Expedited vs Standard Shipping: Which Is Best for Your Business?

While standard freight shipping can take up to seven days, expedited shipping usually delivers freight within one to three days. The type of your freight and the distance it’s traveling plays a huge role in how quick shipping can be. Whether you’re shipping a less-than-truckload (LTL) or full truckload (FTL), we’ll walk you through when expedited and standard shipping is best for your business needs.

Key Takeaways:

• Expedited shipping delivers freight between one and three days, making it the quickest method for smaller freight shipments.
• You can apply expedited shipping to your LTL or FTL pickup and delivery. Keep in mind the process doesn’t change, just the speed of it.
• Standard shipping can take up to seven days or longer depending on the route. However, standard shipping is often the better choice for bulky, heavy freight.

Need a standard delivery or a quick turnaround? USA Truckload Shipping has you covered.

Which Should You Choose?

You should select expedited shipping for freight that is time-sensitive, while freight that isn’t time-sensitive can be transported using standard shipping. Here at USA Truckload, we have the resources and expertise to facilitate either method of transport. Whatever you need moved, we can ship it. 

How Fast Is Expedited Shipping?

Expedited shipping typically delivers your freight to its final destination within one to three business days.

The process to move cargo quicker isn’t different from standard shipping. What changes is the speed at which your carrier moves the freight.

For example, a carrier who offers expedited shipping can ramp up its dispatch by communicating with drivers to find the shortest routes with the least traffic for a quicker delivery.

Expedited shipping also includes the utilization of team drivers. This ensures that drivers aren’t delayed by hours of service restrictions. The utilization of teams guarantees the smooth transit of freight with no delays. 

We at USA Truckload Shipping offer expedited shipping—even if your haul needs to hit the road within four hours.

Best Products To Ship with Expedited Shipping

We’ve provided a graphic with scenarios where shippers often choose expedited shipping.

Keep in mind that expedited shipping is an additional service for your LTL or FTL shipment. However, if you know your freight is high-priority, speeding up the process to get it where it needs to go may be best for your business to improve customer satisfaction.

Related: Is Expedited Freight Service Worth It? Costs, Timing, and More

Transit Times for Standard Shipping

Standard shipping can take up to seven business days or longer depending on the type of freight and route your driver is on.

If your driver is delivering freight within the same city or state, pickup and drop off may only take one day. 

However, if your freight is moving coast-to-coast, the standard transit time for drop off may be four weeks out.

Best Products To Ship with Standard Shipping

Standard shipping is best for non-urgent freight shipments and bulky or awkwardly shaped freight.

Using standard shipping doesn’t mean your delivery is slow or delayed. As long as your carrier understands your freight needs and plans a clear route to load and unload your goods in a timely manner, standard shipping can be a great, cost-effective option.

Cost Considerations

Besides speed of transit, the most drastic difference between expedited and standard shipping is the cost. Expedited services are going to be much more expensive than the standard alternative. 

Reasons for this include:

• Dedicated resources
• Combined ground and air freight services
• Guaranteed delivery expectations
• Faster delivery and priority handling

Each of these features are unique to expedited shipping. While providing an exact amount is difficult because every shipment is slightly different, costs can be 50% to 100% more expensive than standard transport. That said, the price is worth it if you’re in need of a fast shipping solution. 

Find out how much your expedited load will cost by filling out your USA Truckload Shipping quote.

How the Two Services Compare To One Another

Still not sure which shipping option is best for your needs? We’ve created a comparison table that compares how the services perform on different metrics. 

As this comparison table shows, there’s a night and day difference between the two services.

What You Should Ask Your Provider

Regardless of which method of transportation you want to use, there are some questions that you should ask your carrier. This will give you insights into how they perform standard and expedited shipping.

Here are the questions you should ask:

• What are your typical expedited transit times? If you need fast shipping, it’s essential you know just how quickly your carrier can get you from point A to point B. 
• What is your on-time delivery rate? There’s no point in using expedited shipping, or even standard shipping, if your carrier is late. Asking this question helps you determine their reliability.
• How do you provide tracking for your shipments? The way carriers provide visibility for shipments can vary between services. 
• What is your pricing structure? Expedited shipping will always be more expensive than standard shipping, but understanding how carriers provide their rates will help determine if you’re being charged a fair rate. 

While some carriers and 3PLs might be hesitant to provide this information, USA Truckload Shipping values transparency. We’re happy to show you why we’re the right choice for your transportation needs. 

Can You Expedite FTL and LTL Shipments?

You can speed up FTL and LTL shipments, but there are a couple of factors to keep in mind.

• FTLs are direct transits from pickup to drop off so the standard shipping time is usually less than seven days depending on the freight, distance, and route.
• LTLs are consolidated shipments that spend more time on the road than FTLs because each shippers’ freight has its own stop. 

When you apply expedited shipping to either, the transit time for FTLs can reduce to less than a day; and for LTLs, the transit time reduces to just a few days in some cases. 

With USA Truckload Shipping’s expedited shipping, we can reduce your transit time by including air ship options like securing the next flight for your freight to make it to its final destination.

Related: What is the Difference Between FTL and LTL Freight Shipping?

Quick, Reliable Shipping with USA Truckload Shipping

No matter what your cargo is and where it needs to go, you can count on us to move it on time, every time. Book your next haul with us today. Give us a call with your questions at (866)-353-7178 or contact our freight consultants here.