Freight

Freight, or the term “cargo”, is a very generic term to describe products or goods being shipped from one destination to another. There are many aspects that go into arranging, handling and transporting the many different kinds of freight.

Types of Freight
Some of the most common types of freight include bulk items, raw materials, automobiles, food and more. In one year, as many as 73 million automobiles can be produced around the world. Many of these are exported to other countries as freight and can use a variety of shipment options – some are carried by sea, truck and even rail.

Raw materials are used in construction and for fuel (such as oil). These materials are often shipped in bulk and are heavy. When raw materials are shipped from country to country they are usually carried by sea on large cargo ships.

Like automobiles, food is also produced in mass quantity and shipped around the world by various modes of transportation. Because some foods are time sensitive, air may also be used to ship food freight. For salt or other food minerals, sea is a more economical way to transport this type of freight.

Ways to ship Freight
There are three main ways to ship freight – land, sea and air. If freight is shipped by land there are two options – truck and rail. Trucking is the most common way to ship freight. Trucking is economical in terms of price and can reach just about any destination within a country. Cargo ships, trains and planes are obviously more limited in their destination abilities, and even if freight is shipped by air or sea, usually a truck is needed to carry freight to a final destination.

Freight train is another way to transport goods by land. Depending on the size of the freight and the distance the freight has to travel, sometimes rail is more economical. The greater the distance the freight has to travel the more economical using a freight train becomes.

Freight can also be transported by air. There are some airlines that are dedicated solely shipping freight. And some airplanes such as the 747 were designed to be able to be built into passenger or freight planes easily. Air travel becomes necessary when freight is needed to arrive quickly.

Freight can also be shipped by sea. In fact, cargo ships handle the majority of international trade. There are container ships, bulk carriers and tankers. Container ships, just like their name suggests, carry products in containers that are stacked on the large ship. Bulk carriers transport goods that are not put into containers – for example grains. Tankers carry large amounts of liquids like oil and other chemicals.

Who Handles Freight
Shipping freight involves many people including the shipper, the carrier, and the receiver. There are also several middle logistics handlers that also help with shipping freight. These include freight brokers and freight forwarders.

A shipper is the person or business who is needing freight sent from one destination to another. The carrier is the mode of transportation – truck, rail, ship or plane. And the receiver is the final destination where the freight arrives. This could be a business, port or person.

To help arrange shipping the freight, a business can hire a freight broker, which never actually takes hold of the product or goods, but coordinates the most reliable carriers and the best prices for businesses needing to transport freight. Freight brokers are somewhat similar to freight forwarders, but freight forwarders do sometimes take hold of the freight and help make sure that the carriers are transporting full shipments instead of just partial loads.