Skip to content Skip to navigation

4 Benefits of Transloading

Logistics is an important operation for many companies. After all, getting your goods into the hands of customers and clients is how your business remains successful. When your shipment involves large or bulk items, you need to ensure you’re choosing the right method of transportation. For some, this includes transloading.

Transloading is the process of moving a shipment from one method of transportation to another, such as moving a shipment from water to rail, water to truck, rail to truck, or vice versa. Transloading allows companies to move the longest leg of transport, such as barge from New Orleans to Chicago, via the most cost-effective mode of transportation, then switch to the appropriate mode for final delivery (such as truck from south Chicago to downtown Chicago). Understanding the benefits of transloading can help ensure you make the right choice for your business’s logistics needs.

1. It’s cost-effective

When you’re shipping long haul, transloading can be a cost-effective option because it gives you the flexibility to use different shipping methods at competitive prices. For example, since rail is more widely used for long haul, it is typically cheaper to do a long-haul shipment via rail than road. With transloading, you can get the better rate by hauling via rail and then moving the items to a truck when closer to the delivery destination. This allows you to secure the better rate while still getting your shipment where it needs to go.

2. It helps expand your reach

With transloading, you can use the various shipment methods to reach different areas, both domestically and internationally. For example, if you only rely on rail or road, your shipments may be landlocked. However, transloading allows you to move your shipment from rail or road to water, which can help you reach more destinations and grow your business.

3. It makes shipping more efficient

Transloading storage facilities create shipment efficiencies for your business. Instead of constantly shipping your items from its point of origin to various locations, you can store the items in a storage facility either near your biggest customers or near your production facility. Then, when an order needs to be fulfilled, you can have it shipped directly from the storage facility to the customer. This will take less time to accomplish and will cost you much less. You’ll enjoy the cost savings, and your customer will enjoy getting their items in a timely fashion.

4. It simplifies your operations

Shipping bulk or heavy materials can create some challenges, but transloading allows you to consolidate your shipment to make it easier to transport as well as more affordable. For example, what may require 60+ trucks to move could be done using one barge. This not only consolidates your shipment from over 60 to one load, but it can also cost less.

From water to rail to road, transloading provides many benefits to your company that are hard to ignore. Using this method allows you to have a cost-effective way to streamline your shipment, expand your reach, and make your shipping more efficient.

Ozinga offers transloading and other logistics services. If you’re interested in transloading for your business or are looking for more information, contact us today.

Related Articles

About Ozinga


Ozinga provides quality bulk materials and diverse concrete solutions delivered where you need it, when you need it with our extensive network of transportation services including truck, rail, barge and ship terminals across the Midwest and South Florida regions.

Our Locations

Meet Your New Partner

You need a partner who can help you streamline your projects, eliminate problems before they arise, and help you get the most bang for your buck. We’re exactly that partner.

Let’s Talk