3 Best Freight Solutions for Businesses Shipping Dry Goods

Shipping dry goods is less complicated than moving perishable items over vast distances. However, it’s far from logistically foolproof.

Many of the things that can go wrong because of the rigors of freight shipping do, resulting in damage, to the dismay of producers and consumers alike. While it’s impossible to transport cargo completely risk-free, using the best freight solutions for businesses shipping dry goods helps ensure everything goes smoothly.

The True Cost of Dry Goods Damage During Transportation

Properly packaged dry goods aren’t safe from moisture due to container rain. Temperature fluctuations can cause condensation to occur inside shipping containers, adversely affecting freight.

Any entrepreneur can crunch the numbers and calculate the losses associated with damaged cargo compromised in transit. However, the long-term impact of strain on customer relations and tarnished brand reputation on your business is much harder to quantify.

What the Shipping Industry Is Doing to Keep Dry Goods Intact

The industry has taken concrete steps to address the common challenges in dry goods transportation. One of them is shipping containers falling overboard.
For instance, maritime decision-makers have done an excellent job of identifying the causes of parametric rolling. They’ve produced effective training material for cargo vessel crews to minimize the amount of containers lost at sea. These efforts have borne fruit.

In 2023, only 221 out of 250 million containers transported fell overboard — with a recovery rate of about 33%. This figure was more than 66% lower than the previous lowest level of container loss recorded in 2022 at 661.

Photo by Chris Linnett on Unsplash

These leaders aim to modernize industry best practices, container and lashing standards, and regulations to reduce this number even further in the future.

3 Best Freight Solutions for Businesses Shipping Dry Goods

Find a freight solutions provider with adequate capabilities — like dry vans with a hauling capacity of up to 45,000 pounds — to handle your dry cargo properly. These three companies offer shipping solutions tailored for small businesses.

1. Green River Logistics Solutions

Green River Logistics Solutions offers the best freight solutions for businesses shipping dry goods in the United States. Its range of solutions supports domestic and international shipping.

Key services include:

• Less-than-truckload (LTL): Offering you more financial flexibility to move smaller quantities of cargo — such as in-store and online merchandise, trade show displays and automotive parts — by paying only for the space your goods occupy

• Full truckload (FTL): Transporting your high volumes of cargo and large shipments efficiently

• Dry van: Giving you access to a wide range of dry van trailers through its extensive network of reliable trucking companies to haul large shipments of goods requiring no temperature control

• Freight brokerage: Connecting you to efficient shipping carriers to ensure your goods reach their intended destinations at discounted freight rates without losing visibility over your precious cargo along the way

• Project cargo logistics: Orchestrating the elements involved in moving specialized equipment or heavy machinery to avoid delays and reduce storage and transportation costs

Industry Focus

Green River offers personalized logistics and shipping solutions for small and midsize businesses in e-commerce, plastics, manufacturing, construction, retail, agriculture and other industries. Its capabilities are perfect for nonrefrigerated food and beverage products, pieces of heavy equipment, electronics and raw materials from warehouses.

2. Roadrunner

Roadrunner specializes in scalable long-haul, regional and next-day LTL freight services for shippers based in major metropolitan areas in the U.S. and Canada. Numerous accolades validate the company’s capabilities, including the Journal of Commerce's Top LTL Providers of 2020.

Key services include:

• Smart long haul: Combining its expansive network of more than 900 independent owner-operator truck drivers nationwide with its tech-forward culture to deliver freight across major American and Canadian metros in the most efficient way

• Direct loading: Avoiding the traditional hub-and-spoke model’s inefficiencies by moving 100% cargo over the road across high-volume lanes with the least amount of handling

• Weekend service: Keeping its 21 brick-and-mortar service centers open seven days a week to provide expedited service at standard LTL rates and complete long-haul deliveries across the U.S. in as fast as two days

• One-day service: Nailing one-day long-haul transportation between its Chicago and Southern California locations

• Smart Guarantee^™: Offering a premium guarantee waiving your charge if your freight doesn’t arrive at its target destination on time as promised

Industry Focus

Roadrunner caters its LTL services to businesses in various industries without talking specifics.

3. Western Express

Western Express is an asset-based truckload carrier with terminals and facilities in six strategic locations across the U.S. The Home Depot and Campbell’s crowned the company Carrier of the Year in 2024, and Lowe’s and Quaker bestowed it the same honor in 2023.

Key services include: 

• End-to-end freight solutions: Using its massive fleet of 3,900 power units and more than 9,500 box and flatbed trailers to accommodate your shipping needs

• Live freight tracking: Leveraging MacroPoint to monitor its GPS-equipped freight vehicles and give you real-time updates on your shipments

• Asset-based brokerage: Maximizing its large network of carriers along with its own fleet to help shippers like you move freight within North America — including Mexico, Alaska and Hawaii

• Truck sales: Helping you grow your corporate fleet by selling well-maintained semi-trucks based on trade terms set by the Used Truck Association to ensure the engine, drivetrain, brakes, tires and other key vehicle components are in good repair

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Industry Focus

Western Express doesn’t specialize in certain industries and hauls products compatible with dry vans, such as household items, nonperishable foods and vehicle parts, and flatbeds, like oversized raw materials and massive tools.

Choosing the Right Dry Goods Shipping Company

Any company offering dry goods transportation has a unique set of capabilities. Some stick to the basics, while others provide value-added services.

Consider the types of freight vehicles your prospective logistics company offers to ensure they’re compatible with your cargo. Think about a company’s service area to reduce the need to use another party to transport your freight to its final destination, which complicates the process and inflates costs.

Growing Your Business by Partnering With the Best Freight Solutions Provider to Ship Your Dry Goods

No logistics player can satisfy every dry goods shipper’s business needs. Start your research with these three companies to find a perfect fit more quickly.

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Cover Photo by Zetong Li on Unsplash

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* This post is written in collaboration with our guest contributor, who has financially supported its publication.

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