Freight

You might be wondering, what is freight? Freight is transporting commercial goods via land, air, or sea. Today, freight service refers to transporting items that exceed the normal size or weight of items carried by common carriers. It is also a great option for company, long-distance, and cross country moves. Many people do not know that freight service is another way to move your belongings long distances. It’s just as safe and reliable as using a full-service or a self-service moving company. Your belongings are packed in in boxes, loaded on to pallets, and then safely moved via land, air or sea.

If you do opt for freight services, you can rent space by the foot in a freight trailer. The freight moving company that you choose to work with will then rent the remaining space to other customers. Don’t worry – your stuff is separated by dividers, so nothing will get mixed up. Before your stuff gets loaded onto the freight trailer, you are going to have to pack everything yourself or the freight moving company can refer you to a packing company. You may want to invest in a packing company to ensure the safety of your belongings. Depending on how far you are traveling, your items may be transferred between trucks several times before reaching their destination. If you do choose to pack your belongings and furniture yourself, you need to make sure you are packing everything as securely and concise as possible, while also labeling each item carefully.

Freight services also vary from using a full-service moving company. Freight services usually do not include loading, unloading, inside pickup, or delivery. What usually happens is the freight company will drop off the freight trailer a couple of days before your scheduled move date, and then come and pick it up to move it to your new address. Loading and unloading is usually available to add on, but at an additional cost. Also, if you are looking to avoid any fees, don’t let the freight transporters carry your items inside.

The cost of freight services is similar to that of renting a truck; however, with freight services, you aren’t doing the driving. A freight moving company will estimate how much linear feet you need on the truck and then offer you a price. If you use less space than the original estimate, you would pay less on moving day. The same goes for using more space than the original estimate, you would pay more.

With any move, the one thing that stays constant is your desire to know that all of your belongings will be safe during transport. The FMCSA requires all freight moving companies to carry a minimum amount of coverage for everything on board. While coverage is required and included in your services, it is recommended that freight customers obtain extra insurance coverage.