subject: What Are The Freight Classes? [print this page] The term "freight class" is one that is used frequently in the shipping industry, and is probably something that you've seen at one point in time on an invoice from a courier company. This is something that every Milwaukee delivery company is going to use to help them come up with the amount that they are going to bill you for shipping with their company.
Understanding exactly what you are paying for is useful for a number of reasons. Some think it is only so that you can be sure that you're not being ripped off. If you're shipping with a company that you know and trust though, this becomes less of a factor. Instead, it is important to understand what you're paying for as it gives you more tools to help you predict and understand future shipping costs. Cost projection is always an important part of any ongoing business planning.
The freight class is determined primarily by plugging the dimensions and the weight of your shipment into the freight class formula. This essentially tells the courier company how large a percentage of the total carrying capacity of a vehicle your shipment is going to require. This is important because unless you request it, you are going to be shipping along with many other shippers. This number helps the courier company know how much to charge you based on the entire cost of the truck.
The freight class is adjusted based on things other than sheer size however. These are usually any special requirements or unusual conditions that may surround your shipment. For example, if your shipment was especially delicate, it might need to always be on top of the rest of the cargo, something that is going to take special time and handling, and therefore rightly cost you more to ship.
Oversized and overweight shipments are also subject to higher freight class adjustments. This is usually because it requires the use of both extra equipment and extra people in order to load these types of shipments. Oversized cargo will require a special trailer such as a flatdeck, and overweight equipment might need ramps, a liftgate, or a crane to load properly.
The freight class is then used with the distance that you are shipping to arrive at your final price. This will then be adjusted based on any speed options that you have requested. Finally, fees, surcharges, and taxes will be added on to get the final cost.
