Get the Most Affordable Freight Trucking Quote in Canada — Request Trucking Quote
As per a report by Statistics Canada, “in 2019, just over 134,000 for-hire trucking companies were active in Canada.” And therefore when it comes to shipping from Toronto, there is ample choice for everyone out there. So whether you plan to take the services of Montreal trucking companies or trucking companies in Toronto or for that matter any other trucking company, ensure that you make the selection with much thought and deliberation and never ever in haste.
It is good to prepare a checklist before making the decision so that you deal with the best trucking company in Canada. This allows you to eliminate unpleasant incidents such as poor follow up, delays, cargo damage, so on and so forth. Having a good checklist can help you narrow down the list to include the best trucking companies in Canada.
Apart from ensuring valid documents, reliability of drivers, condition of the trucks, and reference list of past customers, it is equally important to check the trucking quotes. This is because the transport freight quote of one trucking company in Toronto, for instance, might differ from another company by a great margin even though the facilities that these companies provide are same.
So here is a checklist to get the most affordable freight quote in Canada.
Know the specifics
Freight quotes in Canada are found to vary from season to season. Therefore, always make it a practice to know the freight quotes in peak season as well as off season before requesting for freight quotes from trucking companies.
Go for Bulk Shipping
Most often people make the mistake of shipping items as and when orders come. Sometimes the items are sent to the same location more often than once. In such a scenario, the freight expenses are bound to increase. Therefore instead of shipping individual items, keep a buffer time in shipping items so that you can opt for consolidated shipping. So if you are shipping items to same location, consolidated shipping can help you reduce freight rates considerably.
Ensure Right Kind of Packaging
Freight rates and packaging are inter connected. Most often people do not think twice when packaging items. Hence, there would be lot many empty spaces in the packaged items, which would considerably increase the size of the shipped items. In some cases, the height of the packaged item even exceeds 60 inches. Besides, if other packaged items cannot sit on top of your items then you have to pay for the empty spaces as well. Therefore, right sizing the packaging, packing the box tightly and ensuring that your cargo is stackable are some of the means to get affordable trucking quotes.
Lower the Freight Class
The freight rates can go up depending upon the freight class of the items that you are shipping. So ensure that the freight class is as low as possible by improving not just the packaging but also the manoeuvrability of your high-class freight. Taking care of the fragility, density and stowability of your shipping items can help you lower your freight class and thereby your freight rate.
Enquire about Shipping Lanes
Shipping lanes also referred to as freight lanes, carrier lanes, trucking lanes and so on refer to the transportation routes of the trucks. The freight rates also depend upon whether the truck is hauling head haul or backhaul loads. The head haul shipping lane refers to the beginning journey and it is the highest revenue generating trucking lane. Whereas the return journey of the truck referred to as backhaul is the least revenue generating shipping lane. This is because mostly the trucks are returning partially loaded or empty (dead head /empty backhaul). So if you are sending your shipment in the backhaul lane, the freight charges would be less. However, you need to negotiate to reduce the rates further.
Affordable freight rates are the best means to reduce your expenses, which definitely contribute to the success of your business. Therefore, follow the above checklist to get the best trucking quotes.