What to consider when requesting an LTL freight quote?

Type of LTL carrier
Not all LTL freight carriers are the same. Often we see shippers get frustrated with a carrier when the reality is the carrier is performing as expected. With a good understanding of the types of carriers out there you can ensure you select the right carrier for the shipment at hand. Different kinds of LTL carries include regional carriers, super-regional carriers, national carriers, asset-light carriers, interline carriers, consolidators, pallet carriers and more.

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BAM Freight is are your doorway into the nations best LTL carrier marketplace, Carrierrate.com, powered by Globaltranz. We have relationships and deep discounts with all of these carrier types and can make sure you find the right solution to meet your shipping needs.

Transit Time
Transit time can seem like an obvious consideration. In LTL shipping it is more than just deciding when you need your shipment to arrive. For LTL freight carriers transit time is calculated in business days. This means that you need to exclude national holidays and weekends. Transit time does not take into consideration the day of pickup. Transit time starts the business day after the shipment is picked up. If a carrier misses your pickup, the transit time stays the same, so your delivery date will change. Even if you have upgraded to a “Guaranteed” service level the actual pickup itself is not guaranteed in common carrier LTL shipping. The guarantee only applies to the transit time and even then it isn’t a zero failure option. Transit time can be be delayed by things like weather or natural disasters. Transit times on your freight quote are normally quoted as “estimated” unless other wise stated. The quality of this estimate can vary depending on the carrier you have selected and the type of carrier they are.

There is a lot to consider when it comes to transit time on LTL freight shipments. Each time you get an LTL freight quote on our website the carrier’s transit time for that lane is listed. If the carrier offers a guarantee option that is shown as well. The system will tell you if the carrier is going to service that lane as a direct or indirect point. Each quote also comes with the carrier’s ontime performance percentage for our entire network along side their ontime performance percentage on loads you have booked.

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Special Services
When requesting an LTL freight quote you want to be sure to understand as much about the shipper and consignee locations as possible. This will help you identify any special services the carrier will need to provide at the time of pickup or delivery. If you book based on a quote where these items were not disclosed and the carrier ends up having to provide them, you will receive a rebill. Common special services include limited access charges, lift gates, notify prior to arrival, sort and segregate and several others.

At BAM Freight we can help you manage your locations by keeping record of the special services required at each shipper and consignee. This way you don’t have to remember them. When you request a quote the system will give you the option to select a shipper or consignee profile based on the zip code entered. If the profile has special services saved, the system will autmatically add them to the rate quote. For insances where it is the first time you are working with a particular location, the system makes it very easy to select these options. All special services are available in drop down lists or via push buttons on the rate quote screen.

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NMFC Freight Class
NMFC stands for “National Motor Freight Classification” and is the standard used by LTL carriers to categorize different commodities for pricing purposes. The standard is produced and maintained by the NMFTA which a stands for “National Motor Freight Traffic Association”. The NFMC organizes commodities into one of 18 different freight classes. Freight classes range from 50 to 500. LTL rates are lower for class 50 and higher for class 500. Also, carrier liability follows the same logic. Freight class is based on a commodities density, stowability, handling and liability.

If you need help figuring out your freight class we can help. Our expert agents have access to the NMFTA’s online web catalog of NMFC items and classes call ClassIT. We help shippers every day determine their freight class and can do the same for you!