Logistics · October 13, 2021
Why Freight Decides Whether Your Tote Order Makes Sense
For used containers, freight isn't a rounding error. On a small distant order it can cost more than the goods.
The short version
Consolidated routes make small orders viable because the truck was going anyway. Dedicated loads win above roughly twenty units. Yard pickup beats both. The steps are at four, ten and twenty units.
The single most common surprise in a used-container quote is the freight line. People price the containers, budget accordingly, and then discover that moving six of them three hundred miles costs more than the six containers did.
That isn't a markup. It's what it costs to move a low-density, high-cube item across Texas, and the only real lever is whether the truck was going anyway.
Cube, not weight
Twenty empty 275-gallon containers weigh about 2,600 lb. That's essentially nothing on a trailer rated for tens of thousands of pounds. The constraint is deck space: twenty on the floor of a 48-foot trailer, forty if they're empty and double-stacked.
So you're not paying to move weight. You're paying to move air in a container-shaped arrangement, and the price is set by how much of the trailer you occupy and how far it goes.
| Equipment | Empties on the floor | Empties stacked | Full containers |
|---|---|---|---|
| 48' flatbed | 20 | 40 | 20 |
| 53' flatbed | 22 | 44 | 22 |
| 48' dry van | 20 | 40 (height permitting) | 20 |
| 40' gooseneck hotshot | 16 | 32 | 16 |
| 24' box truck | 10 | 20 (275s only) | 10 |
| Moffett flatbed | 16–18 | 32–36 | 16–18 |
Consolidated versus dedicated
A consolidated route is a truck we're running anyway. Adding four containers to it costs almost nothing marginal, which is why we can quote small deliveries to San Antonio or Waco at rates that look impossible against a standard LTL tariff.
A dedicated load is a truck running for you alone. Per unit it only makes sense above roughly twenty containers — but above that threshold it usually beats consolidated pricing, because you're paying for the trip rather than a share of it.
| Order size | What changes |
|---|---|
| 1–3 units | Visible freight line. Yard pickup is dramatically cheaper if you can manage it. |
| 4–9 units | Consolidated routing absorbs most of the cost. |
| 10–19 units | Better per-unit rate; still riding a scheduled truck. |
| 20+ units | Dedicated load becomes competitive and often cheaper per unit. |
| 40 units | A full 48-foot flatbed. The best per-unit freight available. |
Cut-off times matter more than distance
This is the part customers underuse. Missing a Tuesday cut-off for San Antonio doesn't cost you more — it costs you until Thursday. Knowing the schedule lets you plan around it rather than paying for urgency.
We publish the routes for exactly this reason. Predictability is what makes small orders workable; if you have to ask every time, eventually you stop asking.
The return leg
Every truck that goes out comes back. A truck returning empty is wasted diesel and a missed recovery, which is why every outbound run is offered as a buy-back collection on the way home.
If there are empties at your site — or at a neighbouring business, which happens more than you'd think — putting them on the return leg costs you nothing, pays you something, and improves the environmental arithmetic of the whole trip. Ask about it on every order.
Tell us about the site, not just the address
The most expensive freight outcome isn't a high rate. It's a truck arriving somewhere it can't unload.
- Is there a forklift, or do we need the moffett truck?
- Gate width, and can a tractor-trailer turn around inside?
- Ground surface — firm and level, or soft caliche after rain?
- Overhead lines or low structures on the approach?
- Receiving hours, and will somebody be there?
Two sentences in the message field prevents the failure that costs everyone a day.
And the cheapest option, always
Bring a truck. Yard pickup has no freight at all, we load with a forklift at no charge, and you get to walk the rows and pick your own units — which for a first purchase is worth the drive on its own.
Published October 13, 2021 · Filed under Logistics
