When your freight is tendered into the care of your driver, the carrier does all that it can to ensure that it arrives to its destination on time, on target, and intact. To succeed, there are steps that both the carrier and the shipper can take to ensure that your freight moves without unnecessary delay or damage, including: the proper completion of the bill of lading, addressing and handling labels, as well as proper packaging.
To help visualize the rigors of freight in transit, we equipped a trailer with a camera to see what happens when freight isn't properly packaged and stacked. Check it out!
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Inertia And Movement During Transit
The rigors of transportation begin the moment a truck takes off into traffic. The inertia will push freight to the rear of the trailer. Averitt’s platform associates will attempt to stack right, block in, and secure freight with strapping or bracing.
How the freight is packaged by the shipper and carrier will be influential to if any damage occurs. Packaging is essential to protect shipments as they move within the trailer.
Averitt uses cardboard as required under stacked pallets, pails and drums. It helps to absorb the vibration and cushion any bounce to protect the floor-loaded freight from moving around. Extra cardboard can also be an easy way for the shipper to beef up their packaging with very little additional cost.
Downward Compression Rate In Transit
The force of the repetitive vertical impacts occurring to shipments that are transported around the corner or hours away to the next point could result in poorly built crates falling apart, plastic wrap loosening from the shipment, or the perception of damage from dented exterior cardboard containers.
Vibrating or bouncing top-loaded freight creates increased compression g-force on floor-loaded freight as it moves. To help protect bottom-loaded freight, Averitt utilizes metal pallet decks that can withstand the rigors of transportation. Additionally, we fill spaces with upright pallets to prevent freight from sliding into each other as the truck takes off and comes to a stop.
Working Together To Protect Your Freight From Damages During Transit
The National Motor Freight Classification (NMFC) is the freight classification publication provided by the National Motor Freight Transportation Association (NMFTA), which not only identifies what classification will apply for pricing and cargo claim liability, but also outlines minimum packaging requirements by commodity. It further outlines what is necessary to protect the different sizes, shapes and weights of freight that travel together in the same trailer while experiencing the normal rigors of less-than-truckload transportation.
At Averitt, we go by the recommendations of the NMFC in order to protect the various types of freight that our shippers move with us. We do everything in our power to make sure your shipment reaches its destination on time, on target, and intact.
There are, however, a few steps you can take to help us protect your freight even before it enters our care. From proper crating to using the right labels, our free freight protection guide outlines all the ways you can give your shipment a quality start from the very beginning.
