The basic shipping rates are fundamentally fixed, regardless of company,
based on weight and freight class.
Freight class is the key. I once sold a number of Motorola
repeaters and HTs to a guy in AZ who INSISTED that I ship
by truck to save money. I did just as he had requested but
it seemed a little expensive to me. After I had shipped I
checked with air freight and it would have been about 50%
to go by air and would have been there a week sooner with
a lot less road bounce.
When shipping via TRUCK make sure you know the rates
for the CLASS of goods you are shipping. To change the
class to something cheaper will be a disaster if you end
up with a claim. Truck freight is great if you are shipping
large and heavy items, but for smaller things a parcel service
like UPS and USPS are usually much better.
UPS and Fedex have been "perfect" for us for air shipments
and we are in a pretty remote area--so our packages are
dropped off at a little store about 10 miles away. UPS ground
has also been "perfect" or at least quite good. But Fedex Ground
has been a TOTAL DISASTER for us. Probably had a half-
dozen things shipped by Fedex GROUND because the shipper
had an exclusive contract with Fedex. We have NEVER gotten
anything in a timely fashion--usually it has taken at least TWO WEEKS
and the items are untraceable for much of the journey--usually
disappearing at Fort Worth, TX. Sometimes the packages finally
arrive AFTER the replacement has arrived by another carrier.
Turns out that much of the Fedex GROUND is by contract and
you are at the whims of the contractor. I am not sure but I believe
that Fedex Ground is the former Railway Express. The service
has been so bad FOR US that 1) I think it is an embarrassment
for Fedex (and their AIR drivers agree) and I will no longer order
something from a vendor if his only option to ship is Fedex Ground.
My personal experience, based on a half-dozen data points over
the past 18 months and 100% failure rate on Fedex Ground
shipments -- YMMV --
--John W0UN
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