Does your business pay to ship air because you are weighing out before filling your shipping container?
Between packaging and unfilled containers, more than 25% of what businesses ship is empty space, which amounts to more than 61 million containers a year that are being shipped unnecessarily.
Standard U.S. roads limit trucks to a gross vehicle weight of 80,000 pounds, which means the containers can only weigh up to 44,000 pounds without paying for overweight load permits. Water and rail weight limits are typically an additional 10,000 or more pounds than road limits.
When it comes to shippers of heavy, dense products, they could utilize the additional weight allowance to maximize their containers. But, businesses are paying to ship empty space and a higher quantity of containers to meet road requirements and transport them from ports to their final destination.
An overweight corridor (also referred to as a heavy haul corridor) allows businesses to make the most of their containers resulting in lower total landed costs. An overweight corridor is a road that has been developed to support heavier loads and give businesses an opportunity for more efficient shipping.
Overweight containers can be transported on these roads without needing permits or being subject to fees. Containers can be moved directly from a port to their destination along the overweight corridor. Often, overweight corridors are located near an industrial development that contains logistics and warehouse companies allowing businesses to streamline their supply chain and save on total landed costs.
Smart Warehousing is located at one of these industrial parks. We are at Logistics Park Kansas City (LPKC), which is connected to the BNSF intermodal facility. LPKC is a logistics powerhouse due to being the only full-service facility in the western two-thirds of the U.S.
Capabilities include domestic intermodal services (container, trailer, expedited, and standard service levels), international intermodal services, and direct rail/carload services.
Partnering with Smart Warehousing allows businesses to utilize the maximum benefits from LPKC and an overweight corridor. Containers up to 58,000 pounds can be moved over the road to Smart Warehousing with no additional fees compared to a standard 40,000-pound container resulting in a more efficient supply chain and lower costs.
The Smart Warehousing team can inspect your inventory, palletize, and consolidate onto trailers to head to the next destination or provide storage services. Contact us to learn more about how your company can benefit from an overweight corridor.