To manage your dry van transportation budget effectively, you must first understand how delivery rates are calculated. However, such a task is difficult for many shippers as the final cost of transportation depends on many factors. And some are truly difficult to monitor or predict.
Let’s break them down so you can see where your shipping dollars go and how you might reduce costs.
1. The Urgency of Your Shipment
Time and money are the most valuable resources when it comes to the trucking business today. Urgent deliveries and expedited services cost significantly more. By contrast, booking loads in advance gives your provider more planning options, often resulting in lower rates. With little warning, carriers have less flexibility and often charge higher rates to cover urgent capacity. In the freight world, this is called ‘lead time’.
- 48–72 hours of lead time is usually the best variant for cost savings.
- Less than 48 hours often means rising rates.
- Same-day shipments are the most expensive.
Carriers can plan their runs way better when they have time for that. Such efficiency leads to lower prices.
2. Time Commitment for Your Load
The time your freight requires also influences the price. In the U.S., where the current demand for trucks exceeds supply, the shipping prices are especially sensitive to the delivery time and seasonal freight shifts. In other words, the longer a shipment ties up equipment, the more it costs.
Factors that extend time:
- Strict pick-up and delivery windows
Legal restrictions allow only 11 hours of driving per day. Sometimes, carriers need to hire two drivers for a faster delivery. Such a move makes rates rise. - Multiple stops
Every stop can be linked to unloading, idling, paperwork, etc. All these, including extra time, are priced in. - Length of haul
Distance matters. Short hauls usually carry minimum daily charges. However, extended long hauls tie up equipment for days. So, they are higher priced.
3. Your Freight’s Specific Needs
Not all shipments are the same. Sometimes the transported goods need special handling or additional services. In such cases, costs rise.
- Drop trailers are brought to your facility for later loading/unloading.
- Protective packaging, such as pads or blankets, can be necessary for fragile items.
- White-glove delivery means that drivers help unload goods at the destination.
These services are often needed for better convenience and protection of your cargo. Yet they also increase rates, as such handling reduces fleet availability.
4. How Well Your Freight Fits a Carrier’s Network
Network alignment is a less obvious, however still important factor for dry van shipping operations. Sometimes, carriers may need to drive empty miles to pick up your load.
Those deadhead miles also raise costs. To avoid this, it’s smart to ask carriers about the location of their fleet and core lanes. Local companies or networks can usually offer better pricing and more reliable service.
5. The Flexibility You Allow
Finally, flexibility is a shipper’s secret weapon. The more options you give to your carriers, the easier it is for them to plan efficiently. That efficiency almost always results in better pricing.
Your flexibility ensures carriers can involve more delivery options and solutions. Such a situation creates more opportunities for both cost savings and stronger service reliability.
Summary
At the end of the day, dry van pricing is shaped by many factors, like urgency, time, special requirements, network fit, and flexibility.
When you understand the true meaning of these factors and are ready to co-work with your provider to manage them, you both can opt for smarter shipping decisions. With the right planning and a bit of flexibility, your freight can move reliably, without spending too much.