Working With Air Freight Shipping Dimensions

Packing properly is the only way to ensure that your long-distance freight shipments arrive at their destinations on time and damage-free. Proper packaging does not have to be difficult, and simply requires a thorough understanding of your product's packaging requirements, the environment your cargo will go through during shipment, and the materials used to house it. Here are a few things you should know about working with air freight shipping dimensions.

Understand the Hazards

When your product is being transported, it will likely be carried through a wide variety of different environments. Whether from natural elements, or from lack of care when moving, hundreds of thousands of dollars of merchandise is deemed unusable when it arrives at its destination due to any number of accidents that occurred during shipment. For instance, a package can shift in a container, resulting in puncture or abrasion of the product or the packaging materials. Varying levels of temperature, humidity and atmospheric pressure is another likely hazard. Finally your goods may have been crushed if they were not stacked or handled properly.

Choose the Right Materials

In general, when shipping products of any degree of delicacy requires packaging the goods in an outer casing, and filling any empty space with 'dunnage' such as foam peanuts, bubble wrap, or Kraft paper to keep the product stationary inside the case, and provide greater compression strength to the case. Corrugated cardboard is the container of choice for most shipping operations since it is incredibly sturdy given its low cost.

When designing packaging, use the minimum amount of packaging material possible to safely house your product. Spend some time testing different types of packaging to see which provides the best protection from the above hazards. This not only lowers the cost of packaging, but also allows you to fit more units in each shipment, lowering your transportation costs dramatically.

Be Aware of the Different Stacking Configurations

When stacking cardboard cases on a pallet, be aware of the different forces involved with each stacking configuration. For instance, stacking in cases in single file columns can increase the compression strength of the cartons by as much as fifty percent. Using an interlocking stack method creates a more stable load, making it difficult for boxes to fall or tip, a common problem in the column method. Finally, avoid situations where your cases hang over the side of the pallet, as this can lead to greatly reduced compression strength, tears, punctures, and other shocks to the product.

What About Oversize Freight?

When you have particularly large items to ship that will not fit inside a standard freight container may need special packaging to protect the goods during transit. Shipping over-sized freight poses a particular problem in that it often takes a forklift or two to even package it. The test for over-sized goods is to pick up the package from both ends, if it sags at all, more reinforcement is needed before shipping the item.

By understanding the specific packaging requirements of your goods, you are guaranteed to keep them safe throughout even the lengthiest routes to the most remote locations.