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Railroad shipping can be a good option if you need to transport your freight across the country.

Freight can be transported across the country in a variety of ways. This includes via road, rail, air, or by sea. Businesses are often tasked with choosing between shipping their goods via trucks or trains due to certain limitations. You might be wondering what the advantages of each of these options is, and whether or not one is faster than the other.

Let’s compare the different aspects of truck shipping and railroad shipping to determine which is right for you.

Shipping Times

It can be crucial for businesses to ship their finished goods to retailers as fast as possible. However, it can be tricky to tell if truck shipping is faster than railroad shipping.

Shipping via railroad may seem like the faster option as trains do not have to worry about running into traffic or road closures. However, trains can’t ship goods from their source to their destination directly. Goods must first be transported to the railroad loading area and offloaded before being delivered to their destination. This means that railroad shipments may take longer than truck shipments in many cases.

A good rule of thumb is that railroad shipments tend to be faster when transporting goods over long distances, such as across multiple states. If you intend to ship your freight between cities in the same state, a truck could likely get there faster.

Flexibility

When comparing shipping flexibility, trucks tend to be a better option. If you are using full truck load (FTL) freight shipping mode, your goods will be the only ones being transported. This also means the truck can transport your goods from their source to their destination whenever needed.

Railroad shipping is seen as less flexible as the train will be hauling goods for different parties. This also means you will be subject to the railroad’s own shipping schedule, which could be difficult to change, especially if you need your freight shipped on short notice.

Costs

When comparing the costs of trucking and railroad shipping, it is vital to take shipping distance into account. Shipping your freight via truck is generally seen as the cheaper option for short distances. This is partly because you will have to pay for only one carrier. Truck shipping costs do get much higher if you ship across multiple regions. If you intend to ship your freight across the country, railroad may be the cheaper option.

Why Choose Action Transport Inc

If you are interested in shipping your freight in a safe and timely manner, please get in touch with Action Transport Inc. We are one of the premier freight brokers in the country, and can help you find competitive shipping rates with the freight carriers in our network. Please get in touch with us to learn more about our services.