Looking to book reefer freight? Get a quote at our Refrigerated Freight Brokerage page → Reefer Trucking: The Complete Guide to Temperature-Controlled Shipping If your product can spoil, melt, freeze, or degrade at the wrong temperature, you need a reefer trailer. Reefer trucking (short for refrigerated trucking) keeps your cargo at a precise temperature from […]
Understanding Freight Surcharges in 2026 If you’ve shipped freight this year, you’ve noticed something painful on your invoices: surcharges are higher than ever. In 2026, fuel surcharges alone have jumped from roughly 33% to over 52% of the base line haul rate for many carriers. And fuel is just one piece of the puzzle. This […]
Container Shipping vs Drayage: What’s the Difference? If you’re importing goods for the first time, you’ll run into two terms that sound like they should mean the same thing but don’t: container shipping and drayage. Understanding the difference — and where one ends and the other begins — is critical to getting your freight from […]
How do you choose a freight broker? Choose a freight broker by verifying three things first: their FMCSA license (MC number), their bond (BMC-84 broker surety bond, required of all licensed brokers), and their insurance proof. Then evaluate response time on quotes, transparency of accessorial pricing, breadth of carrier network, equipment coverage, and references from […]
Port to Warehouse: How Import Container Delivery Works Your container just arrived at a U.S. port. Now what? For first-time importers, the gap between “vessel arrived” and “freight in my warehouse” is full of unfamiliar steps, unexpected fees, and tight deadlines. Miss one, and you’re paying hundreds of dollars per day in penalties. This guide […]
LTL vs FTL Shipping: Which Is Right for Your Freight? Every shipper faces this question at some point: should you book a full truck or share space with other shippers? The answer depends on how much freight you’re moving, how fast it needs to get there, and what you’re willing to pay. Get it wrong, […]
How much does port drayage cost per container? Port drayage typically costs $395-$1,295 per container in 2026, depending on port and inland distance. Local drayage at smaller ports like Charleston and Savannah runs $395-$595. Major gateways including Port Newark, Houston, and Long Beach run $495-$795 for local moves. Regional drayage to inland markets 100-300 miles […]
Importing Your First Container: A Step-by-Step Guide Importing your first ocean container is one of those things that sounds straightforward until you’re actually doing it. There are customs filings with hard deadlines, free days that start ticking before you know it, and half a dozen parties involved — each with their own terminology and timelines. […]
Hot Shot Trucking: Fast Freight When Time Is Everything A machine breaks down on a production line. A construction project is waiting on a critical part. A trade show shipment missed its scheduled truck. When time-sensitive freight can’t wait for standard shipping, hot shot trucking fills the gap. Hot shot is one of the most […]
Supply chain disruption used to be a once-a-decade conversation. Over the last six years, it’s become an annual one. Port strikes, weather events, tariff policy changes, carrier capacity contractions, and equipment shortages have each, at various points, gated imports in ways that most contingency plans didn’t anticipate. For supply chain leaders, procurement managers, and CFOs, […]
Inland port drayage is one of the least-understood parts of the US container network, but for Southeastern and Carolinas manufacturers it often drives the difference between a cost-effective supply chain and one bleeding money on long-haul trucking. An inland port isn’t a port in the literal sense — it’s a rail-served container facility hundreds of […]
Cross-border Mexico drayage sits at the center of North American manufacturing. With nearshoring accelerating and Mexico now the top US trading partner by volume, importers and exporters moving freight between US ports and Mexican plants face a logistics environment that rewards operators who understand both sides of the border. A missed customs step or the […]
Hazmat freight shipping covers any material the US Department of Transportation classifies as hazardous — flammable liquids, corrosives, oxidizers, explosives, compressed gases, toxics, radioactives, and more. Moving hazmat isn’t a rate question; it’s a compliance question first and a capacity question second. Miss a placard, skip an endorsement, or load incompatible classes together and you’re […]
Heavy haul is flatbed freight that exceeds standard legal limits on weight, width, height, or length. Once a load crosses any of those thresholds, it stops being routine trucking and becomes a permitted, routed, sometimes escorted move that can take days or weeks to set up. Construction equipment, power transformers, wind components, industrial presses, and […]
Reefer drayage is the short-haul movement of refrigerated ocean containers between port or rail terminals and cold storage, processors, or distribution centers. Unlike dry drayage, a reefer move is a live cold chain — the container is plugged into shore power at the terminal, has to stay powered during the move, and gets plugged in […]
