Freight Carriers & Quotes

Freight carriers are companies or individuals who aid in the transportation of your goods. They operate in many areas of the logistics industry: air, ocean, sea, road, rail, etc. When you have items to be shipped, whether it's a one-time experience or an ongoing need, make sure you find the best match for you. Start by filling in our quick form and soon you will receive up to 5 free quotes from various carriers around the world!

There are various forms of freight carriers you should be aware of. For one, the airline industry uses combination carriers. These are airlines whose planes are equipped to carry both passengers and cargo. The cargo is loaded onto the lower deck of the plane via unit loading devices (ULDs), i.e. pallets or containers. The cargo holds can even be temperature-controlled to provide the ideal environment for sensitive or perishable goods such as food, flora, fauna, human organs for transplant, hazardous materials or even animals. Note that cargo carriers in the air freight industry only offer airport-to-airport services, so an air freight forwarder or indirect air carrier might be needed to move your goods from the warehouse or factory to the airport.

Certified, or direct, air carriers focus exclusively on transporting cargo. When enlisting their help, you can ask for a schedule of their flights or hire a charter for a temporary time. On the other hand, integrated carriers have their own airplanes and operate more independently. They also have fleets of trucks on hand and can therefore take your goods from the original location to their final destination. They are used more for parcels and packages though.

You may need to hire two or more freight carriers; this is known as interline moving or intermodal shipping. For example, your business may need to send raw materials from the interior of your country, so you'll load them up and send them via rail. At the coast, they will be loaded onto a bulk cargo vessel, then sail to a duty-free foreign trade zone, go through the manufacturing process, and then shipped out to the final destination. In this scenario, ocean freight carriers are a vital link in the chain. About 5000 bulk carriers are in operation around the globe, and they work hard to ship nearly 5 million tonnes of dry bulk (coal, steel, iron ore, timber, grain, etc.) every day. Due to this global reach and the potentially hazardous nature of the cargo, strict safety standards have been set by the international Code of Safe Practice for Solid Bulk Cargoes (BC Code). Freight carriers are working hard to ensure that new ships built are greener, meaning that they are safer for the environment and more efficient. Alterations in the fuel tanks, holding tanks, engine rooms, hull and propellers can all attribute to a more energy efficient and environmentally safe vessel.

An estimated 50,000 merchant ships participate in international trade. The size of merchant ships these days is staggering. Container ships carry most of the world's manufactured items. If we can compare, the load of 10,000 trucks can fit on one container ship. One tanker can be big enough to carry enough oil to heat a city for a year, and a bulk carrier can hold enough grain to feed 4 million people for an entire month!