. Let’s say for example, you manufacture types of wooden furniture from a certain species of tree that, through regulatory change, becomes internationally protected. Suddenly your source is an endangered species.This is what happened with various flora and fauna species that fell under the CITES treaty in 1975 and was ratified by over 180 countries:

The objective of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) is to control the trade in species of wild animals and plants that are, or may be, threatened with extinction as a result of international trade.

Furthermore, as we’ve seen in the news, geopolitical landscapes affect trade regularly, which winds up compromising existing trade capabilities. Take for example the recent conflict between Russia and Ukraine. With Ukraine being one of the world’s largest grain producers, its ability to export the commodity was seriously hobbled when Russia restricted access to Black Sea ports.

Unfortunately, regional and bilateral trade regimes continue to become normalized, particularly in emerging markets. This results in a host of tariff and non-tariff conditions, varying degrees of shipping standards, complicated rules of origin and regulatory compliance issues which make it difficult and costly for businesses to navigate. Since it began life in 1995, The World Trade Organization (WTO) continues to struggle with equalizing multilateral trade efforts due to differing political policies.

How Can Brimich Logistics Help?

Today’s cross-border shipping is facing higher demand and expectations for fast, seamless delivery. Your business deserves the capacity it needs to operate, flexible transportation models, and the expertise needed to navigate regulations and processes without delays.

If timing is critical and your budget is under fire, trust Brimich Logistics and Packaging to help you navigate the complexity of shipping between countries.

What is a Hub and Spoke Distribution?

The term hub and spoke can be used to describe any process that resembles the wheel of a bicycle: a central location (or hub) that provides a fixed point from which delivery paths (or spokes) radiate outward.

In logistics, the hub and spoke system is used to coordinate inventory from a single large distribution centre to multiple delivery locations such as warehouses or fulfilment centres.

How Does a Hub and Spoke Model Work?

As mentioned, the hub and spoke model provides a means of distribution that relies on a central location (the hub) and a number of spokes leading out from that hub.

The main hub is where the goods are stocked, and the spokes represent the various distribution centres that deliver the goods to customers.

Hub and Spoke vs Point-to-Point Distribution Models

Point-to-Point vs Hub and Spoke Distribution Models

Examples of Hub and Spoke Distribution Models

This system is often used in industries like air travel and logistics, as well as retail.

The Arline Industry

In the case of an airport, a passenger might travel from New York to London. Using a classic hub and spoke system, the passenger boards a plane in New York, which flies to the London airport and then lands at Heathrow Airport in London.

The London airport, in this example, is the hub. The spokes would be the routes the plane takes to get to London from New York.

The Logistics Industry

With the help of preferred logistics partners, merchants can control inventory centrally, source products from the least expensive suppliers, and deliver goods to customers from local warehouses.

By aggregating their inventory at a centralized point, shippers can take advantage of more affordable rates. These less than truckload (LTL) shipments can then be combined to fill a single truckload which can then be dispersed throughout the network.

Using this model, small and medium size businesses (SMB’s) can negotiate for better rates often associated with full truckload (FTL) shipments.

The Retail Industry

Due to the efficiency of hub and spoke distribution, large (and some smaller) retailers such as Amazon have adopted the system to help expedite the flow of shipping to consumers.

For instance, to help shorten time in transit (TNT), Amazon has fulfillment centres distributed across the country to facilitate the fast delivery times consumers have grown accustomed to.

This model also helps SMB’s realize the same high efficiency a larger retailer fulfillment network uses across all of their sales channels.

Will Hub and Spoke Distribution Work for Your Business?

Hub and Spoke distribution systems are particularly useful for any industry that relies on the movement of physical goods through a supply chain. These systems are commonly used amongst retailers, wholesalers, and manufacturers in order to make their logistics operations more efficient.

As centralized distribution models, they are particularly useful for retailers that ship goods to customers from multiple locations.

They’re also very beneficial for manufacturers and wholesalers who have long supply chains. For example, a manufacturer in China ships parts to a plant in Thailand, which assembles the parts and ships the finished goods to a distribution centre in the United States, which then distributes the goods to retailers.

Businesses may also consider a hub and spoke fulfillment model for their business if they are already distributing their inventory, but have excessive LTL freight rates eroding their profits.

Here are just a few of the benefits of a Hub and Spoke distribution system:

• Increased capacity to handle peak periods – A hub and spoke system can allow for a quicker, more efficient delivery of inventory during times of peak demand. This enables businesses to avoid costly out-of-stocks and keep their customers happy.
• Centralized inventory control – Having your inventory distributed among several locations increases the risk that customers may not be able to get what they want. A hub and spoke system allows you to keep a close eye on inventory at all locations and respond quickly when there’s a shortage.
• Lower Time In Transit (TNT) – Time in transit significantly affects logistics costs. A hub and spoke distribution model can help lower shipping costs at two key points within the supply chain: receiving inventory from manufacturers and forwarding inventory to fulfillment centres.
• Easily trackable deliveries – With a hub and spoke system, each delivery is tracked. This makes it easy to spot where potential issues may be occurring and address them before they become serious.
• Better use of resources – Hub and spoke distribution systems help you make the most of your resources. For example, if you’re experiencing high demand in one area and low demand in another, you can redirect resources so they’re going to the places where they’re needed most.
• Lower costs – Hub and spoke systems can help you lower costs by using less warehouse space, renting less expensive real estate, and using fewer resources.

Disadvantages

While hub and spoke systems are very beneficial for many businesses, they do come with some drawbacks:

• Higher inventory costs – The biggest disadvantage of a hub and spoke system is that inventory is often more expensive because of the need to rotate inventory among several locations.
• Fragmented customer service – Negatively affected customer service. Customers in one area may receive their goods more quickly than customers in other areas, for example.
• Inability to promote certain products – If you have certain products that are only available in one location, customers in the other locations won’t be able to get them.
• Slower response times – Because of the distance between spokes and the hub, it may take longer to respond to customer needs and ship products.

Key Takeaways

A Hub and Spoke distribution system provides centralized inventory control, making it easier to track deliveries and respond to customer needs for just about any physical product based business. As a distribution model, it can also make it easier to rotate inventory and use fewer resources.

However, like many other things, it does come with some disadvantages, including higher inventory costs, a fragmented customer service experience, and slower response times.

On the whole, after weighing the pros and cons, hub and spoke distribution systems are beneficial for a good variety of businesses that want maximized resources, efficient inventory flow and cost control.

Here’s an easy step-by-step guide on how to ship a pallet with your products properly loaded and ready for shipping.

3. Choose the Right Shipping Pallet

• Choose a pallet suitable for a forklift, hand truck, or pallet jack
• Make sure the pallet is strong and free of damage
• Select a pallet that’s at least standard industry size (48” x 40”) box-style

For most freight shipping needs, there are two main pallet types:

Further Tips on How to Secure a Palletized Load

Here are some tips and guidelines for stacking to create a stable, safe and secure load:

Stacking Tips

Column Stacking

In a column stacking pattern, boxes or cartons are stacked in straight columns with no overlapping edges. In most cases, column stacking increases the top-to-bottom compression. For extra load stability, place corrugated pads – load protector pads, between the tiers.

Interlocking stacking

Interlocking stacking is useful if the carton contents are more rigid in nature. Interlocking cartons can also increase stability. With this method, boxes are stacked corner to corner and edge to edge for more strength.

Pallet Loading Tips

Bands

Banding is one of the most common ways of securing the bundled load to the pallet. The key is to keep the banding close to the load. This helps to to control damage, exposure, or breakage.

Small loads that don’t take up the full surface of the pallet should be centered and banded to the closest deck boards of the load’s outer edge to increase stability, not the pallet’s edge.

Load Protectors

Load-protector pads help to prevent damage to the top and bottom layers of your shipment. Protector pads also help to distribute the weight of top-loaded freight.

Load protectors at the bottom help to provide a level surface, plus they offer additional protection from pallet nail heads. Moreover, they also help to keep containers from getting caught up in the pallet board gaps.

Edge Boards

Edge boards, also referred to as angle boards, are an effective way of reducing damage to container edges that make up the load corners. To help unify the load, edge boards should run the full length or depth of the stack and increase vertical stacking strength.

Foam Cushioning

With foam cushioning, density levels can vary. Therefor it’s important make sure the foam you use is dense enough to protect your product. It’s also a good idea to test the cushioning to make sure it will stand up to actual shipping conditions.

Bracing

Rounded items that can roll or shift should be braced on a pallet base that’s forklift-accessible. The greater the shipping weight, the more sturdy the bracing should be.

What to Avoid

Overhangs and Protrusions

Uniformity is key to load safety and stability. Never let the loaded products overhang the vertical limits of the pallet. Not only does this increase the risk of punctures, package tears and product damage, it can also result in a reduction of compression strength by as much as 32 percent.

Pyramid Stacking

Because pyramid stacking doesn’t have a level top load surface, you not only limit the ability to maximize space and save shipping costs through stacking additional pallets, you also run the risk of additional damage through handling.

Common Pallet Shipping Questions

What are the most common pallet sizes? What are standard pallet dimensions?

Due to the scope and breadth of the food industry, the most common pallets used are CBA (Consumer Brands Association) sized pallets with dimensions of 48″ x 40″. In North America, these are considered the standard pallet dimensions.

The next most common pallet sizes are 42″ x 42″ and 48″ x 48″.

How do I pick the right pallet size?

Your required pallet size will depend on what you’re shipping. It will also depend on where you’re shipping it to, and how you plan to load and unload your freight.

A good start is to investigate common shipping procedures and materials used with similar products in your own industry. Because products and package sizes are fairly consistent, this will help you determine the appropriate pallet size.

How Do I choose the right type of pallet for shipping?

Once you have a pallet size in mind, give yourself a budget. As with wooden vs plastic pallets, some pallets are cheaper than others, with wood being the standard option. Depending on quality and material used, some can last longer and others can be easily recycled.

For example, if your products are heavy, you might want to consider a more robust type of pallet.

Additionally, the size and type of pallet you choose should also fit within your industry’s transportation and storage requirements.

Recommended Types of Pallets for LTL Shipping

For typical LTL and FTL shipping purposes, recommended pallets should have the following characteristics:

• Standard wood pallet measuring 40″ x 48″
• Have four-way entry capabilities
• Be relatively new and undamaged
• Sturdy enough to withstand heavy or light loads
• Support the full weight of the packaged products
• Withstand the handling required in the shipping environment
• Have minimal top board spacing to avoid forklift blade impact

Pallet Types to Avoid in LTL & TL Shipping

We don’t recommend these pallets in general:

• Corrugated fiberboard pallets
• Damaged or repaired pallets
• Pallets that are rotten or made of flimsy materials
• Pressed block-style pallets
• Molded pulp pallets
• Be made of materials that are prone to moisture

The reason the above items are not recommended is because these types of pallets and materials tend to lack sturdiness, stiffness, and strength of standard wood pallets.

How much do shipping pallets cost?

Pallet costs will vary depending on what they’re made of, quality of the construction and their size. If you need help determining a pallet that’s a good fit right for your product, business and logistical needs, contact our customer support team.

How can I find or buy shipping pallets?

There are a number of resources you can use to locate and purchase pallets. But keep in mind that if you buy them privately, they may be rejected because they don’t meet the standards of your shipping service.

Your logistics provider will usually have a surplus of suitable, industry approved pallets and help you negotiate effective terms to get your products shipped safely.

How much does shipping a pallet of freight cost?

Because there are so many variables, that’s a hard question to answer effectively. It depends on what you’re shipping, where your shipment is coming from and it’s going to, how much it weighs, and so much more.

To get an accurate idea of the cost for your particular needs call Brimich at 1-855-752-5783 to get a quote today.

How many containers or cartons fit on a pallet?

The number of containers or cartons that can fit on a pallet depends on what the type of product you’re shipping, its overall weight, the size of the pallet, and its stacking configuration.

With a few of these details in mind, you can use this pallet loading calculator to help you see how many items of the same size and weight you’ll be able to put on a single pallet. Keep in mind the calculator only supports containers that are of the same size and dimensions. If you have multiple sized containers, you might want to consider contacting a reliable logistics company to get a quote.

What is the weight of an empty pallet?

The average wooden pallet measuring 48” x 40” will weigh somewhere between 33 and 48 lbs (or 15 and 22 kg).

Some standard pallets weigh as little as 30 lbs, and others up to 70 lbs depending on the density and weight of the  specific material they’re made from.

How much weight can you put on a pallet?

Weight loads for standard pallets can be between 3,700 and 4,600 lbs, or 1680 and 2087 kg. Other factors include pallet capacity, dimensions, type and the material it’s made of.

How high can you stack a pallet?

Generally speaking, the maximum loaded height for a standard-sized pallet shouldn’t be more than 60” or 1.5 meters. Best practices start with the heaviest containers on the bottom and the lightest on top.

Pallets should also be loaded uniformly with straight vertical edges, in other words without leaning to one side or have protrusions beyond its boundaries. This is not only important for the protection of your products, but the safety of the those who load and unload your cargo.

How many pallets fit on an LTL?

Typically, LTL (less-than-truckload) shipments will fit between 1 and 6 pallets.

How many pallets fit in a 53 foot truck?

Assuming it’s a completely filled 53’ truck, a full truckload (FTL or TL) can hold anywhere from 24 to 30 pallets.

In Summary

Knowing how to ship a pallet properly may not be rocket science, but it makes a huge difference in controlling avoidable losses caused by damages and situations.

The overall key thing to keep in mind is safety; safety for both your products and your business’ reputation, and for those who help you move your goods.

If you need help with anything related to shipping your pallets or other logistical needs, give Brimich a call today!

Freight Shipping Transit Time

In freight shipping, transit time refers to how long it will take for a shipment to be delivered from the point of pickup to its final destination.

Depending on the the distance between the two points and the shipping method used, the amount of time can vary greatly. Therefor it’s a good idea to get an estimate from a preferred logistics company before booking a shipment.

Less-than-truckloa (LTL) shipping is an excellent option for shippers whose loads are less than a full truckload but too big for parcel post. But how long will it take for your shipment to arrive?

Shipping times you can expect by transit mode

• Full Truckload (TL or FTL) — With the exception of expedited shipments, full truckload is normally the fastest and most cost-effective way to ship by road. Without having to transfer the freight, the truck travels directly to the load’s destination.
• Less-than-truckload (LTL) — A common alternative and cost-effective method of moving smaller shipments. Because different shipments are aggregated into a single load, the freight must periodically stop for loading and unloading. This leads to increased freight transit times and can take slightly longer than FTL. To help determine what mode may work best for you, try this LTL transit time calculator to estimate shipping time for your freight.
• Intermodal Shipping, or rail shipments — As infrastructure improves, freight transit time by rail becomes more reliable. When averaged out, shipping times by rail is comparable to over-the-road shipping, plus it’s less prone to problems common to road-based delivery.

Delivery options for time-sensitive shipments

When standard transit time isn’t fast enough, or your freight needs to be delivered on a specific day or at a specific time, time-critical solutions can provide your best options. Keep in mind that faster freight delivery is usually associated with higher fees:

• Expedited Ground – the fastest ground shipping. With this option the freight never stops moving and is delivered as quickly as possible.
• Time Definite Service – ensures your freight is delivered by a certain day or time.
• Domestic Air – this solution offers the fastest shipping and includes multiple options to expedite your freight: next flight out, second day, deferred and charter. Most of these options are faster than ground, making air the ideal choice for critical shipments that need to reach their destination quickly.

LTL Shipping Times

Because of the nature of LTL shipping, times can vary widely depending on the carrier, the number of stops required and preferred routes. Here’s a more in-depth look at the major factors:

• Required Route: Logistically, shipments to less populated areas may take longer. With fewer trucks in remote areas, your shipment may have to wait for a full truckload before it continues on its route. As a rough example, freight being shipped from the coast to remote midwest points may take between 7 and 10 business days.
• Total Distance: When shipping freight over ground, the overall distance is the largest factor affecting shipping times. Drivers and trucks are limited in the number of miles they can travel each day. Speed limits, traffic laws and personal time behind the wheel all have bearing on the time a shipment will take. as well as regulations governing the time an individual driver can be behind the wheel each day. Typically, intrastate moves take 1-2 business days to arrive, regional shipments may take 2-4 business days, and cross-country shipments may take 4-6 business days.
• Operator Availability: As we’ve seen in the last few years, the number of operators has been less than what the industry could make use of. Due a shortage of qualified drivers and the recent conditions imposed by the pandemic, shipping times have risen sharply.
• Number of transfers: While full truckload (FTL) shipments generally take the shortest possible distance from point A to point B, LTL shipments may make several stops and transfers along the way. Your shipment is likely to first head to a regional terminal, where it will be taken off the first truck and sorted onto another truck headed towards its final destination. Depending on the carrier’s routes, this may happen more than once. Sometimes, shipments are even transferred between carriers, especially on cross-country trips. The more stops and transfers your load makes, the longer it will take to get to its destination.
• Weather and unexpected delays: Bad weather, poor road conditions, traffic and mechanical breakdowns can all cause unexpected delays in ground freight shipments. These delays can be difficult to make up, because drivers are still subject to the same traffic laws and regulations—chances are, they were already going as fast as possible for their route.

How to Reduce LTL Shipping Times

Because of the factors that influence freight shipping, LTL is usually best for shipments that don’t depend on hard delivery timelines. Still, there are ways to speed up your shipments and reduce your LTL shipping times:

• Choose the right carrier to begin with. As with any service-based business, different carriers can quote dramatically different delivery estimates. Quotes will depend on how much coverage they have for the given area, plus how many transfers will need to be made to get your shipment to its destination. You may find it’s possible to get a better quote from a regional carrier if you’re shipping intrastate or regionally. And they may provide better coverage for the same route. Of course, when freight shipping times are critical, it’s always best practice to shop around.
• Consider partnering with a 3PL company. Third-party logistics companies can be the perfect choice if you have ore complex LTL shipping needs. For example, a fully capable 3PL company will employ the latest software to help determine optimal delivery times and control costs. By using contacts throughout their preferred carriers network, they effectively coordinate shipments that can require transfers from one regional carrier to another.
• Ask about freight delivery guarantees. For an extra fee, some carriers will offer guaranteed or expedited delivery. If your freight delivery times are crucial, it might be worth it to find a carrier who offers this service.
• Help mitigate damage with proper packaging. Carefully organize and pack your shipment for transit before it gets on a truck, and make sure your shipments properly fit loadable and stackable pallets. Doing so will help ensure your products have a smooth journey to their destination.

Understanding LTL shipping times will help you make the right choice for your ground shipment. A little research can help you reduce LTL shipping times and get your load where it needs to go on time.

Sea Freight Transit Times

When it comes to shipping by sea, there’s a wide range in shipping times due to the sheer number of ways to ship, plus the endless combinations of destinations.

Overall, there are about 107,000 various UN Codes for Trade and Transport Locations (UN/LOCODE) spread across 249 listed countries and territories.

Therefor the time it takes to ship freight from port to port by sea will be greatly affected by the geographic distance between ports.

Let Brimich Help You Get the Best Freight Delivery Times

Brimich Logistics is a team of professionals always available to learn the specifics of your business, and help you choose the best shipping method for your freight. Contact Brimich today to get end-to-end visibility for every step of your freight’s journey along the way.

What is the Difference Between Freight and Regular Package Shipping?

Are you shipping packages and parcels, light-weight items or heavier products?

Package and parcel delivery have a few discrete features different from freight shipping. Depending on what it is you need moved, either freight or regular package shipping may be better for you, but which one?

Learn about freight vs regular package shipping and see how a strategic LTL or FTL ally can help your goods move.

It’s common for small businesses that aren’t familiar with these types of services to get confused. Let’s consider freight and regular package shipping, and see what might work best for your business.

In the simplest term, freight shipping is useful when you’re shipping palletized items whereas package shipping might be useful when shipping one-off items.

Freight Shipping in a Nutshell:

• Larger loads, such as palettes of products that’ve been packaged together or wrapped as one or more.
• For a typical large haul trip, loads can range from weights between 5,000 to 70,000 lbs.
• It could take 1-3 days for a delivery to be made
• The truck can be larger than 58-feet
• Hundreds of miles can be covered in one trips
• Oversized loads such as heavy equipment can weigh well over 110,000 lbs.
• Usually making one trip, from point A to point B

When is Freight Shipping a Good Choice?

Freight shipping is the perfect choice when you’re moving larger loads than any other form of road transport can deliver. When you need a transport service that can ship multiple tons of product from one point to another ,either for a client or for your own business, then freight is the only realistic option.

You can deliver many of thousands of pounds to your own warehouse from your production facility. If for instance, you need to move a large quantity of inventory from one warehouse to another, this is by far the best option.

When you simply have too big a load to make with a small truck, larger trucks can be your saving grace. Another way to look at it is you have gone beyond the typical LTL service and into TL territory.

For another example, if you require moving of a large piece of machinery, rather than breaking it up into parts, a freight truck can lift the load all in one go to determine whether it needs to be.

Freight shipping is typically used by large businesses that need to move large quantities of products to their depots. Moving straight from their own manufacturing plants, they transport large amounts of product.

These items could be cars, food, raw materials, crude, etc, which is shipped to a depot. From there, smaller trucks then distribute the loads to businesses and or local storage facilities.

The Basics of Parcel and Package Shipping

• In terms of capacity, a package truck can have anywhere between 50-100 parcels depending on the average size.
• Individual package loads are typically less than 150 lbs.
• Small parcels and packages are the main contents of a package truck
• Trucks are usually no longer than 28-feet
• A package truck will make multiple stops throughout the day, as in a milk run, delivering orders to customers at their door.

When is Package and Parcel Shipping the Better Choice?

As mentioned above, package shipping is a shipment that is under 150 lbs. However, it can be considered light freight. Most package companies will consider it a larger package load.

Package shipping is mainly used for courier services. These are the many smaller delivery trucks you’ll see on virtually any street. Such vehicles are a medium to small van or truck, delivering products door to door.

Consider the kind of truck you see pull up to your home when you have ordered something from Amazon, this is package delivery.

Regular package shipping is also usually restricted to local areas. Therefore unlike freight hauling, the service is for a local area, such as a city, town, or rural zone.

Smaller parcel shipping should be reserved for businesses that are fulfilling product delivery to customers’ doors. However, the service can also be used to move inventory from warehouse to warehouse though usually reserved for a local area.

Still Need Help? Get a Hassle-Free Freight Quote Today

If you still have questions understanding the differences when it comes to freight and regular shipping, let an experienced partner handle your next freight shipment.

Brimich Logistics is an expert when it comes to 3PL and freight shipping. From small business to medium and large-sized business that require reliable large load shipping services, we have served our clients with pride, expertise and consistency.

Looking for a dependable partner to move your products? Brimich Logistics handles truckload and less than truckload shipping. Just let us know when and we’ll handle the rest.

If you’re a small business producing goods of any size, “Less Than Truckload” (LTL) and “Full Truckload” (TL or FTL) are shipping terms you should become very familiar with.

The benefits of Less Than Truckload (LTL)

Less than truckload, or LTL, is ideal for companies who have smaller shipping needs. Generally, LTL loads will end up being between 100 pounds or 45 kilos (the limit for most parcel carriers) and 10,000 pounds or 4,500 kilos per load – when a full truckload is more appropriate.

For efficiency, the shipping company will combine or consolidate shipments from various businesses to fill a single trailer. In practice several LTL shipments are often combined into one truck to fill it as close to capacity as possible.

As the space is allotted, this means you only pay your fraction of the cost of the truckload. As a simple example, if your shipment fills one-quarter of the truck by volume, then that’s all you pay for. This of course ignores weight considerations.

There’s also the added flexibility small and midsize companies can benefit from with LTL shipping.

Depending need, daily, weekly or monthly orders can be scaled up or down. Regardless of frequency, goods should be well-packaged and consolidated as they will likely be handled more than once along their LTL transportation journey.

The Benefits of Full Truckload (FTL or TL)

Truckload shipping, or full truckload, is best for businesses that have high volume shipping needs, or require expedited delivery. This method is faster and more direct with no need for multiple stops.

TL means that all of your products are delivered together so you have the advantage in knowing that there is little chance of delay or damage. LTL freight transport by comparison requires more destination stops and pick-up locations.

When a large amount of goods are being shipped, TL shipping is definitely the more economic method.

Regardless of the method, a good reliable logistics partner will be familiar with the intricacies of moving, and being accountable for your goods.

Making the Most of Your Options: LTL vs FTL

One standard measure of footprint is by pallet. If you’re shipping more than 12 pallets at a time, then the full truckload option would be best for you.

Or if your product is fragile and it’s imperative you avoid excessive loading and unloading, the full truckload option is again the best for you as these products are the only items within that truck.

If you have hard deadlines or time-sensitive delivery dates, you absolutely want the full truckload option.

With anything less than 12 pallets you’ll experience better cost savings using the LTL method. These smaller load sizes and / or broader delivery times are also a good fit for LTL.

Once again, as a manufacturer your products must be packaged in such a way as to deal with the rigours of shipping and handling in general.

How to Work with a 3PL for LTL and TL Freight Shipments

Knowing the subtleties of freight management that fits your business best is what a good 3PL company is all about.

They’ll take the edge off of the complications of LTL and LT transport for you. They’ll understand time-sensitive needs, special requirements, and provide competitive rates.

Because the transportation is very competitive, it is possible to find all of the above combined with top-notch service – which is definitely to your advantage.

LTL and TL Expertise

Freight shipping is often a core competency of 3PL providers, including both LTL and FTL. Their experience helps them evaluate your shipping needs, choose the most efficient option, and anticipate potential risks or higher costs.

Cost Savings

A smaller transport company may only ship a few pallets a month to a smaller region, whereas a 3PL will regularly ship significantly higher volumes across the whole country or internationally.

This gives a 3PL company leverage when negotiating cost-effective rates with freight carriers which in turn, can be passed on to you.

Visibility and Transparency

Knowing what’s happening with your freight at any given point in time is crucial for any business.

A good 3PL provider will have a team of professionals providing the highest level of service, including detailed updates from your shipment’s inception to when it  reaches its endpoint.

Contact Brimich For All Your LTL and FTL Needs

Both LTL and FTL shipping methods can be used in a variety of situations. These include local and regional shipping, or product transportation between plants and warehouses.

Working with a trusted logistics partner like Brimich offers the advantage of multi-mode transportation services using an extensive network of affiliated asset-based providers.

Contact Brimich for a quote, availability and further information.