Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Check out popular TL freight carriers

Start with the most sought after TL trucking companies to see how they do business. Compare their prices and services as your starting point as with their volume of business they can often give you the best price breaks.

I recommend: Use Hoovers to find out the most viewed truckload carrier company names and links. Large freight companies like Fed-Ex and UPS are also helpful sources of information of truckload services as well.

Check out truckload postings

Whether you are looking for loads or drivers, seek out truck load posting sites to pair up with the right person or company for you. Posting systems will help link drivers looking for loads to carry with companies seeking out drivers to haul for them.

I recommend: Boards like Direct Freight Services allow drivers to search for loads and for businesses to post available truck freight. Trulos is another truck load posting system. Through this site, drivers can also view available truckloads.

Look at fuel surcharges for truckload freight

Understand how fuel costs are figured into your full truck load rates. Find out how much of the expense is passed through to you versus absorbed by the freight company.

I recommend: Companies like Atlas are great for transporting the shipment if you want to handle all loading and unloading of the materials. Atlas also has a helpful site to help consumers understand fuel costs as well. Also check out the fuel surcharge resources available through A. Duie Pyle.

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Make sure that your delivery time table is discussed with your truck load provider. If you need same day or overnight delivery, make sure that is in writing and that everyone is on the same page as far as your expectation as a client. If your truck load carrier does not meet those expectations, then it is time to start talking about a discount taken off of the back end of your invoice.

Guide to Truck Load

Truck load carriers (TL freight carriers) play a vital role in business success

By Sue Darnell, Freelance Writer

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Track truck load companies and their drivers

You can get unlimited access to a driver database for truck load companies across the United States. You can track , time and monitor truck loads for safety.

I recommend: Find drivers and join for free a job posting company that posts driver jobs and driver information. Download trucking and logistics literature and get market profiles on truck load carriers.

Bet on the best bids for truck load rates

Bidding in the trucking industry pays off well for the business owner who needs to move his products at the most economical price. Price is not always the most important issue, however. Truck load companies that do not stack freight properly will cause more harm than good, damaging freight and making re-shipment necessary.

I recommend: Receive bids from thousands of truck load companies by simply entering information about your freight shipment size and characteristics. Fill out a form and a representative will call you, answer your questions and offer whole semi-trailer capacity, if needed.

Faster freight shipment attracts customers

Find companies that advertise 'faster' service for truck load shipping. Speed often attracts new customers.

I recommend: Enter information about your shipment and get a free quote from United Freight Company. Contact online representatives for fast shipment from United Van Lines.

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Check out the truck load carrier you are planning to use and find out their policy on damaged goods. Make sure they have adequate insurance to cover lost items.Find out what the percentage rate is for on-time deliveries when you are looking for truck load companies to handle your truck load shipping.

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Look at truck load affiliation information

Take advantage of truck load affiliations for their up-to-date news and information. Use their resources to attend industry events and read their affiliation publications.

I recommend: Consider membership with the Truckload Carriers Association. From their site you can find out the latest industry news, and membership benefits include upcoming events, continuing education and their annual convention. Find out the latest daily news at Transport Topics Online, a publication of the American Trucking Associations.

Check out news sources on TL trucking companies

Take a look at the truckload news wires to find out the most up-to-date stories, news and trends in the industry.

I recommend: Look at truckload freight delivery and supply chain news from Yahoo! Finance. Send2Press is another regular news source for recent news stories in the freight and transportation industries.

Read truck load articles and postings

Whether you are looking for the latest full truck load rates, the best TL freight carriers or the most current truck load shipping information, taking advantage of trucker portal sites can help you keep informed about all there is to know about the ins and outs of the industry.

I recommend: Check out the articles posted on Truck.Net. While you are there, take advantage of the many other resources such as podcasts, load boards and blogs. Scope out Uncle Sam's take on the transportation industry at U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration Freight Management and Operations page. The topics are listed alphabetically, so trucking news is towards the bottom of the page.

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Taking advantage of affiliations for TL freight carriers can more than pay off the small investment of membership dues. Networking and continuing education opportunities are just two areas that make memberships well worth while. Tradeshow events put on by the affiliation are another great way to learn about the latest technology available to out in the field.

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Truckload

A truckload, or TL, is the amount of freight required to fill a trailer. It varies depending on the type of freight but is often 10,000 pounds or more.

I recommend: uShip describes truckloads and discusses the advantages of shipping full truckloads.

Less-than-truckload or less-than-container load

Small freight shipments that take up less than a truckload are known as less-than-truckload (LTT) or less-than-container load (LTC) shipments.

I recommend: wiseGEEK has an excellent description of less-than-truckload shipping.

For-hire carrier vs. private carrier

For-hire carriers, or common carriers, are in the business of transporting goods for others for profit. Private carriers, on the other hand, transport only their own goods.

I recommend: ShipNorthAmerica Transportation explains the two main types of for-hire carriers.

Exempt carrier

Exempt carriers are exempt from Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) economic regulations because they transport commodities or certain other bulk goods.

I recommend: Check out the State of Minnesota exempt commodities carriers regulations to see what types of freight are typically exempted by states.

Cartage company

Sometimes you don't need to get things across the country, just across town. Cartage companies specialize in short-haul transportation. If you have a limited area of operations, you might want to consider a cartage company that specializes in your area.

I recommend: California Cartage Company, for example, is concentrated in Southern California.

Shipping container

A shipping container, sometimes just called a container, is a standard 20' x 40' and is widely used in international shipping. If a company ships overseas or internationally, it's much cheaper and easier to ship goods in containers. For international travel, the containers are typically loaded at the company's factory, transported to a port, loaded on a ship, loaded back on a truck and delivered to their destination.

I recommend: Shipping International provides information about shipping containers.