Hawaii has a lot to offer. There are beautiful people living and cultivating one of the most naturally stunning places in the world. There’s a stability to statehood, but a cultural romance (and desolation) that comes from being on an island in the middle of the largest ocean on the planet (and the most isolated population center on earth).
There’s Spam, and “Aloha!” and cruise-ship tourists, and surfing, and a whole heap of 21st century Americans – mixing about in a stew of indigenous culture and pride.
There’s also freight in Hawaii. And it’s not so hard to see why. So that’s what we’re going to talk about today.
Hawaii quotes are very common in freight shipping. Hawaii is an island, one with limited natural resources. Hawaii is also home to millions of people; people who want gas-guzzling cars, non-indigenous fruits and vegetables, and maybe some good old-fashioned Texas brisket once in a while.
Like you expect, all this stuff has to be shipped there just like anywhere else. The problem arises when you take a glance at the thousands of miles of Pacific between Hawaii and pretty much everything else. No matter how hard we try, humans haven’t been able to colonize the ocean.
Maybe Elon Musk can tackle Atlantis after Mars. But since 1959, Hawaii has been one of the states united, so it’s important to get our Hawaiian brethren everything they (and we) need.
Hawaii quotes are similar to most LTL quotes. You can get cost estimates using zip codes, weight, and class. Packaging is key so use standard-sized pallets, but watch out for the 65% pallet rule. In fact, for many of our Hawaii quotes, we use an LTL carrier for the “mainland” portion of the shipment.
After one of our trusted carriers picks up the freight, it will make its way to the west coast, Los Angeles most of the time, to a freight forwarder.
A freight forwarder is not exactly an LTL carrier, though it acts in a similar manner. Once freight is dropped off at a freight forwarder, the shipment is then put on a plane (or sometimes a ship), and transported to Hawaii. Once it lands in Hawaii, it can either be picked up at the forwarding terminal, or some forwarders even have trucks that will deliver the freight like any other LTL shipment.
The forwarder, when getting your Hawaii quotes, will require their own bill of lading, their own PRO number, and their separate invoice. But if you’re using a freight broker then you won’t have to worry about that. Some of the larger LTL carriers offer a Hawaiian freight quote straight through, while others use freight forwarders.
As expected, there are some limitations for shipping freight to Hawaii. Some locations aren’t available for residential delivery, and not every single island is serviced by every single carrier. But it’s certainly not the end of the world to get freight to Hawaii!
At FreightPros, we do it every day. Check out our Hawaii quotes for LTL freight, and cut out some worry about how your shipment is being handled.