Freight Load Definition | Heavy Equipment Transport (2024)

FAQs

What is a freight load? ›

A freight load is also known as a freight shipment and measures anywhere between 150 to 20000 pounds. All the same, a freight load requires an entire shipping truck as it usually occupies a full trailer or container.

Freight transport is the movement of goods from one place to another. Common freight includes commercial goods, commodities, and merchandise in bulk. “The main transport mode for global trade is ocean shipping: around 90% of traded goods are carried over the waves.

There are four major types of freight transportation available for shippers to use in the world of freight shipping. The primary ones are by ground (road), rail, ocean, and air. Although these are the main categories of freight transportation, each method has their own processes that differ from one another.

A truckload (TL) refers to a quantity of freight that is large enough to fill an entire trailer. This typically translates to somewhere in the region of 24 to 30 pallets or 20k – 45K lbs. for standard equipment and 46K – 50K lbs. for lightweight trailers.

Load capacity is in the road freight transport the maximum weight of goods declared permissible by the competent authority of the country of registration of the vehicle.

Examples of freight transportation include trucks carrying goods on highways, trains transporting cargo on rail tracks, ships moving containers across oceans, and planes transporting packages through the air.

The main transportation types are air freight, ocean freight, and truck freight, with each type offering unique benefits. To leverage the benefits they provide, it is important to carefully identify which one is suitable for your business.

Freight means a payment or charge paid for carriage or transportation of goods by means of air, land or sea. Transportation is the movement of human, animals, goods form one location to another.

Less than truckload or less than load (LTL) is one of the most widely used methods of shipping. It takes an economical approach in transporting smaller items that can range in weight from 100 to 20,000 pounds.

What is the most commonly used freight transportation? ›

Truck shipping is the most common mode of transport in the U.S. and provides quick delivery of shipments traveling short distances. While utilizing truck shipping will allow you to reach just about any location, your carrying capacity may be limited by the truck's size and weight restrictions.

Freight shipping is the process of transporting commodities, goods and cargo by land, sea or air. Common types of freight shipping over the road include truckload, less than truckload (LTL) and intermodal. Freight itself can be defined as the goods transported by truck, train, ship or plane.

Full truckload, commonly referred to as FTL, is a type of shipping mode whereby a truck carries one dedicated shipment. In other words, the journey is reserved for one shipment only. FTL trucking has several advantages over the alternative trucking shipment mode, LTL, or less than a full truckload shipment.

Any load that has an overall piece weight in excess of 55,000 pounds is considered a heavy haul shipment. Additional truck and trailer axles are needed to safely haul cargo that exceeds 55,000 pounds, categorizing these shipments as “heavy haul.”

Bulk trucking is the process of transporting liquid or dry bulk materials in either a liquid tanker, a dry bulk trailer, or within drums or totes in a dry van. Liquid bulk tankers are made of stainless steel or aluminum and can be insulated or non-insulated.

Any shipment over 150 lbs. is considered freight. Freight shipping is the transportation of goods, commodities and cargo in bulk by ship, aircraft, truck or intermodal via train and road. It can be transported domestically or internationally by land, air or sea.

The simple difference is weight. If your shipment is 150 pounds or less, it's considered small package. If your shipment is larger than 150 pounds and up to 15,000 pounds, it's considered freight.

A load consists of one or more shipments, and a shipment has one or more shipment lines.