Shipping a Package

People used to get joy when they got a letter. When they were unsure of what exactly was inside and they opened it to find out. Today we get a lot of the same thrills, but it comes from packages we receive. We ship a lot of things these days. With more shopping done online than in any other form, the shipping has had to keep up with this incredibly demand.

Freight Shipping

Freight shipping is typically more for commercial use than it is for residential. Freight shipping usually refers to large amounts of “cargo” that is moved from location to location. Freight shipping used to mainly be through ocean faring transport cargo ships. However today freight is now a more interchangeable name for large term shipping. Freight shipping today doesn’t even need to take place by sea. Large transport planes and shipping trucks also contribute in very meaningful ways to freight shipping.

There’s usually four different categories of freight shipping. There is express shipping, parcel shipping, household goods and general freight shipments. If you want to save money on your freight shipping, there are a few ways.

You can save money by choosing to use freight forwarders. These should be approved with the FMC (Federal Maritime Commission) and/or the IATA (International Air Transport Association). If they are not approved, then do not use them or you may end up with a lot of unexpected costs.

Container Shipping

Container shipping is now the more common term for what used to be known as freight shipping. The only real difference in the previous terms was in the amount of items. Shipping was smaller amounts than freight. However container shipping is certainly similar.

If you’re looking to save money in container shipping, you should buy your own container. It reduces a lot of the costs that are associated with container shipping. You won’t have to pay any detention or demurrage fees and generally your trucking costs will be lower as well. Now, this doesn’t apply to everyone. Rental can be better for a lot of people, especially those who aren’t making constant shipments.

International Shipping

If you are shipping a lot of items, it’s more than likely you will be shipping lots of things internationally.

If you are looking to save money on your international shipping, there’s a few ways you can do so. If you are sending smaller packages, you can choose the “slower” international options. Most courier and international package shipping occurs between 1 and 3 business days. If your package isn’t of critical importance, then choose a 3 day shipping plan instead of the 1. It’s still pretty fast for the distance covered.

If you want to save costs, you can also become TSA certified. This means that you become registered with the TSA as a “Known Shipper”. You become certified that nothing you ship could pose a threat to a plane. Known shippers have the fastest routes for shipping available because things can be placed onto passenger flights as well as cargo flights. That increases the potential for your package getting where it needs to go quickly. This saves you money and you don’t need to choose more expensive express shipping options.