Types of Freight Transport

Several types of freight transport services are available for different needs. First you must consider the size and type of your cargo and how far it will be transported. The speed at which you need to have it delivered and what your budget is will also be important to choose the most appropriate option.

One of the most common forms of freight delivery is LTL, which stands for Less Than Load. This is usually the most affordable service since delivery costs are split by multiple customers for each load. FTL—you guessed it—Full Truck Load services are considerably more costly than LTL but necessary for larger cargo.

If your shipping needs cover land and sea, then intermodal freight transportation is right for you. As the name implies, more than one mode of transportation is used, such as from rail to truck to boat, or any combination of such. This cargo is usually in standard transport containers and can be transferred between different modes without unloading and reloading the actual cargo.

Freight forwarding is more often used by manufacturers who wish to get their products to individual retailers without having to maintain their own delivery operations. Instead, an individual or company delivers their goods for them.

Air freight is simply what its name implies and is more suitable for freight that is small in size and dense in weight. This can be speedy, and if timely delivery is a factor, then expedited freight is also available. Like express shipping, it will cost more, but this is the option for perishable cargo or if you just need to transport your stuff really fast.