There are two main types of companies who can provide air freight services, integrators and freight forwarders. The freight forwarder is a third party provider, often without assets such as planes, who arrange the transportation of your goods from pick up through to delivery. The integrator also arranges the delivery of your goods but also owns the assets. Integrators are companies such as UPS or FedEX while the freight forwarder are companies like the ones ExpeditedFreightQuote.Com uses to arrange transportation. There are pros and cons to using each. This post aims at providing the differences so you can determine what is best for you and your freight.

If you are using a company such as FedEX or UPS it is best to arrange small parcel items. These might be products such as small e-commerce items or personal packages. Companies such as these are kings at moving large volumes of small parcel often at a  price that is based on a per piece model. The downside to these companies is they can start to get very expensive when your freights dimensions become larger or your freight becomes heavier than 100lbs. The reason air freight pricing starts going up so quickly with larger freight is because you are taking up large amounts of space on their asset that could be used for more profitable, smaller items. You are also limited to the assets (planes) schedule. Often times these companies will have an air freight cut-off sometime between 5PM-7PM. If you have a shipment that needs to move out earlier in the day or after these cutoff times you will be severely limited and can often miss your deadline.

On the other hand, if you use a company such as ExpeditedFreightQuote.Com there is access to many more flights. This is because we are not limited to assets and can place your cargo on one of thousands of either commercial or cargo aircraft. (Think Delta, United, Southwest, etc…) This is how we are able to offer services such as Next Flight Out that could deliver same day. We are only limited by that days flight schedule. If a flight is missed due to unforeseen circumstances, there are often a wide arrange of back up options available. ExpeditedFreightQuote.Com’s pricing is often times FAR more competitive than integrators when larger in dimension or heavier than 100 lbs. The reason for this is because we base our pricing on a per lb model versus per piece. It is not uncommon for me to save thousands or even tens of thousands of dollars on a single shipment when compared with an integrators rate. Often times shippers grossly overpay because they don’t know there are other air freight providers available to them.

In addition to more flight options and flexibility and more competitive pricing on larger and heavier cargo, freight forwarders can provide far superior customer service. When using an integrator most shippers are a small fish in a huge ocean of volume moving through their system. These companies have little incentive to provide personal service. With a freight forwarder such as ExpeditedFreightQuote.Com you will have 24 hours a day, personalized customer service. Always with the same person.

In conclusion, Integrators are the King of small parcel. Small packages and post should always be sent using the UPS’s, FedEx’s, or USPS’s of the world. However, when your freight is over 100 lbs or your dimensions are larger than small packages, request a free online quote at www.expeditedfreightquote.com Your rate will be lower, your service will be better, and your freight will deliver on time, every time.

By: Erik Bendiksen-Senior Account Executive-ExpeditedFreightQuote.Com