Using a freight-shipping calculator is similar to doing laundry at a public laundromat; after you put a load in, it’s difficult to predict what the results will be. There are numerous elements that can influence your shipping estimate, and, like a forgotten red sock jumbled in among the whites, the smallest details can have the greatest impact.
Perhaps you have an idea of what the pricing range will be based on the density, value, and freight class of your things. However, when you consider extras, prospective fees, and surcharges, things can get complicated. What if we told you there was a better way to acquire a clear freight estimate?
Sign up to use the Get Loaded and Rolling and get your freight-shipping quote upfront — without hidden fees.
Using the Get Loaded and Rolling is by far the most straightforward approach to obtaining a transparent quote. We do not charge extra for specific services and have no hidden fees (such as delivery appointments). Furthermore, our shared truckload (STL) service considerably reduces costs for delivering gray-area loads that fall between less-than-truckload (LTL) and truckload (TL) freight. Are you still not convinced? After reading this article, you’ll be able to estimate shipping costs on your own and evaluate for yourself the value of Get Loaded and Rolling’s STL service. Here’s everything you need to know about calculating shipping costs.
How to Request a Freight Shipping Quote
Before getting a price, you should have complete knowledge of your freight information, whether you use a shipping cost calculator or talk with an account representative. Knowing this ahead of time will save you time and problems later on, as well as the need to get several bids. (Inputting all of this information into a freight-shipping calculator takes time!)
Furthermore, you don’t want to go 90% of the way through the procedure just to realize you’ve overlooked a critical aspect that will affect the freight cost. Spend time identifying all of the information your carrier requires in order to offer you an accurate price. We created a checklist for you because the quoting procedure is so detailed!
Before requesting a freight quote, gather the following information:
- Pickup date – Zip code of origin
- Information on the origin facility (residential, liftgate pickup, inside pickup, limited access, appointment needed, etc.)
- Zip code of the destination
- Information about the destination’s facilities (residential, liftgate delivery, inside delivery, limited access, appointment needed, etc.)
- The number of pallets
- Dimensions of freight (in inches, including packaging)
- Extra points: Timeline footage
- The weight of the freight (per pallet or total weight, including packaging)
- Freight classification – Contents summary
- Specialized services (temperature sensitive, food grade, hazardous materials, tailgate, unloading services, etc.)
- Freight value and insurance requirements
Once you’ve gathered this information, you can either utilize your carrier’s online freight-shipping calculator or contact the company directly for a shipping price. If you want the best rate, work with a third-party logistics (3PL) provider, such as Get Loaded and Rolling, who has access to a wide range of carrier options, ensuring you get the best pricing for the service you require.
Get Loaded and Rolling uses the TL network to transfer LTL freight, giving shippers unique access to a network that would otherwise be unreachable to them, with over 11,000 trustworthy TL carriers across the United States. Before onboarding, we extensively screen our carrier partners for verification of insurance, safety ratings, and contract authorization. In addition, we are the only logistics company that guarantees STL service. More on that later – first, let’s look at quote computations.
Every variable that influences freight costs
There is no perfect formula for estimating shipping prices, but recognizing the factors that influence your shipping expenses is very simple. Be wiser and understand how these elements affect your quote, as well as how to avoid unwanted expenses.
Dimensions (including packaging)
Shipping costs are reduced when dimensions are standard and palletized.
Except when booking shared truckload service, unusual packaging dimensions result in increased delivery charges.
You shouldn’t have too many problems if you can package your freight on pallets or skids. However, if the freight is long or otherwise difficult to package or load, shipping charges will be higher. This is because the more difficult the freight is to load, the higher its freight class, which makes shipping more expensive. Palletized freight is simple for carriers to handle, reduces package fragility, and maximizes trailer space, making it the cheapest transportation option and shippers’ preferred packaging method.
Shipping big, difficult-to-load freight may be unavoidable depending on your industry. Shipping with LTL service will be a nightmare in this instance. Because of the heavy handling of LTL’s traditional hub-and-spoke network, the already difficult-to-load cargo faces an increased risk of damage. Bulky LTL shipments necessitate extra attention and effort and might result in costly delays. Shipping bulky freight with STL service, which is neither as expensive nor as harmful for freight as LTL shipping, is a superior solution.
Get Loaded and Rolling’s STL service streamlines transferring bulky items by grouping them in a load-to-ride shared truckload with packages from other shippers traveling in the same direction. “Load to ride” signifies that the freight will remain on the vehicle until it arrives at its destination. Shippers just pay for the space they use, and shared truckload shipments save trans-loading at hubs and ports. Finally, because bulky freight does not unload until it arrives at its destination, the danger of damage is reduced to 0.001%.
Regardless of freight shape, we recommend investing effort in precisely measuring your freight’s dimensions (including packaging) to prevent potential fines down the road. If the freight takes up more space on the trailer than expected, your shipment may incur significant fines. Measure the length, width, and height of your package (in inches), including pallets, skids, and other packaging, to get the correct dimensions. If your shipment includes many pallets, make sure to measure each one separately to ensure perfect accuracy.
Packaging, like skids and pallets, can come in a variety of sizes, so double-check the measurements when measuring your freight. And, as usual, make sure your freight is appropriately packaged. In the long run, it will save you time and money, as well as the hassle of filling freight claims.
Weight (including packaging)
Overweight equates to increased shipping expenses.
Everyone is aware of how expensive it can be to send a large box via USPS or FedEx. However, unlike parcel delivery, hefty package weight does not always imply high freight shipping prices. Typically, the lighter the freight, the higher the shipping cost. Light freight has a low density, which sometimes means it takes up a lot of space in the trailer.
Although large freight does not always result in high shipping costs, overweight loads almost always do. Overweight loads (usually weighing more than 46,000 pounds) cost between $2.30 and $10+ each mile to ship. While it may be impossible to avoid shipping an overweight or large load, it is critical to work with a specialized broker to discover the best choice for your shipment.
Miscalculating the weight of your shipment is another reason that might drive up expenditures. Carriers must know the total weight of the load in order to provide an accurate quote, therefore weigh your shipments individually if the packaging is not uniform. Failure to provide exact weight might result in additional fines, a reweigh, and perhaps a reclassification fee.
Density
Low shipping costs result from high density.
Low density equates to increased shipping costs.
The usual rule of thumb for density is as follows: The lower the shipping cost, the higher the density of the shipment. Our detailed guide on establishing freight class leads you through the process of estimating freight density.
Here’s a quick rundown:
- Measure the length, breadth, and height of your package (including packaging and pallets).
- To calculate the cubic inches of a package, multiply its length, breadth, and height. If you have many packages of varying forms, repeat steps one and two for each one.
- If your shipments are uniform, simply multiply the cubic inches by the number of packages to get the total cubic inches of your shipment. If your packages are different sizes, add them all together.
- Divide the total cubic inches of the shipment by 1,738. (From where did this number come?! Just trust us: there are 1,738 cubic inches in a cubic foot.) Total cubic inches divided by 1,738 equals total cubic feet for your freight. To the nearest cubic foot, round up.
- Now that you have your freight’s total cubic feet, you can calculate the density. The next step is to divide the entire weight of your freight by the total cubic feet. Density Equals entire weight divided by total cubic feet!
Linear feet
Over 12 linear feet = greater shipping rates unless shared truckload service is booked.
Knowing the linear footage of your freight will help you get the most accurate freight-shipping quote, as well as identify upfront whether shipping LTL, TL, or STL is the most cost-effective method. The term “linear feet” refers to how much space freight takes up in a trailer. If you’ve never calculated linear feet before, we have a helpful guide that will walk you through the process. Here’s a basic rundown:
- Take the total number of pallets and divide it by two.
- Take this number and multiply it by the pallet length in inches.
- Divide this number by 12, and you’ll have the shipment’s linear feet!
This brings us to the linear foot rule, which is a major pain point of LTL shipping. LTL carriers typically have their own unique linear foot rules, but the industry standard states that, for a shipment to travel with cheaper LTL service, the freight must be less than 12 linear feet and under 750 cubic feet. The label for shipments exceeding these specifications is “volume LTL” (VLTL), and these shipments skyrocket in price since they’re undesirable loads to carriers.
Luckily, shared truckload service provides the most value for shippers moving freight with linear footage that falls in this gray area. With STL shipping, you can move freight that exceeds the linear foot rule without paying exorbitant VLTL prices or paying for an entire truckload. Instead, you only pay for the space you need as your shipment moves in a pooled truckload.
Origin and destination
Short distance = lower shipping costs.
Long distance = higher shipping costs.
Just as it costs more money to fly from Houston to Anchorage than from San Diego to San Francisco, you can expect to pay higher shipping costs to move freight long distances. However, long-haul versus short-haul shipping lane desirability plays a factor in pricing as well.
Short-haul shipping lanes typically move LTL and partial freight no more than 250 miles from origin to destination, making them desirable for truckers who prefer staying close to home. Long-haul shipping lanes typically move TL freight across state lines and can run multiple days, meaning truckers stand to earn more per load. Still, long hauls may actually end up costing the shipper less per mile than short hauls due to negotiated rates for the distance.
Another factor in pricing is supply and demand, or whether the freight is located in, or delivered to, an area with an abundance or scarcity of loads. An abundance of loads near the freight’s origin or destination will help lower shipping costs because this reduces probable deadhead for the carrier. (“Deadhead” is a term for the wasted miles and fuel a trucker expends after delivering one load and traveling to pick up another.)
If freight is moving to a delivery location where there is a scarcity of loads, then shipping costs may be higher because it’s undesirable to the carrier. For instance, this map shows the primary shipping lanes for STL service, where you can get our most competitive rates due to the high load volume.
Fuel prices
Low fuel prices = lower shipping costs.
High fuel prices = higher shipping costs.
Every Monday, the U.S. Department of Energy sets the cost for diesel fuel across the nation. The average price determines fuel surcharges for that week. When diesel prices are up, you can expect fuel surcharges to be up as well. Typically, carriers will avoid forecasting by charging a flat rate that evens out the peaks and valleys of fuel cost variability.
Capacity
High capacity = lower shipping costs.
Low capacity = higher shipping costs.
“Capacity” is a term that refers to the number of empty trucks available to move freight at any given moment. When there are lots of truck drivers who need to fill their empty trucks with freight, this is an indication of high capacity and lower rates for shippers. On the other hand, when there’s more freight than there are truck drivers available to move it, capacity is low and shipping rates will be higher.
Since the onset of coronavirus, carriers haven’t been able to keep up with the sheer volume of freight coming their way, which means they’ve been rejecting loads at levels unseen since 2018. For this reason and more, the freight market currently favors carriers. When truckers are able to be more selective when choosing freight, prices inherently go up. However, as with all ebbs and flows of the market, demand will eventually flip the other way, where there are more carriers than there are loads to move. When this happens, it will be in carriers’ best interests to partner with a logistics provider, like Get Loaded and Rolling, that can connect them with multi-stop shared truckloads and will maximize revenue potential.
Special services
No special services = lower shipping costs.
More special services = higher shipping costs.
Typically, shipping temperature-sensitive freight costs more than shipping non-perishable goods; likewise, shipping dangerous goods or hazardous materials costs even more than the other commodities. But what costs the most is not specifying which special services your freight needs during the quoting process.
The upfront cost of any special service requirements is far less than the fee a carrier charges when special services accumulate during transit (we’ll talk about accessorials next), so it’s in shippers’ best interests to include special services from the start. Additionally, failure to note special services risks damage, loss, and destruction of your goods because you haven’t made the carrier aware of any specific shipping needs. Although special services raise the bottom line of your shipping estimate, ignoring them can be far costlier.
The most common freight special services include heating, tailgate, appointment pickup, and special handling of dangerous goods. Luckily, with shared truckload shipping, you can request special services, like pickup and delivery appointments, for no extra cost.
Accessorials
No accessorials = lower shipping costs.
Added accessorials = higher shipping costs, except when you book shared truckload service.
At the end of the day, a quote is only as accurate as the shipment details provided, and it cannot account for added services. Shippers start to see costs sneak up when accessorial fees — shipping charges for unanticipated services that a carrier provides during shipment — start to accumulate. It’s always better to be safe than sorry, but this is especially true when it comes to preventable LTL accessorials related to inaccurately reporting your freight’s unique needs. We dive deeper into common shipping charges and accessorial fees in this blog post, but here’s an overview of typical accessorials:
- Liftgate
- Redelivery
- Layovers and wait time
- Bill of Lading changes
- Cash-on-delivery
- Reclassification and reweigh
- Advance notification
- Limited access
- Driver load and unload
- Residential
- Inside delivery
- Metro pickup and delivery
- Oversized and overlength fees
- Hazardous materials
- After-hour deliveries
- Truck Ordered Not Used (TONU)
- Diversion miles
- Additional stops
- Storage
- Detention
While some of these accessorials are out of a shipper’s control, others are completely avoidable. For instance, overlooking a detail as simple as whether or not the shipping destination has a loading dock can cause fees, delays, and unnecessary trans-loading of freight, depending on if the delivery truck has a liftgate.
Although the best practice is to be absolutely sure of these details before booking, you can avoid these headaches altogether by booking STL service. With shared truckload shipping, we eliminate added LTL accessorial fees entirely. How’s that for an upfront quote?
Insurance and Liability
Insurance is not required, therefore shipping expenses are reduced.
Adding insurance equals greater shipping prices unless you book a shared truckload service.
To understand how liability and insurance affect your shipping quote, let’s first define them.
The Motor Carrier Act of 1980 requires that all freight-shipping carriers in the United States have liability insurance. The Limitation of Liability for each carrier establishes the maximum cash amount for which the carrier is liable in the event of freight damage or loss. The liability limits vary by carrier, and the liability is based on a standard dollar amount per pound of freight. Because liability limits are set per pound of freight, the carrier’s liability coverage may not cover the full value of your consignment. Finally, liability coverage protects the carrier from large payouts rather than the shipper or their goods.
Freight insurance provides additional protection for shippers by protecting shipments up to the full manufacturer’s value. (To find out how much freight insurance costs, visit this blog.) Freight insurance typically costs $0.25-$0.75 per $100 of Commercial Invoice Value. Alternatively, you may book STL service for up to $100,000 in damage insurance at no additional cost!
Carriers discounted rates and negotiated shipping prices
Depending on the carrier, each charges a minimum rate for their services. If you have negotiated prices with a certain company, check in with your business representative on a regular basis to see if you can negotiate this rate. Negotiation may be influenced by factors such as previous performance or volume increases in shipments.
Overall, there are numerous benefits to building a positive working relationship with your carrier as a shipper. If this translates into a discount, the benefits of a healthy relationship may really save you money. Nonetheless, Get Loaded and Rolling is the only logistics operator prepared to provide you with quick money off of contracted truckload (TL) rates.
Here comes our Instant Prebate program. We lock in contractual TL rates with a shipper using Instant Prebate, and if they need to move a load that is 8-44 linear feet and less than 36,000 pounds, we provide an automatic discount on the contracted TL rate and transport the package via shared truckload service. Shippers can save up to 40% on contractual TL rates with Instant Prebate, making it the most convenient option to secure lower shipping prices for freight that does not fill a complete truck. Cost savings based on linear feet utilization are depicted in the graph below!
Delivery service
TL = increased shipping charges.
LTL shipping costs less.
STL = cheap delivery costs with maximum value.
Because you are paying for the exclusive use of an entire truck, truckload service has the highest shipping cost. It also has advantages like reduced damage rates and short delivery times. Nonetheless, shippers risk wasting money on TL service if the trailer is not completely filled.
During LTL shipment, your freight shares truck space with freight from other companies, cutting total shipping rates. Tariffs (influenced by the freight class of your package) govern LTL cost, as well as linear footage and accessorial fees. Unlike TL shipping, freight does not move directly to its destination; instead, shipments pass through the damage-prone hub-and-spoke system, stopping at many terminals along the way. This means lengthier, unpredictability in shipment schedules, and a higher risk of damage.
LTL and TL shipping simply cannot compete with STL service. This is why:
LTL service has long been a feasible choice for shippers who do not have enough freight to fill a whole vehicle or who want to reduce overall shipping expenses. However, using STL service, even low-volume shippers can convey their goods “exclusively” while sharing trailer space with freight from other shippers. Shared truckload shipping eliminates trans-loading and reduces the risk of freight damage to 0.001% by avoiding the hub-and-spoke concept entirely. Although normal LTL shipping has the lowest prices, shared truckload shipping gives the most value by shortening delivery times, allowing shippers complete control over the collection and delivery dates, and assuring the freight arrives in one piece.
TL service moves loads whether or not the shipments fill the entire truck, and only a small percentage of TL trailers travel totally full. Shippers are not only paying to move empty space, but they are also increasing their carbon footprint by increasing the number of trucks on the road. Shippers who use STL service decrease their carbon footprints by sharing truck space with other enterprises.
Furthermore, when shippers submit us a load that qualifies for pooled, STL service, we offer them up to 40% off contracted TL rates. Shippers pay just for the space they require in a trailer, lowering fuel emissions by up to 40%. Shared truckload transportation is the most environmentally responsible way to move freight because it decreases the trucking industry’s carbon footprint by design.
How to Get the Most Affordable Freight Shipping Quote
When it comes to determining shipping prices, there are numerous aspects at play, which explains why freight quotation computations are so hazy. Although many of the reasons appear to be beyond the control of shippers, there are a few guaranteed techniques to reduce transportation expenses.
Here are the top four methods for obtaining the most affordable freight shipment quote:
- Be precise. Measure the dimensions, linear footage, and weight of your freight precisely to avoid potential reclassification costs, re-quotes, or BOL revisions.
- Specify the requirements of your shipment. Include information such as “refrigeration,” “liftgate,” “appointment required,” and “unloading services.” If you require these additional services later, you will wind up paying more than if you paid for them initially.
- Use a 3PL to gain access to thousands of carrier options for your freight.
- Ship your goods using the STL service.
The simplest method to reduce shipping expenses is to work with Get Loaded and Rolling and book your shipments through the Flock Platform.
Get Loaded and Rolling is the only logistics supplier that guarantees shared truckload service for your freight, whether it be partial, LTL, VLTL, or TL.
When you use STL service, our pooling algorithms match your freight with shipments from other customers that are compatible. When the time comes to ship, your freight will travel along an optimum route in a pooled, shared truckload with other shipments heading in the same direction. Every shared truckload is loaded to ride, which means the freight stays on the vehicle until it arrives at its destination. Furthermore, because freight does not cross-dock or offload on its way to delivery, we arrange shared truckloads in last-in, first-out (LIFO) orders. Because STL shipping eliminates hubs, terminals, and handling, the carbon footprint of each load is reduced and damage claims are reduced to 0.001%.
Are you ready to save money on freight shipping, enhance your supply chain, and lower your company’s carbon footprint? Contact a Get Loaded and Rolling specialist to learn more about STL shipping.
If you’re interested in learning more about shipping with Get Loaded and Rolling, now is the best time to get started. Sign up with Get Loaded and Rolling today.
