DISCLAIMER: The following applies only to LTL shipping. Full truckload shipping has a completely different set of lanes, practices, and pricing standards.
The basic fact of the matter when it comes to shipping zones is that they are not all created equal. There are areas of the country that even the freight industry won’t touch, and there are areas where the freight industry is overloaded when it comes to carriers, and transportable goods. So what shipping zone are you?
California & Company
California is one of the largest states in the country. It has the most people in the country by a fair margin. It houses huge cities, lots of people across miles and miles of varying terrain, and it’s absolutely no joke that California is the hottest of the hot when it comes to shipping zones.
If you’re shipping LTL freight from California or to California, you’re probably going to be able to find an affordable, competitive shipping freight quote.
Joining California are Texas and Florida, not unexpectedly. When it comes to shipping zones these are the three big ones for domestic freight transportation. They are geographically large. They all have significant proximity to the oceans, hence they are a patient zero when it comes to goods and materials that are later distributed all across the United States.
The Middle-Class States
The largest group of states sits in the middle between hot or not so hot. Some of the largest freight movers in the middle are New Jersey, Illinois, and Ohio. No New York you might be asking? Well, just because there are a lot of people doesn’t mean there are a lot of freight carriers.
In fact, New York is closer to cold when it comes to shipping zones, just because it’s such a pain to park, drive, or even move in NYC. These middle-class states use a variety of national and regional carriers, and it’s easier to get rates around the city than in the country.
Bottom Of The Barrel
Shipping zones can be cold and when they are cold, they are like an Arctic winter on the stroke of midnight. As with most of our list, the more populated an area, the likelier there is to be affordable freight transportation.
This means places like Montana, Idaho, North Dakota, and some of the tiny New England states can have trouble garnering discount freight quotes. Many of these shipping zones are serviced by regional carriers who have extended points that are only visited once or twice a week (if at all).