How to Prepare a Profitable Quote for Freight Shipment

A freight quote serves as proof of the carrier’s commitment to do what it promises. A freight quote will provide you with a total shipping estimate based on the information you provide, including weight, dimensions, type of product being imported, and other factors. If the information provided is correct, the final price may reflect the original freight quote from the carrier or distributor.

If the information provided is incorrect, the final price may be higher than the original offer due to re-weighing charges or other additional costs. The shipment quote helps in breaking down individual legs of shipment and surcharges that are added for the services given.

The following article may serve as a cheat sheet for new businesses who are just getting into shipping freight.

What do you need to prepare a freight quote

• Know the Cargo Destination

By entering your destination address where the cargo is being shipped will provide the information about the distance your shipment will travel. This can have a significant impact on cost estimates. A longer distance does not necessarily mean a higher price and delivery time. 

Trade routes are established domestic and international transportation routes that enable the rapid and efficient movement of goods. If your destination allows the use of these delivery lanes, the cost and travel time can be significantly reduced. You may notice this when you receive a quote for shipping to multiple destinations, and are known as commercial routes.

• Know your Cargo

Are you selling electronics, Furniture, eatables or any other commodities ? It is important to state what needs to be shipped so that the carrier knows the freight class code. Freight Class is a standardized classification system for the transportation of goods, and your shipment is assigned a National Motor Freight Classification (NMFC) class code.

The NMFC class code is an important factor in determining the cost of freight transportation. The object’s density and susceptibility to damage determine its class code. Items that require special handling must be handled more carefully in the shipping process and are assigned a different class code than, for example, zippered shipments. You can calculate an accurate shipping estimate by specifying what you want to ship.

• Know the Cargo Weight 

If you are shipping boxed items, please weigh and add them separately. If you are shipping multiple items of the same type, you can measure one and then multiply by the total number of items. A simple postal scale can be used for this. If these items are shipped on a pallet of freight containers, please add the weight of these items to the total weight. A typical pallet weighs about 18 kg. Pallets or shipping crates can be individually weighed and added to the total.

For multi-part shipments, add all the weights together to get the final weight value. This is the number you enter on the quote request form.  

• Know your Cargo Dimensions

If the dimensions of the shipment are known, the carrier can determine if it is an LTL or FTL shipment.

1.  Full TruckLoad (FTL): With large cargo that fills an entire trailer, the shipper pays to use the entire truck. FTL Freight Shipping is the action of moving cargo from one shipper to one destination. If you’re looking for a commodity-only truck, the FLT is the perfect choice.
2. Less TruckLoad (LTL): In LTL separate shipments combine from multiple companies to fill truck loads. The shipper is billed for the space the cargo occupies on the truck. LTL is ideal for shipments that are too large to ship in a parcel, but do not fill an entire truck. 

To determine the dimensions, we need to measure the length, width and height of the entire shipment. If shipping in a sealed container, please measure the dimensions of the container.  

• Know Local Taxes 

  Local taxes are taxes imposed by states, counties, or local governments to fund public services, from education to garbage collection to maintaining sewers. Local taxes come in many forms, from property taxes and payroll taxes to consumption taxes and royalties. They can vary greatly from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. The Shippers as well as the carriers should be well aware about the local taxes which are the additional charges levied upon the services of a vehicle carrying cargo in another state or territory. 

The next step is to re-check the address and other billing details. This is followed by comparing quote prices to the market prices being given, as it affects the business and competition among fellow trucking businesses.

It’s crucial to maintain a database of all the quotes you publish in order to generate good quotes in the future.

Discrepancies in freight quotes are propagated at the carrier booking, manifest, and billing stages, and at the LSP (logistics service providers- outsourcing of logistics operations to a third party.) and customer costing and billing stages. Failure to review and confirm freight quotes during the quote stage prior to booking confirmation may result in additional costs for the customer, carrier, or LSP during the delivery stage etc, which may incur freight storage and other costs that may ultimately lead to loss for all parties involved.