Freight Brokers VS Freight Carriers

Individuals and companies tasked with sending LTL or Truckload shipments are often faced with the decision of choosing to ship through a freight broker or a freight carrier. Many ask themselves, "Why would I use a freight broker over a freight carrier?". Well, unless you are a large business making many large shipments, it normally does not pay to deal with a freight carrier directly. The more business you give a freight carrier, the more discounts they will normally give you. Most companies out there, or even individuals, do not ship with the size or scope required to receive these discounts.

This is where the freight broker comes in. The freight broker is able to negotiate large discounts with the freight carriers because of the large volume of customers and available shipments the broker has. This equates to BIG SAVINGS for the clients of the freight broker. The broker also deals with a large pool of carriers in order to provide their clients with a large range of coverage, services, and options. These options also include the choice of using the cheapest carrier in the broker's pool of carriers. These small to medium-sized businesses can now achieve economies of scale that would otherwise be impossible on their own without adding new fixed costs.

Besides lowering your overall shipping costs, using a broker is like adding a shipping expert to your team. Your broker will assist you in making the right decisions for each individual shipment. They will lay out the appropriate services and options to get the job done right and on time. They also take care of all the other tasks, such as, creating the BOL (Bill of Lading) and dispatching the shipment. Freight brokers are here to make your life easier and allow you more time to take care of the parts of your business that you do best!

If you feel like you need to see it to believe it, then I challenge you to get a quote for your next shipment from your regular freight carrier and compare it to a discount freight quote from Shipping & Freight, Inc. Odds are that we will not only be able to use the same carrier, but also at a much lower rate! Oh, and make sure to tell your friends!