About Cubic Transport

What we do

We are a freight brokerage. Shippers send us a load — usually between 350 and 3,800 cubic feet, 8 to 50 linear feet — and we arrange its transportation with carriers that run the lane: LTL carriers' volume desks, partial and shared truckload carriers, straight-truck operators and dry van, flatbed and Conestoga truckload carriers. We do not own trucks. What we own is the method for deciding which of those carriers should move a given load, and how it should be described so the invoice matches the quote.

The freight we specialise in is the freight standard LTL handles worst: HVAC ductwork and air handlers, commercial cabinetry and millwork, medical and laboratory equipment, rotomolded tanks and piping, packaging and gaylords, commercial furniture, trade-show crates, electrical enclosures, automotive body parts and commercial kitchen equipment. All of it is tall, light, non-stackable or oddly shaped — and all of it is what carrier dimensioners are built to catch.

Carrier tariff surveillance

LTL pricing is two documents: the rate (often a class-based tariff with a discount, or an FAK agreement) and the carrier's rules tariff, which defines everything that can change the bill after pickup — reweigh and inspection, cubic capacity minimums, linear-foot rules, accessorials. We keep an index of the cube-related items in the major carriers' rules tariffs and the triggers they use:

Summary of carrier rules tariff provisions as indexed by Cubic Transport. Carriers reissue rules tariffs; the current issue on the carrier's site governs any bill.

Carriers revise rules tariffs. When a revision changes a threshold, the engine's carrier rule sets change with it, and so do the guides on this site. The carrier's current published issue always governs a bill; our index is a working summary for planning and pre-audit.

Dimensional rating methodology

1. Measure the silhouette. Outside dimensions at the widest points, pallet and overhang included — the way an overhead dimensioner sees the unit.
2. Weigh with the pallet. Total handling-unit weight; density is never computed on net product weight.
3. Apply imputation honestly. Non-stackable units and units over about 60 inches are cubed to 96 inches, because carriers will.
4. Classify on the 13-tier scale. Density mapped to the NMFC subprovisions published through NMFTA Docket 2025-1, on both actual and tariff cube.
5. Measure floor space. Linear feet with two units across and stacking only where the freight genuinely allows it.
6. Test every rule. Tariff cube and density against each carrier's cubic capacity tiers; linear feet against each linear-foot rule.
7. Price the alternatives. Volume LTL, direct partial, dedicated and truckload on the same freight, then recommend one.

How we choose carriers

For every booking we check that the carrier holds active operating authority and cargo insurance appropriate to the freight, and we prefer carriers that already run the lane and equipment the load needs — air-ride for medical and electronics, liftgate box trucks for job-site and inside deliveries, Conestogas for side-loaded crates. Partial truckload carriers are chosen for how they plan multi-stop loads: we want freight loaded in delivery sequence and not re-handled en route.

We quote indicative figures openly — the model behind the engine's mode table is described on the calculator page — and tendered rates in writing with a reference number.

Contact

The fastest route to a rate is the spot rate tender.

Photo credits

Photography and video on this site are licensed from Pexels contributors and used as illustration of North American freight operations; they do not depict Cubic Transport shipments or customers.

Frequently asked questions