From trucks to planes, railroads to sea ships, there are many modes of transport used by national and international freight shippers. Choosing just one option can be confusing. Here, we lay out all the reasons you should consider ground freight shipping, which includes trucking.
We’ll be exploring why ground freight shipping is one of your best options.
Ground Freight Shipping: What are FTL and LTL?
Ground freight shipping includes both full truck loads (FTL) shipping and less than a truck load (LTL). Let’s break down what those mean:
- Full truck loads (FTL): When you have a carrier transport an entire truck load of goods.
- Less than a truck load (LTL): When you ship less than a truck load. Your goods will be combined with other shipments from other distributors.
Now that you understand what ground freight shipping is, we’ll dive into how it can benefit your business.
Benefits of Ground Freight
1. It's cost-effective
Ground freight shipping is extremely cost-effective. It’s the most affordable option for companies who want their products delivered quickly and efficiently—yet don’t have a huge budget that other options, like air freight, require.
To put the costs into perspective: Ground freight shipping costs 4–5 times LESS than air freight. Sea freight is generally comparable to air freight, so it’s still much more expensive than ground freight.
Why is ground freight so much less expensive? Well, for one, you’re not paying for unused space. You’ll only pay for the space you actually use. Plus, you can bargain for better shipping rates based on the distance, fuel costs, and other factors.
2. It reduces warehouse costs
Another way ground freight shipping saves you money is by reducing warehouse costs. You can ship a lot of goods with ground freight shipping—especially if you opt for full truck loads (FTL). When you use ground freight shipping, you won’t need so much space to hold on to your inventory.
Using either less than a truck load (LTL) or FTL shipping can reduce your warehouse costs, since you’ll be able to ship out a lot of your products, rather than continuing to store them. You can ship more with LTL or FTL than other freight options, such as air.
3. You can track your shipment
Another benefit to ground freight shipping is that you can track your shipments (most of the time). You won’t waste time keeping track of your shipments—ground freight shippers have technology that allows you to know where your shipments are in real-time.
Plus, you won’t have to spend more money to have access to this top-of-the-line tracking technology. You can rest easy knowing exactly where your shipments are.
4. Ground freight is efficient and faster than you think
When it comes to shipping freight domestically, ground transportation is often the most effective solution. While air shipment is obviously faster, you generally don’t need that fast of an option—unless you’re shipping perishable goods over a very long distance.
For most shipments, ground freight is very fast, especially if the destination is close by. Full truck loads (FTL) are even faster than other options like less than a truck load (LTL), because the journey is to one destination, with no stops along the way. However, LTL is still an extremely efficient option.
5. Both FTL & LTL Ground Freight are secure and reliable
With ground freight shipping, you can be sure that your goods will arrive at their destination on time—and in one piece. Because there are fewer stops in transit, your cargo is less likely to be damaged or lost along the way.
Both full truck loads (FTL) and less than a truck load (LTL) are very secure shipment options. Freight shippers take security extremely seriously, so you can rest assured knowing your goods are safe.
6. Ground freight offers solutions tailored to your cargo
Ground freight shipping isn’t a one-size solution-fits-all. When you’re using ground freight shipping, you have options:
Full truck loads (FTL): Your goods will be delivered to one destination, meaning less touchpoints (and more security) along the way.
Less than a truck load (LTL): You’ll only pay for the space you use. Your shipment will be combined with other shipments.
Refrigerated cargo: Need to keep your goods refrigerated along the way? No problem with ground freight.
Container and vehicle moving: You can ship containers and vehicles via ground freight with peace of mind.
Whatever your needs are, you have tailored solutions to
find the best ground freight option for you.
Choose Packair for your ground freight needs
Once you’ve decided you’ll take advantage of ground freight shipping, you have even more options. Which company will you use? At Packair, we know ground freight makes the world go round. We are the one-stop solution for your custom trucking needs.
Get a complimentary quote today, or take a look at our logistics and shipping blog to learn more about how FTL, LTL, ground freight, and other logistics information!
