http://www.engineshipping.com
Finding a great company to move your item is one thing. Finding a company to do it right, cheap, and not NOT DAMAGE your item is a whole different story. Freight damage is a common occurrence when shipping any piece or item, but the engine industry sees more than it's fair share of freight damage. The main reason, IMPROPER PACKING! So today I will lay out the simple steps you should follow when preparing your engine to be shipped!
It's tough if you are the buyer and you have to count on you seller to package the product correctly. You are pretty much at their mercy with little or no control over how they decided to ship your new purchase to you. But, there are questions that you can and probably need to ask before it ships. While these questions won't insure an undamaged engine at delivery, they will help and lower the risk of your item having a problem.
EVERY ENGINE/TRANSMISSION THAT IS BEING SHIPPED MUST BE COMPLETELY DRAINED OF ANY AND ALL FLUIDS, INCLUDING WATER!!!!
First, make sure that your engine is secured to a pallet, or is crated prior to the truck driver arriving for pickup. And engine just resting on a pallet WILL rock, tip, tilt, and BREAK. So, just ask whomever you are dealing with at the pickup end to make sure it is secure. Next, find out if the engine is protected by shrink wrap, wood, cardboard, or anything else. While this is not a necessity and many engines are shipped without being cover, it does decrease your odds significantly of damage.
Finally, ask that the person handling the pick up end to place a shipping label with the ship to address on the shipment. Secure it to the engine via tape or whatever. ALSO have the shipper put DO NOT STACK sign on the engine. This will keep the truck company from loading anything on top of your engine and it generally insures that your engine will be in a "safer" part of the trailer with not a bunch of items that are stacked to the ceiling and can fall.
Now if you are in a position to package the engine yourself here are the basic rules of thumb to get your engine from Point A to Point B with the least amount of risk.
First and foremost secure the engine or transmission to a pallet. Use ratchet straps, tie downs, banding wire, or even rope. BUT make sure that engine can't rock, tilt or slide off of the pallet. If you can build a crate around and on top of the engine/transmission. This will not only prevent it from moving it will also protect it from other items falling or sliding into your engine/transmission.
Shrink wrap whenever possible. Shrink wrap, a garbage bag, plastic, even cardboard will protect the outside from any dings or dents but also, if there is even a drop of fluid in the engine/transmission this will help to catch it.
That is about it. Simple right? You'd be shocked at the amount of engines each month with receive that are damaged because the shipper did a terrible job at packaging the engine. Take the time to talk with the shipper, explain what needs to be done and impress upon him/her the importance of doing so based on the instructions you give. Or send them here and let them learn on there own.
On a related topic, when you receive an engine you MUST check every detail. Before you sign anything make sure to check the engine/transmission over thoroughly to verify that there is no damage. IF there is damage you can still receive the engine/transmission but make sure you write out the exact details of where the damage is on the delivery receipt before the driver leaves.
More on receiving freight to come but once you sign the delivery receipt you have absolutely NO grounds to claim damage later. This is vital to remember! Thanks for reading...check back soon for the next post!
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Engine shipping made easy...the very basic steps
Hello all, my name is Kevin and welcome to the newest and hopefully the most informated blog on the net. Well, the most informative blog on the net that discuss freight, specifically engine and automotive freight. As always feel free to check us out at http://www.engineshipping.com
I have been a member of the freight and logistics community for nearly 20 years now and with my experience and knowledge of the industry I hope to provide information to those of you whom are looking to ship your freight with answers to some basic questions that will make your life easier and save you money.
At any given 30 day timeframe, ebay motors has 2500 to 3500 engines, motors and transmissions for sale. And that is just ebay. Individuals and small companies that are selling and buying engines increase that number to nearly 10,000! While most of the sellers offer shipping, a lot do not. The seller leaves it up to the shipper to secure their own freight company to pickup and deliver the recent purchase.
Most of these buyers are individuals who have never had the need to ship anything before, let alone an engine. Armed with little more information than the weight and dimensions these buyers set off on a task to secure, for a resonable price, a company or broker who will move their freight.
With this blog I hope to educate those people who look to ship things for the first time, maybe the only time, and for those of you who ship on a regular basis but don't really know the industry.
I want to take the time today to simply give you some guidlines and a few things to think about when you are looking to ship your engine for cheap but also safely!
1) Don't contact a trucking company on your own. It is a waste of your time. They will offer you a 50% discount or something that may seem inticing but you simply CANNOT get the best rate by going to the trucking company yourself.
2) Contact a broker or go to USHIP.com. Brokers have established relationships with multiple freight companies and ship huge numbers every month. Therefore the rates that a broker has access to are simply lower than what an individiual or small company will ever hope to attain.
3) USHIP.com is a great source to move a one time shipment. Even though you will pay a decent chunk of change to uship if you accept a bid, it will still be one of your cheapest avenues.
4) After you have found a suitable price, make sure the broker/logistics company is legit! At the very least they should have a website to direct you to or feed back on USHIP. There are a lot of brokers out there that may offer decent rates...but you will never get your package shipped. More on brokers to come...
5)OK you have your price, you know who you are going to pay to pickup and deliver your shipment, and now you have to package it. I have spent my career dealing with engines so that is what I know. But anything being shipped is pretty much the same. IT MUST BE SECURED TO A PALLET. Most companies will not do this for you...and even if they did would you really trust them to do it right? If you can, package your purchase yourself. A lot of times you are the receiver of the package so you cannot do this. So you need to work with the shipper/seller to make sure they have packaged your item securly to a pallet, or crated the item.
6)Now you know when it is being picked up, you know it is packaged correctly, and you know when you should recieve the package. If you are not comfortable with these three things...you need to find out and get comfortable before the item is shipped.
7)Receiving your item is next. While I am sure you are excited to finally have your purchase you also want to make sure it is in the condition that you expect it to be in. Check every detail of your item before you sign the delivery receipt. If your item has any damage and you do not mark the delivery receipt as such....you have no grounds to file a damage claim after the fact.
8)If your item is damaged you can still take possession of it but MAKE SURE YOU MARK THE DAMAGE ON THE DELIVERY RECEPIT. This way the freight company/broker/ or insurer will pay your claim. Most freight companies won't fight damage claims as long as it is clearly stated. They simply have to many shipments moving everyday to investigate any damage claims. That being said...no company will pay out on a damage claim with out it being marked on the delivery receipt.
These are some very very basic things to keep in mind while shipping. Throughout the next couple of weeks I will break down into more detail each step of the process to help make you a more informed shipper. Thanks
I have been a member of the freight and logistics community for nearly 20 years now and with my experience and knowledge of the industry I hope to provide information to those of you whom are looking to ship your freight with answers to some basic questions that will make your life easier and save you money.
At any given 30 day timeframe, ebay motors has 2500 to 3500 engines, motors and transmissions for sale. And that is just ebay. Individuals and small companies that are selling and buying engines increase that number to nearly 10,000! While most of the sellers offer shipping, a lot do not. The seller leaves it up to the shipper to secure their own freight company to pickup and deliver the recent purchase.
Most of these buyers are individuals who have never had the need to ship anything before, let alone an engine. Armed with little more information than the weight and dimensions these buyers set off on a task to secure, for a resonable price, a company or broker who will move their freight.
With this blog I hope to educate those people who look to ship things for the first time, maybe the only time, and for those of you who ship on a regular basis but don't really know the industry.
I want to take the time today to simply give you some guidlines and a few things to think about when you are looking to ship your engine for cheap but also safely!
1) Don't contact a trucking company on your own. It is a waste of your time. They will offer you a 50% discount or something that may seem inticing but you simply CANNOT get the best rate by going to the trucking company yourself.
2) Contact a broker or go to USHIP.com. Brokers have established relationships with multiple freight companies and ship huge numbers every month. Therefore the rates that a broker has access to are simply lower than what an individiual or small company will ever hope to attain.
3) USHIP.com is a great source to move a one time shipment. Even though you will pay a decent chunk of change to uship if you accept a bid, it will still be one of your cheapest avenues.
4) After you have found a suitable price, make sure the broker/logistics company is legit! At the very least they should have a website to direct you to or feed back on USHIP. There are a lot of brokers out there that may offer decent rates...but you will never get your package shipped. More on brokers to come...
5)OK you have your price, you know who you are going to pay to pickup and deliver your shipment, and now you have to package it. I have spent my career dealing with engines so that is what I know. But anything being shipped is pretty much the same. IT MUST BE SECURED TO A PALLET. Most companies will not do this for you...and even if they did would you really trust them to do it right? If you can, package your purchase yourself. A lot of times you are the receiver of the package so you cannot do this. So you need to work with the shipper/seller to make sure they have packaged your item securly to a pallet, or crated the item.
6)Now you know when it is being picked up, you know it is packaged correctly, and you know when you should recieve the package. If you are not comfortable with these three things...you need to find out and get comfortable before the item is shipped.
7)Receiving your item is next. While I am sure you are excited to finally have your purchase you also want to make sure it is in the condition that you expect it to be in. Check every detail of your item before you sign the delivery receipt. If your item has any damage and you do not mark the delivery receipt as such....you have no grounds to file a damage claim after the fact.
8)If your item is damaged you can still take possession of it but MAKE SURE YOU MARK THE DAMAGE ON THE DELIVERY RECEPIT. This way the freight company/broker/ or insurer will pay your claim. Most freight companies won't fight damage claims as long as it is clearly stated. They simply have to many shipments moving everyday to investigate any damage claims. That being said...no company will pay out on a damage claim with out it being marked on the delivery receipt.
These are some very very basic things to keep in mind while shipping. Throughout the next couple of weeks I will break down into more detail each step of the process to help make you a more informed shipper. Thanks
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