What mode of transportation is best for cargo and freight?

The logistics industry has grown so much over the past few years that it is almost hard to keep track of the metrics. This is ever so good for you, the customer. Why this is good? Your options have skyrocketed, and now if you have cargo or freight to transport, you will have more than a few options to choose from. The options are as far as the quality of service goes, the time needed as well as the price. But, the question remains, what mode of transportation is best for cargo and freight?

There is no straight forward answer to this question. Each of these has their upsides and downsides. So if you want an answer to what mode of transportation is best for cargo and freight, the answer is somewhat straight forward – all of them. Each of them brings something good to the table, but at the end of it all – it depends on your needs really. Are you in a hurry or do you have quite a tight budget? Are you looking for a mix of both? Answering these questions will give you the answer to the above question. What might help is hiring a good shipping company that will present you the options. So, let’s analyze some common modes of transportation, and stick to what their benefits are. Maybe you’ll be able to find yourself in one of these.

What mode of transportation is best for cargo and freight – criteria

As mentioned earlier, if we are going to analyze the modes of cargo and freight transport you can choose we need to establish the criteria the choices are based on. This is why we can basically ask three fundamental questions:

• Are you in a hurry?
• Is your budget tight?
• Are you looking for the highest possible quality?

This will all dictate the answer to what mode of transportation is best for cargo and freight. Now, if any of these questions describe you and your current shipping needs, you have found yourself the appropriate mode for you. Again, your circumstances and conditions might change over time. This means that what currently fits your needs might not fit them later on when you need these services again. This is why it is valuable for you to know what each transportation mode brings, for current reference as well as the future one.

We will cover the three most optimal cargo and freight transportation modes:

• Ocean
• Road
• Air

These three all have their positive and negative aspects and may fit some of your needs as you go. Find the one that’s best for you now, as well as the one that will be the best potential one in the future. Carefully analyze all of them and see their strengths and flaws. Maybe you’ll end up choosing one that you were sure you wouldn’t use. Keep an open mind.

Ocean

When it comes to ocean cargo, we can almost freely state that it has the most advantages of them all. But, this could be me a tad biased based on one very important fact about oceanic transport – it is the greenest way to do it. The pollution of air, land, and sea is on its absolute lowest with ocean transportation, and I am a very big fan of green. A slight digression, but the planet has suffered enough. There is no need for additional ways to hurt it. This is why I will always be the ambassador of oceanic transportation.

But, is this the only advantage? No, by far no. There are several advantages that, rightfully so, make sea freight the most sought after type of transport. If you were to ask a wide range of people – what mode of transportation is best for cargo and freight, they would most certainly answer oceanic.

The two largest advantages:

• You can transport huge amounts of cargo
• It is quite cheap

The reason behind a low price is the fact that this is a very linear type of transport. It goes from point A to point B without any scenic re-reroutes and similar pitstops. It just goes. And with it – it can bring the largest amount of goodies. It can carry twice as much as any other type of transport. So, without further analysis, this one is cheap, can transport a lot of items and is environment-friendly. Downside? Well, it can take a while. However, it’s a small price to pay.

Road

The second runner up to the question of what mode of transportation is best for cargo and freight is definitely the road transportation or land freight. Not as widely spread as the oceanic one, still it takes a very large percentile in cargo transportation. Nowadays, if you get on the highway and go for at least 20 minutes, in any direction and in any country, you are bound to see at least a couple of trucks. This is how big the transportation and logistics business became.

The road, again, has some upsides and downsides when compared to the others. The biggest advantages come from the neverending choice of a truck company that can deliver things on short notice. It is relatively fast and frequent. And it gives that personalized ‘door to door’ delivery that no other type of transport offers. On the downside, the limitation of the weight of the cargo is unbreachable.

Air

Last but not least, the fastest and the most expensive way of delivering goods – air freight. It pollutes the most, it costs the most, but instead of waiting for more than 10 days, you can end up waiting a day. There is not much more to talk about when it comes to it. The customs are ruthless and the prices are steep, but you can’t get anything done faster than this.

We hope to have helped with your choices.

Best of luck!