What is a Floor Loaded Container?

Deciding on the best way to pack a shipping container takes meticulous planning to ensure all of the space is utilized in the most efficient manner possible. The top priorities are:

• No products are damaged
• There is minimal movement while being transported
• The products can be unloaded quickly

There are a few different methods to pack a container, depending on the size and circumstances of the load. In this post, we’ll talk about floor loading services and how this method can help reduce freight shipping costs.

What is a Floor Loaded Container?

Floor loading is the practice of stacking products from the floor to the ceiling of a shipping container without the use of pallets.

This method can save money since you don’t have to pay for pallets. As well, typically fewer containers are needed to transport the products.

What Items Are Best Suited for Floor Loading?

If you’re shipping heavy, bulky products, then floor loading is your best bet. It’s ideal for items such as tires, rolled carpets, parcels, logs, metal coils, or pipes that don’t easily fit onto a pallet. 

However, this method isn’t suitable for all products. Fragile products are better protected when organized on a pallet.

How Does Floor Loading Work?

Careful planning goes into how the products are loaded into the container to optimize space. Generally, heavier items are packed on the bottom, with straps or bars used to hold them in place. This is essential, to ensure the products don’t shift around during transport and risk getting damaged.

There is also cutting edge software available to create digital loading plans that show how to tightly fit everything into the container, which also reduces damages and prevents overweight container charges.

Another important thing to note is that floor loading is labor-intensive. While pallets can be loaded and unloaded with a forklift, floor loading requires that products are moved by hand. This might incur extra labor costs.