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The Inner Workings of Your Freight Shipping Quote

September 27, 2018
5 min read
Less Than Truckload
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Whether you’re planning to utilize less than truckload shipping (LTL) or full truckload shipping (FTL), understanding the inner workings of your freight shipping quote is key to leveraging your negotiating power. Keep reading to find out how a freight shipping quote is calculated, then contact the team at Amware to learn how you can gain a competitive advantage.

What you Need to Know About Your Freight Shipping Quote

Freight shipping quotes shouldn’t be so complicated. Unfortunately in today’s world, there are many factors that go into the price of shipping items long distances. Here’s a quick look at just five of the pricing factors which affect your shipping quote:

  1. Value of Shipment – A low-value shipment represents a lower risk for the freight company, which translates into a lower price for the shipper. Higher value shipments pose a greater risk to the carrier in the event of loss or damage. Carriers (much like insurance companies), offset this risk by increasing the base rate of the shipment.
  2. Handleability – If your product is bulky and awkward to move, requiring heavy or special equipment, you can expect the price to increase. The extra effort the freight carrier will need to employ during the shipping and delivery process comes at a cost
  3. Weight – LTL shipments are commonly priced per 100 pounds or per hundred weight, which is sometimes called CWT. A 500 lb shipment at a rate of $25 CWT would have a base price of $125. However, the CWT typically decreases as the shipment weight increases.
  4. Density – Recently freight density has become a common measure for freight quoting. Why? Because it’s an arguably better standard for pricing than size or weight. A large item with a low density (lightweight and large) is likely to be similarly priced as a smaller item with a high density (small but heavy) since both require special consideration.
  5. Shipment Distance – As expected, shipments traveling long distances are most likely going to be pricier than a shipment moving a short distance due to the overall cost of transport. No matter which way you look at it, longer distances are more expensive in fuel, driving hours, and transportation maintenance.

The Fine Print of the Freight Shipping Quote

Even after you receive the freight shipping quote from several carriers, there are still a couple of things to consider in the overall price: accessorials and surcharges. Many freight carriers offer a rate table you can use to estimate the cost of your shipment, but it doesn’t include other fees, like a fuel surcharge or residential delivery fee. Be sure to ask the carrier what additional charges you’ll be incurring before signing a contract.

Learn More About Your Freight Shipping Quote

Everything is negotiable right? Maybe. At Amware, we want to help our clients get the biggest bang for their buck on everything from LTL to warehousing. That’s why we work to pair your shipment with hundreds of freight carriers – so you can find the right price, route, and level of service for your business needs.

As a full service freight and logistics provider, we work with companies of all sizes to maximize efficiency and minimize risk in the logistics process. To relieve the headache of freight shipping quotes, click below for a free 30-day trial of Amrate. Let Amrate do the heavy lifting when it comes to freight quotes!

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