Frequently asked questions.

LTL stands for "less-than-truckload." It is for shipments bigger than what a parcel carrier like UPS or FedEx Ground can handle, but smaller than a full truck. There is no real minimum — a 20-pound, 16-foot pole that will not fit in a parcel box counts as LTL because of its size. On the upper end, our system will quote LTL shipments up to 19,999 pounds, but not all carriers will take a shipment that heavy. Most LTL carriers top out around 12,000 pounds. Above that, reach out before assuming a rate is accurate and we will make sure it is quoted with a carrier that can actually handle it.

Truckload freight is when you are buying the whole truck rather than sharing space with other shipments. There is no meaningful minimum weight because you are paying for the truck, not the pounds. The maximum depends on the equipment: a standard dry van typically handles up to about 45,000 pounds, and a flatbed usually maxes around 40,000 to 48,000 pounds depending on the trailer. Because the truck is dedicated, TL is usually faster than LTL — no other stops along the way.

Freight class is a number between 50 and 500 that tells the carrier how difficult your shipment is to move. Lower numbers, meaning dense and sturdy freight, cost less to ship. Higher numbers, meaning light, bulky or fragile freight, cost more. Getting the class wrong is one of the most common reasons a freight invoice comes in higher than the original quote.

An NMFC item number is a code from the National Motor Freight Classification that describes what you are shipping. It is how a carrier and a shipper agree on what the freight actually is, and it drives the class you get billed at. Two pallets that look identical can carry different item numbers, and different classes, depending on what is on them and how they are packed.

Nobody can tell you without knowing what is on the pallet. The right item number depends on the commodity, how it is packaged and sometimes its density — the same product in a crate and shrink-wrapped on a skid can carry different numbers. Tell us what you ship and we will tell you which one applies.

There is no free public lookup. The classification is published by the NMFTA and searching it properly needs a paid subscription, which is why the answer is so hard to find online. Start with a previous bill of lading or your carrier's rating tool, since the item number should be on one of them if you have shipped the commodity before. Bear in mind that Docket 2025-1 took effect in July 2025, so a number that was right before then may not be now. If you are not confident yours is current, send us up to 10 of the ones you ship on and we will check them at no charge.

An accessorial is any extra fee the carrier adds beyond the base line-haul rate — a liftgate at delivery, a residential pickup, an inside delivery, an appointment requirement. Most surprise freight charges are accessorials that were not on the original quote.

A liftgate is the hydraulic platform on the back of a truck that lowers freight to the ground when the delivery location has no dock. If you need one and it was not on your original quote, expect a charge of roughly $75 to $150 per delivery, depending on the carrier.

When a carrier picks up your freight, it eventually crosses a scale at one of their terminals. If the weight does not match what you entered on the bill of lading, they bill you the difference. Reweighs are one of the most common causes of invoice-versus-quote mismatches.

If the carrier decides the freight class on your shipment was wrong, usually because they measured it and found different dimensions, they reclassify it and bill the difference. Like reweighs, reclassifications show up on the invoice after the fact.

A bill of lading is the legal contract between the shipper and the carrier. It lists what is being shipped, where it is going, who is paying, and the terms of the shipment. Every freight shipment needs one, and it travels with the freight.

A 3PL, or third-party logistics provider, is a company that manages freight and logistics on behalf of shippers. Some own trucks and warehouses, which makes them asset-based. Others own no physical assets and instead connect shippers to carriers using technology, negotiated rates and service teams, which makes them non-asset.

The line is fuzzy and many companies do both. A pure broker matches individual shipments to individual carriers, one transaction at a time. A 3PL typically offers a broader relationship — technology, reporting, dispute handling, dedicated support — beyond moving individual shipments. We are a non-asset freight brokerage and a GlobalTranz Authorized Agent, which is what gives us the network and the systems behind that broader relationship.

Managed transportation is when a shipper outsources most or all of their transportation function to a provider — carrier management, freight audit and payment, reporting, analytics, and often a dedicated team. Traditional managed transportation providers usually charge a management fee, a per-invoice audit fee, or a percentage of freight spend for this.

A service where a third party reviews your freight invoices for errors after the carrier bills you, and often pays the carrier on your behalf. Traditional providers find discrepancies after the fact and try to recover the money. It is common at larger companies and it usually comes with a fee.

If freight arrives damaged, short or lost, notify your carrier or your 3PL as fast as you can — the same day if possible. Speed matters because carriers have short windows for putting a shipment on notice, and delays weaken your claim. You will need proof of the loss: photos, the delivery receipt with the damage noted, and documentation of the shipment's value.

A concealed damage claim is when you find damage after the driver has already left, usually when you open the packaging. These are harder to file because the carrier will argue the damage could have happened after delivery. The rule that protects you: tell your carrier or 3PL as soon as you find it, the same day if possible, and photograph everything before you move or unpack anything further.

Usually a reweigh, a reclassification, or accessorials added after the shipment moved. Preventing it comes down to getting the shipment details right up front, which is one of the things we specialize in.

Most brokers focus on getting you a rate on individual shipments. We do that, and we add accuracy up front by catching accessorials before your shipment moves, real-time dispute handling when carriers report mismatches, live reporting on your freight spend, and a small team who handles everything else that comes up. It is managed transportation-level service without the management fee.

Traditional managed transportation providers charge a management fee, a per-invoice audit fee, or a percentage of your freight spend on top of the freight itself. We do not. You get the same visibility, dispute handling and analytics, and our margin is built into the freight rate you would be paying anyway.

There is no management fee, no per-invoice audit fee, no revenue share, no rebate program and no separate reporting license. The rate you are quoted is the rate you are billed. The only time it changes is if the carrier finds a genuine difference — and when that happens, you hear about it directly from us.

No. You can move a single shipment or thousands. There is no minimum volume commitment and no long-term contract.

Most customers are quoting their first shipment the same day they decide to work with us. There is no drawn-out onboarding project, no IT integration required and no training program to sit through.

The platform is self-serve for anyone comfortable entering shipment details online — origin, destination, class, weight, handling unit, commodity. If you would rather not use it, email our team the details and we will handle the booking. Most customers use both.

Primarily LTL and truckload freight across the United States. We also handle expedited, hot shot, drayage, some parcel and some international freight when a customer needs it. LTL and truckload are the core of what we do.

Yes. Enter the shipment as hazmat and our system quotes only the carriers that accept that hazard class, so every rate you are shown is one that can actually move the freight. That is exactly why it has to go in as hazmat from the start — a shipment booked as general freight and then declared at the dock is usually refused, and you lose the day.

The UN or NA number, the proper shipping name, the hazard class or division, the packing group, and a 24-hour emergency response phone number. Those belong on the bill of lading and we cannot dispatch without them. One thing worth double-checking is that the emergency number reaches a person at any hour, since that is what it is there for. Classifying, packaging, marking and labeling the shipment stay with you as the shipper, because the regulations put those in your hands. The transportation side is ours: once the hazmat details are entered, carriers that cannot take that hazard class are filtered out before you ever see a rate. If you are working out what applies to what you ship, ask us and we will talk it through.

Yes, on request. It is not our primary focus, but we can handle it when a customer needs it. Reach out and we will talk through the specifics.

Many of our customers came to us with a provider they were mostly happy with. The most common reason they switched was invoices that never matched the original quote. We are happy to look at your current setup and tell you honestly whether we can help — and if we cannot, we will say so.

That is fine. There is no minimum volume. Whether you ship once a month or a hundred times a week, the platform and the team work the same way.

A live dashboard tracking cost per pound, cost per mile, top carrier, audit exception rate, accessorial exceptions, claims and 30-day trailing spend. You can drill into any of it and export it. There is also a carrier scorecard comparing up to 16 carriers on 13 metrics, plus freight spend summaries, shipment manifests and full monthly analysis reports on any date range you choose.

Yes. On request our team can pull a strategic quarterly business review covering freight direction, mode splits, equipment type breakdowns, length-of-haul analysis, top lanes and multi-year trending. Available quarterly, annually or as a one-off, whatever suits you.

When a carrier reports a mismatch against what was entered — a reweigh, a reclassification, an accessorial they say was needed — our system flags it automatically. Our team comes to you directly to walk through the change. If we can dispute it with the carrier without needing anything from you, we do. If we need documentation, we ask. Either way we work to resolve it before you see an updated invoice.

There is a button on the shipment record in the platform that opens a claims portal. The most important thing you can do is tell our team as soon as you know there is a problem, the same day if possible, so we can put the carrier on notice immediately. That matters most for concealed damage, where carriers push back hard if it was not reported quickly. Once filed, our claims team handles it — filing with the carrier or the insurer, following up every two weeks if there is no response, and managing it through to resolution.

Yes. There is an open API for customers who want to connect their ERP, WMS or e-commerce cart directly to the platform. Reach out and we will walk through what that looks like for your system.

A small, dedicated customer service and operations team. Not a call center and not a rotating queue. One email handles rate quotes, tracking, claims, invoice questions, statements, corrections and website help, and everyone on the team knows your account.

Use the Get a rate button in the navigation, or contact our team directly. We will walk through your shipment details and get you a quote.