How to Estimate Freight Cost
Freight cost in North America comes down to five inputs: distance, weight, service tier, accessorials, and fuel. Get any one of these wrong and your rate can swing 20-40% in either direction. The calculator above uses the same five-input formula that ATI freight coordinators use when sanity-checking a live carrier quote — distance from ZIP-to-ZIP, weight-driven per-mile or per-hundredweight cost, service-tier premium (LTL is cheaper per pound than expedited, FTL is cheaper per pound than partial above ~10,000 lbs), accessorial sum, and a fuel-surcharge buffer.
Use the result as a directional estimate. For shipments you're actually ready to move, call (786) 574-5774 — a freight coordinator pulls live capacity from our 100+ carrier network and locks in a firm rate, usually in under 2 minutes. You can also email rates@ship-ati.com for a written quote.
Service Tier Cheat Sheet
| Service Tier | Best For | Typical Cost Per Mile |
|---|---|---|
| LTL | 150 – 10,000 lb, 1-6 pallets, flexible transit | $0.30 – $0.90 / mi (per-cwt basis) |
| Partial | 5,000 – 25,000 lb, 6-12 pallets | $1.20 – $2.00 / mi |
| FTL | 25,000 – 45,000 lb, full trailer | $1.80 – $3.20 / mi (van) |
| Expedited / Hot Shot | Time-critical, single-driver dedicated | $3.50 – $5.50 / mi |
| Drayage | Port-to-warehouse, rail-to-warehouse | $3.50 – $7.00 / mi (short haul) |
| Reefer | Temperature-controlled, food/pharma | $2.40 – $3.80 / mi |
Ready to ship today?
Skip the back-and-forth. Talk to an ATI freight specialist now and get a firm rate in 2 minutes.
Call (786) 574-5774 or email rates@ship-ati.comWhat Drives the Final Number?
Beyond the five core inputs, three secondary factors regularly move a freight rate by 5-15%: lane density (heavy-flow lanes are cheaper because carriers want the backhaul), seasonality (produce season, Q4 retail, end-of-month dock pressure), and commodity NMFC (high-value or hazardous freight prices up for liability).
The estimate above is calibrated to a typical mid-density commodity shipping on a normal-flow lane in a normal week. Outliers — single-pallet shipments to remote ZIPs, oversize/overweight, multi-stop, hazmat with placard requirements — should always be quoted live. Call (786) 574-5774 or email rates@ship-ati.com.
LTL vs. Partial vs. FTL: Where's the Break-Even?
Rule of thumb: under 5,000 lb, LTL almost always wins. From 5,000 - 12,000 lb, partial truckload often beats LTL because LTL pricing scales harshly with weight bands. Above 15,000 lb, FTL is usually the cheaper option even if the trailer isn't full — you're paying for the truck either way. The calculator handles the math, but if your shipment is on the boundary, an ATI coordinator can run both options side-by-side and book the lower one.