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Helpful Articles - Freight

Created by the International Chamber of Commerce, Incoterms are a series of three-letter designations that define responsibilities between buyers and sellers around the sale of goods, specifically related to transportation costs and liability. If you’re looking for more information on Incoterms, check out our other articles on this topic: The Complete Guide to All 11 of the 2010 Incoterms Rules Incoterms 2020 Rules: Everything You Need to Know Protect Your Bottom Line by Understanding These 5 Common Incoterms Incoterms® offer buyers and sellers of goods a quick and easy way to communicate who will be responsible for what transportation costs. By understanding your Incoterms, you'll be able to negotiate...

The pandemic—and its effects on global supply chains—held insights for manufacturers, suppliers, and retailers alike. Some questioned the validity of the popular just-in-time model for supply chain management. Others are seeking ways to make their supply chains more resilient, so they're able to flex in response to future global incidents.   Diversification can be a key strategy for reducing the effect of disruptions on your supply chain. Simply put, supply chain diversification is the real-world application of the old adage, "Don't put all your eggs in one basket." It asks supply chain managers to reduce their reliance on single sources for components, supplies, and/or finished goods. That way, if one source...

Summary: Understanding the freight class of your shipment will help you get an accurate quote and avoid reclassing charges. The NMFC made some key changes on July 19, 2025 that all shippers need to be aware of. Key Takeaways in This Article: What Are Freight Classes? Why Are Freight Classes Important? How Do Freight Classes Work? How Do You Determine Freight Class? What Are the Most Common Freight Classes? What’s an NMFC Code? Can You Calculate Freight Class on Your Own?   What Are Freight Classes? Its freight class can tell you a lot about a commodity. Most importantly, an item’s freight class speaks to...

Last Updated: August 25, 2025 When you’re new to the world of shipping, the terminology can feel overwhelming. One set of terms that causes considerable confusion are Incoterms®. The Incoterms rules, created by the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), define the responsibilities of buyers and sellers around the delivery of goods. The ICC updates this set of rules every ten years, with the most recent update—the aptly named Incoterms 2020 rules—released in 2020. How Incoterms Impact Buyers’ and Sellers’ Bottom Lines The Incoterms rules form a crucial part of any agreement between buyers and sellers by dictating who will pay for loading and unloading costs,...

Last updated: 5/15/2024 When it comes down to it, freight is all about numbers. What are the dimensions of your shipment? What’s the volume? The weight? How do I calculate cubic feet? How much will fuel cost? How can I determine my shipment’s freight class? Will my pallets fit in a 40-foot container? Find the answers to these questions and you’ll know how to estimate your freight costs—and optimize your budgets. We worked with our pricing team to put together some quick explanations of the most common freight math you’ll need. We'll Show You How To:Your Content Goes Here Calculate the volume of your shipment...

In 2020, the size of the ocean freight market was estimated at 64 million TEUs.i It's hard to imagine the sheer magnitude of that volume of freight. However, consider the fact that AT&T Stadium, home of the Dallas Cowboys, has an interior volume of about 76,740 standard TEUs.ii  To understand 64 million TEUs, imagine filling 834 professional football stadiums.  In other words, the global ocean freight market is massive! In this article, we'll talk about the biggest players in the market so you can get a sense of who's operating in this field.   Since we have a particular interest (and expertise) in Pacific lanes, we'll start by discussing the...