Companies rely on expedited trucking transportation services for shipping and receiving goods. The three things that are the most valuable and are most commonly moved by freight are electronics, vehicles and machinery. The LTL shipping market, which means less than a truckload, is valued at around $35 billion, meaning that truckload freight brings in even more. Approximately 15 billion tons of cargo was transported in 2013 and that number is expected to increase to over 18 billion by the year 2014. The shipping industry is vital for businesses, but sometimes the prices make us cringe. When shipping prices have you scratching your head to cut costs, consider these tips which could save you money on your expedited trucking transportation services.
Reduce, Reuse and Recycle

You get shipments right? So why not use that material for your shipping. Save all boxes and use to cover pallets before shrink wrapping them. Save all packaging material like bubble wrap, large bubbles and packing peanuts. Use these items in your shipping. Set up areas in your warehouse to store these items so they can be used when needed. A penny saved is a penny earned, so save everything you can and use what you save.

Weight

Sometimes there isn’t much that you can do about weight, but sometimes there is. Instead of cutting one pallet into two pallets to cut down on weight, consider what you have inside protecting the contents. Do you have heavy blankets to keep it from becoming damaged? Do you have boxes full of packaging material to secure contents? Consider using bubble wrap instead of blankets to lighten the load. Consider using empty boxes to keep cargo from moving inside the box. If empty boxes are utilized and placed against cargo and large boxes movement of the cargo will be minimal if any movement at all occurs.

Protection

Many companies choose the shrink wrap the product then place it on a pallet. This can cause movement during the shipping process and can result in damage to the delivered product, which can end up costing your company more money. Instead of shrink wrapping just the product, secure the product to the pallet. Secure it using those extra cardboard boxes we discussed earlier. Then shrink wrap the entire pallet, contents and all. This reduces the chances of movement and damage to the product you are shipping which in turn saves the company money.

Peak Days

Determine what peak shipping days are and consider shipping earlier so that you are not shipping on peak days. Determining when carriers are looking for freight to ship can actually cause the costs to drop. Mondays after weekends tend to be slow shipping days, so it’s possible to save money on truckload shipping rates by shipping on days that aren’t as congested as busy shipping days.

Saving money on expedited trucking transportation services doesn’t have to mean that you cut corners and deliver a half okay product. Saving money on truckload freight is possible if you know how to do it. Expedited trucking transportation services doesn’t have to be the main cost of your shipping costs if you follow these tips and tricks.