
Shipping Freight
FreightCenter makes shipping freight easy and affordable. Whatever your shipping freight needs, FreightCenter has options for you.
Get Shipping Freight Rates Instantly
Shipping freight services from all the top shipping companies are just a few steps away. Receive instant quotes from leading shipping companies in one easy place. Trust the experts at FreightCenter to give you the best prices and options when you need shipping freight. Whether you are shipping freight via truck, train, ship, or plane, FreightCenter manages the entire process for you. As your single point of contact for paperwork, tracking, and billing, FreightCenter makes shipping easy and affordable. With a vast network of carrier partners, we pass on our discounted freight rates directly to you.
With FreightCenter, you instantly compare real-time freight rates from top freight shipping carriers. Choose the combination of freight shipping services, price, and transit time that meet your needs, and FreightCenter will do the rest.
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Shipping Freight Services available from 200+ companies
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Instant shipping rates anytime
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Freight shipping solutions to anywhere within the USA, Canada, and Mexico
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Unbeatable shipping discounts for LTL, truckload, rail, air, and more
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Automated tracking, text notifications, and status notifications for all shipping freight services.
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Manage all your shipping in one place with consolidated invoices and paperwork.
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Years of shipping experience working for you. Founded in 1998!
The Best Shipping Method for Your Freight
FreightCenter can help you ship freight via various modes, from air to international shipping. The two most common methods of shipping freight are truckload (TL), less than truckload (LTL), and shipping rail freight. Cargo is most often transported via ground freight. Need to freight ship a sophisticated CNC milling machine across the country, heavy ship equipment overseas, or fill an order from your e-commerce store? From one pallet to a full truckload, we’re here to help you when shipping freight, just as we have been since 1998.
Methods of Shipping Freight via Ground
Most freight is transported via ground freight. The three most common methods of shipping freight via ground methods are:
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Truckload (FTL)
Full truckload also referred to as FTL, is a shipping mode when a truck carries one dedicated shipment. In other words, the only shipment on the truck will be yours. Shipping an FTL has many advantages over Less-than-load trucking(LTL) or less than a full truckload shipment. FTL shipping is used when the load is too large for LTL shipping. This is common for items of high value or specialty items such as a luxury vehicles. Vehicle. Trailers used for FTL are trailers such a flatbed or drop deck trucks.
FTL shipping is very straightforward and much less complicated than LTL shipping. FTL shipments get to the destination faster than LTL. When shipping freight as an FTL, the truck does not make any other pickups or drop-offs. As a result, there is no extra handling or truck transfer. The combination of the results in the less likeliness of damage than an LTL shipments -
Less-than-Truckload (LTL)
LTL shipping is the most popular mode of shipping in the United States. As the name suggests, LTL shipping is for freight shipments that do not require an entire truck. Instead of one shipper using the truck as a whole, multiple shippers share the same truck, reducing costs for all of them. The most significant benefit of LTL shipping is the price.
There are several processes involved with LTL shipping. Local trucks that deliver these shipments to a terminal or hub pick up freight from each shipper’s location. From there, all cargo is placed on a truck that carries it for the long haul to the destination terminal. The shipments are unloaded, reorganized at the destination terminal, loaded onto local delivery trucks, and sent to the destination location. -
Partial Truckload
A partial truckload could be considered a hybrid between LTL and TL shipping. It’s used for six to 18 pallets of freight with a weight range of 8,000-27,000 pounds. Advantages to using partial truckload can include faster delivery and a lower price.
The downside to partial truckload service is there is the minimal capacity for it. Ask your freight agent whether your load should ship as a partial truckload or as two LTL shipments. -
Intermodal Rail Freight
Shipping freight via intermodal railway involves the combination of shipping freight via rail and truck. Almost always, a rail shipment will need the help of a truck. The truck takes the load from the rail hub to its final destination.
Railway freight and interstate trucking companies offer advantages that bring down your shipping cost. Rail freight can be less expensive if your freight’s origin and destination are close to railheads. Rail shipping is also the most economical choice when shipping large and heavy loads.
Truckload Freight Services
Through our extensive network of carriers, we can provide a wide range of equipment. Here are just some of the type of trucks we have access to:
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Dry Van Freight
Dry Van Freight is hauled on a standard enclosed trailer. This is the most common truck used for shipping a full or partial truckload. When you think of dry van, don’t think passenger vehicle like a minivan. Think about 15-wheel semis with 53-foot trailers in tow.
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Flatbed Freight
Flatbed trucks have trailers with no sides or roof and are typically used when transporting oversize freight. These trucks are used to ship lumber, cement tubes for utility construction, steel beams, and anything that needs to hang off the edge of the trailer bed.
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Refrigerated Freight
Refrigerated trucks are used when your freight shipment requires refrigeration and temperature-controlled settings. Refrigerated freight usually includes perishables, food, beverages, plants, or any item requiring refrigeration and temperature-controlled environments.
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Drop Deck Freight
Drop decks are designed to transport long loads. This specialized truckload equipment has a lower deck system that rolls onto an upper deck. This type of truck is best when shipping items such as heavy construction piping, stacked wood, flooring, and scaffolding setups.
Specialized Shipping of Freight
Through LTL freight carriers we can also ship specialized freight, cargo that requires dedicated equipment or special handling:
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Tradeshow Shipping – Special care is needed to ship large trade show exhibits. We’ll take care of all paperwork and scheduling to ensure your trade show display gets to the show on time and intact.
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Furniture Shipping – Let us help you save the hassle and expense of moving yourself with easy furniture shipping at the lowest price. FreightCenter assists with long-distance residential furniture moving for the whole house or one piece of furniture. We also offer value-added White Glove Service to help with packaging and loading.
Additional Services when Shipping Freight
Depending on what you are shipping, your LTL freight shipment could require additional services, or what’s known as accessorials. Becasue these freight services are typically beyond the general responsibility of the freight carrier, there may be an additional fee. Some of the most common accessorials are:
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Liftgate – A liftgate is located on the back of a freight trailer to enable cargo to be raised from or lowered to the curb when the location does not have a loading dock.
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Notification Services – Notification calls are an added feature we can offer for any freight service. You’ll receive a call before any pickup or delivery so you will know when to expect the truck.
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Limited Access – Limited access includes any destination or location that restricts trucks from entering. Limited access locations include construction sites, military bases, schools, churches, and government facilities. FreightCenter works with carriers equipped to access such areas.
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Inside Pickup & Delivery – Inside Pickup and delivery is used when the driver must deliver or pick up freight past the curb.
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First Mile Service – With First Mile Freight Services, your freight will be picked up, packaged, and then delivered to its destination.
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Final Mile Services – Final Mile Freight Service (or Last Mile) includes inside delivery and debris removal. If more services are needed, let us know, and we will help you secure those requirements.
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White Glove Services – Most commonly used in furniture delivery, white glove freight services are the best option when your freight requires special attention. These services include inside pickup and delivery, loading, unpacking, stair carry, and debris removal. A Freight agent can help you determine the level of white glove service you need, from standard to premier. TP
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Expedited Freight – When a freight load is time-sensitive, our Freight Agents will work diligently to ensure you receive the fastest service we can deliver using Expedited Freight services.
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Guaranteed Delivery Services – With Guaranteed Delivery, your freight arrives during the standard transit time.
Additional Truckload Shipping Services
FreightCenter has an elite team of freight experts dedicated to truckload logistics. If you ship entire truckloads or large items, we can provide 3PL services including:
Expedited Freight – Need to get your freight shipment there in a hurry? Your cargo will go directly from origin to delivery to ensure the fastest delivery time.
Just-In-Time – With Just-In-Time shipping requires strategy and planning. We’ll help you increase efficiency and decrease waste by ensuring that you receive your freight shipment right before you need it – not too early or too late.
Warehousing and Distribution – Truckload shipping is primarily going to and from commercial businesses and warehouses. That means these shipments picked up and delivered from warehouses and distribution centers require different specialized equipment.
Request for Proposals (RFP) – We can provide you with year-round committed rates and capacity based on RFPs.
Your Partner in Freight Logistics
FreightCenter is a one-stop third-party logistics (3PL) provider for small businesses, large corporations, supply chains, and government institutions. Our team of freight logistics experts has the experience to handle any job, no matter the size. We can help you with the following:
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Focus on meeting your specific cost and service goals.
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Properly prepare for peak shipping seasons.
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Find the right carriers that can provide the shipping freight services you need.
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Find carriers that offer the best prices to ship your freight to exactly where you want it to go.
To get an accurate freight quote, you must know the services your shipment requires. Not sure what services you need? Our Freight Agents can help – give us a call at Call Us 800.716.7608
We provide competitive freight shipping prices and an all-inclusive, easy-to-use shipping experience for our customers. Exceeding our customers’ expectations results in thousands of satisfied customer reviews and repeat business. We believe in the power of our customer relationships. Check out FreightCenter reviews from real customers, and learn what they have to say about their freight shipping experience!