Types of Air Freight Options

Types of Air Freight OptionsDue to the inevitable changes occurring aroundthe globe and the need to quickly send and receivevarious items across countries, the airlineindustry has birthed a new way of shipment- airfreight.Air freights are basically cargoes on theshipment which are typified into variouscategories to make shipping more organized andeasier. Some primary basis of categorizing air

freight are:?Type of the item?How large is the item, in terms of the number ofitems in the shipment and size, and,?The number of days or hours it takes one shipmentto arrive on its pointed destination.Shipments, on the other hand, are categorizedinto the following:Household goods include art pieces, furniture andother similar items which are primarilytransported using Household Goods (HHG) carrierssuch as North American Van Lines and Bekins.The \"Express\" category, on the other hand,include personal items and small business goodswhich are often considered as overnight shipment(or express shipment, express letters, andovernight express). Such transports are carriedby shipment companies like FedEx Express, UPS and

DHL.Since most items falling under this category arerelatively small and don't normally weigh heavierthan a couple of pounds, they often come in thecarrier's own packaging.Service levels vary depending on the serviceoffered by the carrier or the personal choice ofthe shipper. These normally travel by air and maybe delivered on the exact day it was sent to thecarrier or may take several days of travel.Packages that are slightly larger and heavierthan express items are considered as parcels.These include boxes of shipments, regardless ofthe content. Carriers like UPS and FedEx Groundprovide the services for this type of cargoes.Parcels cover most of the business-to-consumeritems and services and don't often exceed 100pound-weight category. Since these arerelatively small, they often come on the

shipper's or carrier's own packaging.Types of services on this category also vary.However, a number of ground shipping can travelfor 500 to 700 miles a day in around 3 to four days,depending on the service rendered by the shipperor the service option the customer chose. Suchshipments don't often travel by air, instead theymove through road and rail.Freight shipments cover the largest cargoes inthe industry. It is subdivided into two majorcategories, mainly: LTL of Larger-than-truckloadfreight and TL or truckload freight.Less-than-truckload shipments are also known asmotor freights. These often cover the bulk ofbusiness to business transactions. The range ofservices vary from carrying 100-pound items up tothose not exceeding 15 000 pounds. Since LTLtrailers are just as long as 28 inches, most airfreights of this kind cannot exceed this length.

Unlike with smaller packages, shipments don'toften come in company packaging.Truckload freight covers larger shipments from 15000 pounds to 40 000 pounds with a maximum lengthof 53 inches. This type of air freight differsfrom all other categories since these don'tnormally stop along the travel and are notintermingled with other shipments. Most arefrequently arranged via freight brokers andonline marketplaces.When availing this type of air freight, it is bestthat one understands in full all the terms coveredincluding the claims, pricing and insurance.