Did you know 1.83 billion metric tons were carried in containers in 2017?
There’s no doubt that’s a lot of transportation. But if you’re trying to deliver something yourself, chances are you’re not sure what to use.
Do you want to go by land, sea, air, carrier pigeon?
Carrier pigeon might not be your best bet. But when it comes to freight transportation, it doesn’t matter what way you ship your items.
As long as you’re using freight transportation, you’ll find success in your shipping methods. Don’t believe us?
That’s fair. But lucky for you, we’re going to break down the benefits of using freight transportation. After reading this article, you’ll be ready to get to shipping!
Read on to learn more!
What Is Freight Transportation?
Before we get started with the benefits of freight transportation, you need to understand exactly what that is. And, even though it might sound complicated, it’s actually quite simple.
Freight transportation can also be called cargo transportation. Chances are that you’ve heard one of these terms.
Freight transportation tends to be bulk items sent in a large metal or wooden containers. Of course, the material isn’t what matters.
Instead, what matters is the form of delivery. Forget using a regular mail service; freight shipping implements air, land, sea delivery.
When the freight goes by land, it’s not in a usual mail carrier box. It tends to be in a large freight truck, and it might even be on a train sometimes.
1. Large Items Are Easy
If you’re looking for freight shipping, chances are it’s because you have large items. Even if it might fit on a regular mail truck, many simple delivery services have a weight limit.
This means your great grandmother’s grand piano probably won’t make it. And if you’re a Tennessee car salesman selling to someone in Florida, you won’t want to contact UPS.
Instead, you’ll want to use a freight. Many bulky items that need to go across the country or to another country won’t fit on planes either.
This is another benefit of freight delivery. Instead of being stuck with one or two types of moving, you can choose something that fits your needs perfectly.
For example, if you need to move a car from London to New York, you won’t be able to fit that in a plane. Instead, you’ll want to use ocean freight shipping.
2. Safety
When you ship something, you don’t want it to end up in the wrong hands. And if something is coming to you, nothing is more frustrating than finding out someone took your items.
Believe it or not, freight shipping is actually one of the safer forms of shipping. Although big cargo ships can seem appetizing to thieves, robbery is a highly rare occurrence, and your belongings are well locked anyway.
Along with this, travel safety is always improving. Loss of items is becoming a rarity in both maritime shipping and air travel.
And trains? These have been around for centuries. You can trust your belongings on them.
3. Flexibility
When you’re shipping large items, you always want to be able to save a few bucks.
Not only should you look for a service that provides you with fair pricing, but you should also determine what kind of shipping will work best for your budget.
Freight shipping gives you this flexibility. You can choose to spend a bit more money or a bit less to get what you need to be done.
So, for example, let’s say you need to move an item from Palm Beach to Durban. You could ship it by either plane or by sea.
If you have more time, you might want to choose to send it by sea. Ocean shipping is much cheaper than air. But if you’re on a tight deadline, a plane may be better.
The same goes for domestic shipping. If you choose to ship something by train, chances are you’ll spend less money than someone who chooses air or truck.
Plus, with freight shipping, you can schedule months in advance to make sure that you get the best option for you. This is a huge benefit over regular shipping.
4. Customer Service
Have you ever lost something in the mail?
If you have, you know how frustrating this can be. Phone calls, emails, and a whole lot of hoping to take up your time until you get the item back.
And sometimes you never do. In 2014, the United States Postal Service lost nearly 90 million pieces of mail.
That’s a lot of wasted money.
It can be difficult to get this mail back. You have to fill out a form and visit the postal office.
And part of the reason for this difficulty is that getting a hold someone who can help you in the postal service is pretty unlikely. Customer service is a huge problem with lost items.
This isn’t how it is for freight transportation though. In fact, it’s quite the opposite.
When you choose to freight ship, you can talk directly to the people who will be handling your delivery. You’ll be able to contact them with ease, and if you have a problem, they’ll take care of it.
Oh, and they won’t lose your stuff.
5. Tried and True
Freight shipping has been around for decades, and it’s always proven to be the best method of shipping out there.
Millions of people trust this kind of shipping. You can bet there’s a reason for that. Because it’s gone through it’s growing pains, you can be sure that freight transportation will get the job done for you.
Ready to Ship?
Do you believe us know?
After reading that article, you know all the benefits of freight transportation. Remember that you have to take into account exactly what you are shipping before you get started.
If you read this article, we’re betting you might need a courier service or freight transportation.
Get a free delivery quote today to find out how we can help.