How to save money on your freight shipping There are many people every day trying to save money on freight costs, but sadly many don't know the ways of going about doing it. There are many options, some better than others. In this article we will address the ways of doing this.
If you are just starting your business and are looking to get better shipping rates than "rack rates" then this can be hard if you go straight to a carrier.
A lot of times carriers will not assign a representative to you until you get to a certain amount of shipping volume. This can be a year or a couple months. A lot of times they just want to see a track record of your shipping history. So if you have no track record then you will have to use other means to gain a carriers trust.
I would suggest doing some heavy comparing of the carriers and find out what you like about each and then apply for an account. Some are really good with technology and have an easy website to navigate; others are in the 70's in terms of how they handle business. Some get better shipping rates in state and get terrible shipping rates out of state. You just have to try them to find this out. I will say that Central Transport has the best instate flat pallet rate around. They have the system down to science. But it also comes with some drawbacks. If you don't have palletized shipments then this is not going to benefit you, but if you do have palletized shipments then this will be one of your best options. I have seen instate rates as low as $35 for up to 1000lbs in the state you're in. But granted this is their niche and doing an out of state shipment with them isn't what they do best.
The best thing to do would be to open multiple accounts with a number of carriers, then go to a couple of Third Party Logistic companies. Third Party Logistic companies are a great way to get a shipping rate that you wouldn't be able to get with your current volume. Now I know you might be thinking, "I don't deal with brokers." Well that attitude can hinder you.
The advantage of a broker is that they usually have big contracts with all the major carriers. I am talking about them moving 2-3 million dollars worth of ltl and ftl freight a month. Because of this they get an extreme discount that they can pass along to you. And because they are in the business of keeping the right customers, their customer service is usually better. Not only that they give you options. Let's say for example you are with a certain carrier and then they totally mess up 5 of your freight shipments costing you thousands. You would be a little scared to keep shipping with them. But it's a catch 22; you built up your discounts with this carrier and don't want to lose your shipping discounts, right? But with a Third Party Logistics Company you can just not pick that carrier. There are other carriers out there and with the discounts you have in place with a Third Party Logistics Company it is over the whole board, not for each carrier.
Another advantage is with options you will get better shipping rates going to different areas of the country. A lot of people will brag, "I have a 70% discount with a certain carrier". That might be great for a certain area but no carrier has all the lanes around the country handled. Well one does it is called The United States Postal Service. But for freight you are out of luck on that. With a Third Party Logistics Company they will tell you which carrier does best in which lane. Because a carrier will not do this for you, trust me. Why would they tell you of their weaknesses? You could be another carrier spying or you could just know not to use them in certain lanes. Over a long period you might be able to figure this out on your own, but it is usually over a very long period.
I hope this helps you in getting an idea of how to go about getting cheaper shipping rates. I am able to be contacted if you need further help in choosing the right shipping options on getting better shipping rates.