What Are Terminals And Who Uses Them?

Terminals are a blanket term that is used to pretty much refer to any number of different

types of locations or facilities that are used within the shipping industry. Almost all courier services use terminals, but so do all the other kinds of companies that operate within transportation. Shipping lines, rail lines, trucking companies, and couriers all make use of terminals and, at many times, share them. A terminal, in the simplest terms, is a facility where goods are redistributed from one shipping vehicle to another.

Terminals are used most frequently when companies are shipping on what is called an LTL basis or a similar shipping model in another transportation sector. LTL shipping stands for less than truck load, which means that any given client of the courier company is only using a portion of the truck which is transporting their goods, and sharing it with many other clients. What typically happens in this type of scenario, is that a truck will take all those goods partway along a route, and then at a terminal, they will send each of the separate client's shipments on smaller trucks, or in new LTL configurations, towards their destinations, in each case trying to create the most efficient way to move lots of goods together in a single vehicle, reducing overall costs.

Terminals are an integral part of the shipping industry. In the past, before the advent of GPS tracking on packages, almost all shipping companies and even postal services would most frequently update customers who were doing shipping status inquiries by referencing the last terminal that their vehicle logged the shipment at. Even know, at each terminal, all the cargo will be logged to make sure that there is documentation which shows that the cargo has reached that leg of its journey successfully.

If you're shipping with a trucking company that doesn't have GPS tracking in place, it can be useful to ask before you ship your goods as to what terminals your goods will be passing through on the way to their destination. That way, you will be able to more accurately track your shipment and understand based on your status updates which points the shipment has already moved through, and which are yet to come. Sometimes it can also be useful to explore options of being able to pick up or drop off orders directly from shipping terminals, although not all courier companies allow this option.

by: Paul McDuffy

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