Know the key difference between parcel shipping and pallet shipping
Safety of the consignment is essential while transporting, due to which utmost importance is provided to packing of it. Not all items can be packed in the similar manner, depending on the product, the packing is decided. Some might need a standard packing, while some product may need pallet packing being bulky. Hence, it’s important to understand the difference between parcel shipping and pallet shipping (LTL) and what fits best for your consignment.
What’s Parcel Shipping?
It is the most popular method for shipping consignment when the items to be shipped are small, lightweight and can be easily lifted without much assistance. Here the items are placed in a package or a carton, generally, wrapped in a plastic film/bubble wrap or a protective material. The item ranges from clothing to car tyres. What the carrier does is to consolidate such parcel shipment to a pallet and ship it accordingly.
Benefits of parcel shipping
- Easy to track
- Minimum time loading and unloading
- Parcel shipping is the best choice when the item is small and to individual customer
What’s Pallet Shipping?
Pallet shipping is the best choice when the item to be shipped is bulky and has to ship multiple packages at once to a single location. Stack the boxes on a pallet and send them as a single shipment.
Benefits of pallet shipping
- Safely packaged
- Fewer manual handling at checkpoints
- Less risk of loss or damage
- Moved using only a forklift
The difference between parcel and pallet shipping
| Parcel shipping | Pallet shipping | |
| Safety | The parcel is securely packed to last till the shipment ends. | Safety is more as it is packed in pallets. |
| Speed | Parcel shipments are fast as they can be easily lifted and distributed. | Pallet shipments might get delayed due to travel from terminal to terminal, transhipment and via trucks. Also the bulky parcel requires equipment to unload and load. |
| Tracking | Tracking is easy as it’s only one product in one package. | Tracking is difficult due to many products in a single pallet. |
| Cost | Cost-effective as it is light weight. Easy handle. | Quite a pricey affair as it carries large and bulky material but cost-effective in case of shipping large amounts of parcel to the same location. |
Which one to choose – Parcel shipping or Pallet shipping?
The choice of shipping completely depends on the requirements of the customer.
- If you need to ship more than one or more lighter packages, then it’s always better to go with parcel shipping, you can still opt for pallet shipping, but it will be a costly affair.
- In case of heavy parcels, or where you need to send more than one package to the same location, then it’s best to choose pallet packaging.
