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Air freight and ground shipping serve essential roles in getting goods to market. Both methods have advantages and disadvantages, and this article will help you determine how to choose the best one for your specific shipping needs:
Key Differences In Speed, Cost, And Reach
Speed
Outside of moving freight relatively short distances, air freight is almost always faster than ground shipping. Flying is faster than driving, and air freight is less exposed to risks like unexpected road closures.
Ground freight can still be incredibly fast and hotshot trucking services are common. The route from Edmonton to Fort McMurray is a perfect example; barring exceptional circumstances, shipments can reach Fort McMurray by ground from Edmonton practically as fast (and sometimes faster) as by air.
Cost
The cost of ground shipping is almost always significantly lower than the cost of air freight. There are a number of reasons for this:
- The cost of operating a plane is much higher than the cost of operating a truck.
- Standard intermodal containers used for sea and ground freight do not typically fit on planes, so containers may need to be broken up for air freight.
- Companies may charge a premium for air freight, as it’s often used in emergencies.
Reach
Both ground shipping and air shipping have their advantages when it comes to reach. There are communities throughout the world that do not have airports; ground shipping is necessary to reach these communities, and remains the gold standard for last-mile shipping to most areas.
Air freight shipping, on the other hand, can reach regions that ground transportation cannot. Shipping to Northern Canada makes an excellent case study; Nunavut is not connected to the rest of Canada by road, and several communities across the Territories and the Northern regions of the provinces can only be accessed by plane.
When Air Freight Makes The Most Sense
Air freight is expensive; there’s no getting around the cost. Airplanes are also poorly suited to large shipments. Most international shipping happens through a combination of sea freight and ground freight—air freight is typically reserved for specialized cases.
Air freight makes the most sense when:
- You are trying to reach remote destinations that are otherwise inaccessible
- You have time-sensitive cargo that needs to arrive quickly
- When you are making a high-value, low-volume shipment
When you need air freight, choose BBE Air Cargo Services. We have decades of experience in cold chain logistics, shipping hazardous materials, and white glove shipping for high-value items.
We’re also a Northern supply chain company; we can help you determine where and when it’s most effective to use air freight to reach Northern Canada. At times, using a combination of sea freight, ice road trucking, and snowmobiling is preferable. We’ll help you develop the most efficient routes to get your products to remote Northern communities.
Optimizing Ground Transport For Cost-Efficiency
Given the expense of air freight, ground transport is the most common method of transporting goods over land. You can make ground freight shipping even more cost-effective through careful route analysis and cargo consolidation. When opting for ground shipping, consider:
- Whether it is better to opt for full truckload (FTL) or less-than-truckload (LTL) shipping
- Using real-time tracking to anticipate delays and reroute accordingly
- Optimizing warehouses and inventory management to maximize how much you ship at any given time
The goal in ground transport logistics is to ship as much cargo as possible with as few trucks as possible. Often, this happens through a combination of FTL and LTL shipments, but with proper cargo consolidation and a carefully planned shipping schedule, you may be able to limit the number of LTL shipments required.
BBE can help with all of the above. We offer route risk and cost analysis services, cargo profiling, cargo consolidation, and more. Leverage our network of shipping partners to lower the cost of shipping, expand your reach, and get goods to market faster.
Let BBE Help You Choose The Right Shipping Method
Take the guesswork out of shipping. BBE is your freight forwarding and supply chain logistics partner. For domestic and international shipments, we can determine:
- What modes of transportation are best for each leg of the shipping process
- How to best consolidate your cargo
- Which shipping partners offer the best rates
- How to effectively expand by shipping into new markets
As intermodal shipping experts, we work with partners that offer ground freight, sea freight, and air freight shipping. Ready to improve your operational efficiency with better freight services? Talk to a shipping expert today!