Guidelines for Freight Packaging and Loading

1. Guidelines for Freight Packaging and Loading If you have moved houses before, you can tell the importance of right packaging. Proper packing is imperative for the goods to be delivered intact. When we talk about shipping industry, packaging as well as the right way to load cargo is important. Packaging of the cargo should be such that it can withstand being lifted by a forklift, is able to deal with the motion of the ocean and tilting of airplane’s takeoff and landing. Here, we have shared a few tips for packaging and loading your cargo the right way: Pack similar goods together You should pair together the items that are similar in shape, size and weights as it becomes easier to arrange the items in packaging and avoid damage to shipment. Use packaging materials in sufficient amount You should pack the goods inside sturdy new boxes or containers with enough packing peanuts, expandable foam and bubble wrap. These materials offer superb protection, cushioning, void fill and thus act as a great shock resistant. As far as packing of non-fragile items is concerned, cover the ones that could be affected by dirt or water with plastic bags before keeping them inside the box. And for fragile items, do the wrapping of each product individually inside bubble wrap or foam padding (with 2

2. inches of thickness around them). Saving on these materials could cost you more as these are usually inexpensive compared to the cost of replacing damaged freight. Shake it and see Once you have cushioned your goods in boxes, bags or barrels, it is time to shake it out. On shaking if you hear things moving around, you need to add more packing materials. Remember, cargo in transit moves a lot and you need to pack it accordingly. Loading and Palletizing freight When you are sending numerous heavy items or large volume of packages, these need to be loaded onto a shipping pallet which should be durable and in good condition. Goods loaded on pallets are usually either in bags or in boxes. These should be placed such that these do not hang off the edge of the pallet while having an even distribution of weight and flat top surface. Once the boxes/cartons are placed, use a shrink-wrap to secure them to the pallet. Shipping items in bags Bags are suited to pack loose goods like dog food or flour. For transporting multiple bags, you should use interlocking stack method where items are stacked in alternating directions each layer, much like a Jenga™ tower; this method offers more stability as compared to the column method. Shipping items in boxes Unlike bags, boxes can be stacked using column method if they are perfect cubes. But if the boxes are rectangular, using stack method will offer better stability. So this was all about right packaging of goods and though in the meanwhile we have also shared tips that are required for proper loading of freight, we are summarizing these here: Avoid pallet overhang. Use good quality pallet with bottom board. Don’t forget to use load protectors, corner boards and edge boards as these play a pivotal role in avoiding damage. Hope this was a helpful read for you and know you know everything from packaging, loading to securing your freight.