Road Transportation Companies

One of the main features of transportation by road freight companies is the ability to deliver goods of any type:

• General cargo. Large batches of unitized goods for various purposes.
• Liquid cargo. Transported in tankers, including water, vegetable oil, petroleum products, and chemicals.
• Bulk cargo. Grains, sand, gravel, soil, clay, crushed stone, and other bulk materials are transported by road.
• Oversized cargo. Freight companies deliver metal structures, lumber, machinery, and other items exceeding standard size or weight limits.
• Perishable goods. Road transport companies handle food products, biological materials, vaccines, and other items requiring specific temperature control and fast delivery.
• Hazardous materials. Carriers with the necessary permits transport explosives, flammable liquids, and other substances that pose a potential environmental threat.
• Live cargo. This category includes livestock, poultry, fish, crabs, and animals for zoos.
• High-value cargo. This group includes precious metals and stones, furs, banknotes, and other goods with declared value during transportation.

A transportation company equipped with modern technology can deliver a wide range of items and structures based on their weight and dimensions, including:

• Bulky cargo — with width, height, and length exceeding 250 cm, 400 cm, and 20 meters, respectively.
• Oversized cargo — with dimensions larger than those allowed by road traffic regulations.
• Project cargo — items prohibited from being transported on public roads due to their technical specifications.

Transportation companies for road freight offer services in two modes:

• FTL (Full Truck Load). This involves the complete loading of a vehicle with goods from a single shipper. It is suitable for delivering large shipments.
• LTL (Less Than Truck Load). This involves partial loading of the vehicle. Under this scheme, consolidated shipments from multiple shippers are delivered, making it ideal for transporting smaller batches of goods.

Each mode has its own advantages.

Advantages of FTL:

• High delivery speed. The vehicle does not wait for goods from other suppliers and travels to the consignee via the shortest route.
• Reliability. The cargo is transported in a single vehicle without reloading, minimizing the risk of loss or damage.
• Route flexibility. The shipper can choose the most convenient route (transit) for their cargo without needing to accommodate the requirements of other clients.
• Vehicle selection. Allows the client to reduce transportation costs by using a vehicle with optimal load capacity.
• Minimal documentation. This simplifies and speeds up the border crossing process.

Unitized cargo transported under the FTL scheme is referred to as "general cargo." This term does not apply to bulk or liquid cargo, as they occupy the entire cargo space by definition.

Advantages of LTL:

• Lower cost. There’s no need to pay for the entire truck if only part of it is used.
• Fast dispatch of goods. There’s no need to accumulate enough goods to fill at least 2/3 of the truck, which would otherwise make the shipment economically viable.
• Space optimization. Combining several small shipments into one larger shipment promotes efficient use of each unit of transport.
• Fuel savings. A company can send orders of any size to the customer quickly. Consolidating shipments from multiple senders in one truck reduces the number of vehicles on the road, lowering overall fuel consumption.
• Reduced environmental impact. This advantage follows from the previous point, as fewer emissions are released into the atmosphere.

General (FTL) road freight services are beneficial to order when the company:

• works with large quantities of goods;
• wants to deliver products quickly but at a lower cost than air transport;
• ships hazardous materials, etc.

Freight transportation companies use vehicles with different types of bodies, which are divided into the following groups:

• Open-bodied — flatbed, dump truck, platform, lowboy.
• Covered — tarp-covered, all-metal, including thermally insulated (isothermal) refrigerated trucks.
• Containerized — open and closed containers, container carriers, tank containers.
• Tankers — fuel tanker, bitumen tanker, gas tanker, vehicles for transporting products from chemical and food industries.
• Specialized — livestock carrier, timber carrier, car transporter, cement carrier, grain carrier.

By load capacity, vehicles are classified into the following types:

• Van. Transports goods weighing up to 3 tons.
• Truck. A vehicle with a load capacity of 3–12 tons.
• Semi-trailer truck (trailer). Consists of a tractor and semi-trailer, capable of transporting 20–25 tons of cargo.
• Articulated truck. A tractor with a trailer or semi-trailer, with a load capacity of 20–40 tons.

When carrying out road transportation, logistics companies take into account the specific conditions of our country. One of the key factors is the vast length of routes, which requires careful planning and addressing safety-related issues. In many regions of the world roads are far from ideal, demanding extra attention—especially when transporting oversized, heavy, or hazardous cargo. If road repairs are underway on the shortest route between the origin and destination, it becomes necessary to find a detour, which may increase both the time and cost of the shipment.

It is also important to consider mandatory administrative procedures, such as obtaining permits for transporting oversized cargo.

The nuances and drawbacks of road transportation, which are well-known to employees of freight companies, are mitigated by the flexibility of this mode of delivery. In most cases, it is possible to quickly adjust the route in case of force majeure circumstances and ultimately achieve the final goal—delivering the cargo to its destination.

This mode of transportation has the following advantages:

• Economical. For small-scale freight volumes, delivering goods by road is cheaper than by train, plane, or ship.
• Door-to-door delivery capability. Road networks connect all populated areas, industrial facilities, and warehouses.
• Route flexibility. The dense network of roads allows for rerouting around problematic sections, minimizing delays during transit.
• Minimal loading and unloading operations. Road freight companies in some countries carry out deliveries without transshipment, reducing the risk of cargo damage.

Road transportation also offers other benefits:

• Promptness. Delivery can begin on the same day the order is received—something not possible with rail or sea transport due to their rigid departure schedules.
• Convenient unloading. In many cases, this process can be done manually without the need for specialized equipment.
• Control and tracking. Modern vehicles are equipped with GPS technology, allowing **freight transportation companies** and their clients to track the shipment's location in real time. Additionally, the driver remains in constant communication.
• Warehouse mobility. Freight trucks can enter warehouse premises. If this isn’t feasible, unloading can take place close to the warehouse.
• Universality. The vehicles used by freight companies are suitable for transporting a wide variety of goods, from food products to machinery and construction materials.

However, there are factors that may affect the efficiency of road transportation, such as limited load capacity, road conditions, traffic, and weather conditions.

For small and medium-sized businesses, delivering goods by road transport is often cheaper than other methods. The cost of the service depends on several factors:

• the length of the route;
• the characteristics of the cargo — its weight, volume, and type (hazardous, perishable, oversized, or heavy);
• the urgency of the delivery — express shipping always costs more.

The cost of transportation can also be influenced by weather conditions and seasonality, which is especially noticeable in remote, hard-to-reach regions with poor road infrastructure.

Additional services offered by freight companies, such as insurance, cargo escort, or the use of specialized equipment, increase the cost of transportation.

It is important to consider current fuel prices, which directly affect the final cost of shipping. For an accurate calculation of the price, contact the managers of transportation companies.

💡 Customers can use the functionality of freight exchanges to compare prices and find competitive rates. On Roolz platform, you can also conduct auctions to receive offers from transportation companies and private carriers.

When choosing a transportation company for road freight, several factors should be considered:

• Experience. Carriers with extensive experience professionally handle transportation tasks. They have a reliable network of partners in various regions, which simplifies cooperation and expands delivery coverage.
• Reputation. Take into account reviews from those who have already used the services of the transportation company. Positive experiences of other clients are an important indicator of the reliability of freight services.
• Scope of service. Ensure that the company takes responsibility not only for transporting the cargo but also for packaging, loading/unloading, insurance, and door-to-door delivery.
• Availability of online services. Leading freight carriers provide clients with access to personal accounts where they can manage orders, pay for services, and track the movement of goods.
• Own fleet of vehicles. If the company has its own fleet, deliveries are likely to be carried out promptly, efficiently, and safely.
• Geographical reach. Prefer companies capable of delivering your goods directly to the final destination. In cases where third-party carriers are involved, the quality of logistics may suffer.

When comparing rates, shippers naturally choose the company with more favorable terms. However, an excessively low price is also a red flag, as it often indicates subpar service quality.

A transportation and forwarding company specializing in road freight can easily be found in the Roolz directory. Add your company, find a reliable logistics partner, and conveniently organize freight transportation on the Roolz platform!