When ordering cargo transportation, it is very important to choose the right transport. Many customers do not know which type of transport is needed in their case. Also, some cargo types cannot be delivered by sea, while others cannot be transported by train. Therefore, the logistics company managers help make the right decision.
Experts ask the client a series of questions to help them choose. Here are the five questions our managers ask on every first call — answer them and the right mode usually selects itself.
1. When Must It Arrive?
The deadline rules out modes faster than any rate sheet. A fixed date inside 5 days eliminates ocean on most lanes; a flexible three-week window eliminates the need to pay for air. Give the real must-arrive date — not the wish — and padding the schedule by two days often halves the price.
2. What Does It Weigh and Measure?
Weight and dimensions decide the equipment before the mode. Anything over 500 kg or 2 CBM prices better on pallets and containers than as parcels; anything over 20 tons needs flatbeds, permits or a full container. Measure twice — carriers re-weigh, and dimensional surprises are the most common invoice shock.
3. How Fragile, Perishable or Regulated Is It?
Glass, instruments and fine finishes want air-ride suspension and minimal handoffs. Perishables want reefer equipment with temperature logs. And regulated goods — batteries, chemicals, alcohol, food — each close off certain modes unless packaging and paperwork are certified first.
4. Where Exactly Does It Start and End?
Port-to-port rates mean little if the factory sits 400 miles inland. We price door to door, because a cheap ocean leg plus two expensive drayage moves often loses to a direct truck. Rural pickups and downtown docks change the equipment choice too.
5. What Is the Budget Really For?
Sometimes the cheapest freight is the most expensive outcome — a stockout, a stopped line, a missed launch. Tell your manager what a day of delay costs. If that number dwarfs the air premium, the right transport type is the fast one, and we will say so plainly.
Bring these five answers to our quote form and you will get a mode, a transit time and a fixed price — usually within one business day.