When you had to get a product from one place to another, it used to be that you’d call a shipper who would send a truck over, pick it up and take it to wherever it was supposed to go. Today, though, international trade, fuel prices and economic considerations have conspired to make that trip for one pallet of widgets increasingly more expensive. Container shipping has solved the problem of distance, allowing one or more companies to combine shipping to a single destination.

The people who coordinate the movement of goods from place to place and put together a series of carriers to get it there used to be called “brokers.” Today they’re called “freight forwarding companies,” since they are responsible for delivery of goods as well as coordinating their movement.

Freight forwarding companies may have begun as direct shippers, but they all act as brokers, too. Your products may be picked up on pallets at your warehouse by a truck with the name of the freight forwarding company on it, but between your warehouse and your “load’s” destination, it may switch carriers from truck to airplane to train or ship and back to truck again. The logistics of this is up to the freight forwarder. He’s responsible for keeping track of the shipment as well as arranging for a network of carriers that provide the fastest or least expensive alternative–whatever you the shipper wants. Most freight forwarders have a computerized reporting system to locate a shipment that customers can check to find out where their property is at any time.

Freight carriers have only their own licensing, accounting and legal compliance with which to concern themselves. Freight forwarders must be licensed as carriers in all states where they operate, and forwarders who operate internationally must have the appropriate import and export licenses in each country in which they work. In addition, forwarders, acting as prime contractors, must check to make sure that each carrier they employ has proper licensing for the assignment, including maritime and aviation licenses. A freight forwarder must develop a unique system, known as logistics, to track each shipment, confirm carrier changes and follow up on deliveries as goods move along. The broker must package shipments properly, order containers and deliver them in place for carriers that require them.

Forwarders also frequently employ customs specialists to manage international shipments, including export and import declarations. Since freight forwarders act as authorized agents with power of attorney for clients, most have accounting and legal staff to ensure compliance with interstate and international regulations. The forwarding company collects and consolidates all carrier and supplier billing, bills the customer and distributes payments to individual carriers and suppliers. Modern freight forwarders are much more than just shipping brokers or freight carriers. They are managers responsible for the efficient movement of billions of dollars worth of goods over dozens of countries every day.

At first blush, the issue of pallet loading may seem mundane put some boxes on a pallet and load it onto a truck. Yet the money, research and mathematical studies that have been invested in the subject are extensive. When talking about pallet loading, there are two issues: the actual loading of the pallets themselves and the loading of the pallets onto truck, train or plane.

For the transportation industry, pallet loading like parcel loading or any other type of cargo has to weigh factors of labor, efficiency and time. It’s a juggling act that has been elevated to an art form.

Inspect the cargo on the pallets to be loaded onto the truck. This is the most critical step in the entire pallet-loading process. Square or rectangular boxes are the simplest cargo to handle. Round or cylindrical-shaped objects pose a bigger challenge. Odd-shaped cargo calls for an entirely different approach. Weight also is a major consideration. All these factors will determine how the pallets will be loaded.

Check the size of the trailer or container to be loaded. Standard tractor-trailer trucks have a trailer size of 8 feet 6 inches wide by 14 feet high and 53 feet long. Shorter single-body trucks have 40-foot-long cargo spaces. Your loading technique will be determined by these factors, and whether or not the trailer already contains any freight.

Straight-load your pallets if the cargo is very heavy and there is little or no chance of the load shifting during transportation. Straight-loading is the quickest method because pallets are 40 inches wide by 48 inches deep and there is plenty of room for the forklift operator to maneuver and load two rows of pallets. This technique also must be employed if the pallets are “two-way,” meaning that they are built in such a way that allows the forks access on only two sides—namely on the sides of the pallets that are 40 inches wide. This method doesn’t maximize trailer space, however, and may make shifting a problem with lighter or unstable freight.

Load the pallets in the “turned” or sideways method to maximize space utilization and to ensure a tight, secure fit. The 48-inch-wide profile of the pallets using this method, multiplied by two, leaves only six inches of space width-wise in the trailer. The pallets must be four-way, or capable of accepting forks on all four sides.

Use the “pin-wheel” method to load tall or unstable cargo. Pin-wheeling is basically alternating the pallets between the straight and turned styles. This interlocking technique increases the stability of the load. The method is particularly effective for loading items such as light cartons or boxes that are stacked high and are unstable, often even when not in motion.