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What is included in freight charges?

Published by Joe Webster.

What is included in freight charges?

Freight charges encompass the cost of transporting goods, fuel surcharges, and additional services such as insurance, handling fees, and sometimes customs duties. Transportation distance, weight, volume, and freight classification influence these charges.

Freight charges play a pivotal role in the shipping industry, reflecting the costs of moving goods from one location to another. Understanding these charges is essential for businesses to manage shipping expenses and price their products competitively and effectively. This article explores the various components that makeup freight charges and how they impact the overall cost of shipping.

The Role of Transport Distance in Freight Charges

Distance is crucial to freight rates. Logistics companies use it as a baseline when calculating shipping costs. The formula is simple: freight costs rise with distance. It makes sense that longer distances require more fuel, vehicle wear, and driver workload. All of these factors raise long-haul freight delivery costs.

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Shorter distances usually mean lower freight costs. Many transportation companies strategically aggregate deliveries within a concentrated geographic area to efficiently make multiple drop-offs on one route. This optimizes vehicle space and fuel, lowering delivery costs. Distance is important, but it's not the only factor affecting freight charges. Freight classification, weight, and volume also affect final charges.

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Influence of Freight Weight and Volume on Charges

In logistics, the overall costs often correlate with the cargo's size and weight. This is because heavier freight utilizes more fuel during transportation, subsequently escalating the carrier's expenditure. Also, larger freight occupies more space in the shipment vehicle, reducing the capacity for other potential cargo units. Thus deriving direct cost implications for the freight company, which gets trickled down to the customers.

A slight increase in weight or volume can push the shipment to a higher freight class, triggering a leap in the total cost. Different carriers may interpret freight classes differently, but mostly, denser freight (higher weight-to-volume ratio), which occupies less space relative to its weight, is considered more cost-effective to transport. Thus, efficient packing that reduces volume without adding unnecessary weight could be a financially prudent decision for shippers.

The Impact of Freight Classification on Pricing

Freight classification is an integral factor influencing pricing in the transportation industry. Established by the National Motor Freight Traffic Association (NMFTA), this system groups items into one of 18 classes, ranging from class 50 to class 500. The NMFTA assigns these classifications based on an item's transportability, considering aspects like density, handling, stability, and liability, such as susceptibility to theft or damage.

Classification significantly impacts the cost of shipping an item. Lower-class items typically command lower freight charges since they are generally easier and less risky to transport. Alternatively, high-class (from class 125 to 500) items often carry a steeper price tag as they require more care, specialized handling, or more space relative to their weight. The freight class gives carriers a standard method to quickly determine shipping costs, considerably simplifying the pricing process irrespective of the item's specifics.

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Joe Webster always knew the auto transport industry would be a great career option. And with decades of experience, Joe is now an established consultant for A1 Auto Transport.

Joe was born in Santa Cruz, California. During high school, Joe worked as a mechanic; a job continued to work part-time during his bachelor's degree.

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Mylene Rutllant
It’s my number one pick in auto shipping to this day.
★★★★★
...my choice in terms of auto transport has to be A1 Auto Transport. It’s in the name, but also in the quality with which they do their jobs. I’ve never had a problem with this company.
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Luis Rodriguez
You have my full support and recommendation!
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A1 Auto Transport... From the get go, they were very different from my past options. Their website was very professional and up to date, full of useful information. I requested a quote using their online form, and I got an email response within an hour. Surprisingly fast!
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Cristine Benoit
I can safely say this is a legit company that will get the job done.
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There are a lot of options for auto transport these days, which surprisingly makes it harder to find a good company. I received more than 10 offers to ship my car, but I couldn’t decide on any of them... Fortunately, I made the right choice with A1 Auto Transport.
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We give A1 Auto Transport a big 10 out of 10! We chose them to move our car from California to Vermont, since we needed professionals.

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A-1 Auto Transport is a disclosed agent for the following shipping companies:

CSI Logistics
435 Division Street
Elizabeth, NJ 07201
FMC 22206
Intl Cargo
45 Campus Drive
Edison, NJ 08837
NO. 17858N
Trans Global Auto Logistics, Inc.
3401 E Randol Mill Rd,
Arlington, TX 76011
NO. 018191NF
CFR Rinkens
15501 Texaco Avenue
Paramount, CA 90723
NO. 013055NF
ABC Worldwide LLC
2840 NW 2nd Ave #105
Boca Raton, FL 33431
NO. 025472F
ShipYourCarNow LLC
1160 South Rogers Circle Suite 1
Boca Raton, FL 33487
NO. 025646
Merco Air & Ocean Cargo, Inc.
6 Fir Way
Cooper City, FL 33026
NO. 021869F
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