If you need to ship a stuffed chair, the chair must be packaged. Most carriers require it be placed in a box or at least wrapped in cardboard. It is recommended that you wrap the chair in bubble, foam or a large plastic bag before boxing it. This will keep it from incurring damage by rubbing against the box. When getting a freight quote, expect the service provider to ask you how it is packed.
The Freight Transportation Services Index fell 2.5% in September from the August level, declining for two consecutive months, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics reported. The index has dropped over 4% in the past two months, dropping to a 4 year low set in September 2007.
These declines have dropped the freight index into negative territory for the year. The index declined 0.3% in the first nine months of 2008. After declining 0.8% in the first nine months of last year, the index rebounded in the last quarter to finish the year down 0.1%.
In the last 10 years, this September decline was the fifth largest, while the August decline of 1.9% was the eighth largest. All carriers are cutting costs trying to weather this. Freight quotes are down as well as freight volumes.
Old Dominion Freight Line has announced a service center relocation to Columbia, Mo. The 34-door facility, located on a 10 acre site at 550 N. Tradewind Pkwy, will continue operations under the leadership of the terminal manager, Daniel Ranabargar, who will direct a staff of 20.
“The relocated Columbia service center is a state-of-the-art facility with greatly expanded the trucking companies capacity that will offer central Missouri a complete package of domestic, expedited and global services,” says Dave Bates, vice president of the Central States region for OD.
Lower diesel prices mean lower freight quotes for consumers. The national average retail price of a gallon of diesel tumbled 14.4 cents to $2.944 on its continuing slide down for weeks. The price slid below the $3 mark for the first time since Sept. 17, 2007, when it was $2.964.
The diesel price has fallen $1.82 since hitting a record high of $4.764. This week’s price is 48 cents less than the same week last year, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.
All regions that DOE tracks saw price declines. The largest decline was found in the Rocky Mountains, while the smallest decline was found in the Midwest. The most expensive diesel nationally was found in New England, which means higher freights rates in that region.
If your company needs to find Chicago shipping companies, because you are either shipping out of Chicago or shipping into Chicago, you are in good shape. Chicago is one of the major shipping hubs of the US. All major carriers either have a terminal in or near Chicago, which gives you many options. Chicago is also considered a good lane for most carriers, which means they offer some of their best freight shipping rates to those lanes. National carriers like Roadway Transportation, Fedex National, Yellow Transportation all do business in Chicago. Just get a couple of shipping quotes and you should have a very competitive rate for your freight.
For companies that do a lot of shipping, you may still find better shipping discounts by using a broker, rather than dealing directly with a carrier. It really depends on the volume of freight you generate. Many brokers do millions of dollars in freight and can save you money by passing on most of their discount on to you. Because of the market today, carriers are utilizing most of their resources to manage their largest customers. Smaller customers may find carriers cold and uninterested in your freight needs. However, freight brokers are very interested in helping you meet your shipping needs and you may find them way more pleasant to work with.
Many online business today solely rely on the ability to make a residential delivery when shipping furniture. This assessorial service is an up-charge service to delivery items to a residence. Carriers charge extra for this service because it takes them longer to make the delivery. They may have to drive miles to get to the neighborhood and drive around different streets to get to the consignee. Carriers will usually call before making a home delivery as they do not want to make a trip and not find anyone at home. If they do make the trip and no one is home, they will charge for a redelivery fee which can be hundreds of dollars.
OK, you have heard of furniture moving, but have you considered furniture shipping? Many major movers who just need to move a few pieces of furniture for a customer don’t always use a moving van. Most often the furniture is wrapped and shipped common carrier by the mover. They just ship it to another mover who then unwraps it and delivers it to its destination. The customer however has paid considerably more to have this done. You can do the same for a quarter to half the cost movers charge.
The term common carriers refers to many different business. The telecommunication companies, railroad, ocean cargo ships and trucking companies all are classified by the government as common carriers. Recently though search engines like Google where declared ” not common carriers. Search engines cannot be regulated like common carriers.
The First Amendment and Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act protect search engines’ decisions about what content to carry; Google can’t be forced to run ads or “honestly” rank websites, according to a federal judge in Delaware. Eric Goldman has the details. This decision is still useful for Google, which, as the dominant player in the search engine game, faces suits elsewhere based on similar theories.
This advisory discusses battery manufacturers providing inaccurate transportation information about their batteries on Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) and laboratory certificates in order for the batteries to be accepted for air transport as “not restricted.” This may be done to get lower freight discounts. Although the US Department of Transportation (DOT) does not regulate MSDS information, the US Dept. of Labor/ OSHA does. Many shippers use MSDS’s and similar documents as a tool to show air carriers that their batteries are excepted from the DOT and international hazmat regulations. Whether it is intentional or unintentional, MSDS’s created in the US and abroad may contain inaccurate and/or outdated hazmat transportation information. This can lead to regulated hazardous materials being offered as general cargo or declared as “not restricted.” Freight carriers may not always be in a position to refute the information provided by a shipper and forwarders are urged to continue to use caution and to ask appropriate questions when accepting batteries for transport. Any battery is forbidden for transport if not protected from damage or short circuit.