Welcome!
This shipping guide will help first-time shippers or those that need a refresher on how to ship freight.
Click through the shipping guides for a quick look at the LTL freight-shipping process with a special focus on the questions first-time shippers ask most often about how to ship freight.
Freight-Shipping Steps
1. Preparing Your Package
Proper packaging prevents damage. All freight should be protected with proper packaging in compliance with the NMFC.
Proper Stacking
Stack cartons squarely on a skid with no overhang. Box flaps and corrugations should face up. Make the top surface as flat as possible. Secure cartons to the skid with banding, stretch-wrap or breakaway adhesive.
Improper stacking may lead to damage.
| Different-size containers may not be uniform enough to have unit strength. |
Damage can occur if cartons overhang a pallet because there is no support for the freight in transit. |
Damage can occur when a pallet doesn’t have a flat top surface. Place single containers on an outside corner or ship them loose. |
How stacking strength is lost
Stacking strength is lost when pallets are improperly loaded:
| Pallet overhang loses up to 32 percent of carton strength. |
Interlocked pattern loses up to 50 percent of carton strength. |
Misalignment loses up to 30 percent of carton strength. |
2. Label every piece of your shipment.
Complete names and addresses must be visible on each piece to ensure your entire shipment arrives intact. The shipper and consignee information must match the Bill of Lading information exactly, and your labels must be legible and complete.
Label Placement
Ideally, you should place labels securely on the long and short sides of each piece. DOT hazardous material labels are required when shipping DOT hazardous materials.
Unless specifically provided for elsewhere in the NMFC, address markings must be affixed approximately as shown in the following examples. The location shown indicates the top, side or end. If more than one location is shown, you may choose which one to use.
3. Complete a Bill of Lading.
The Bill of Lading is a legal contract between the shipper (you) and the carrier. The Bill of Lading states exactly what is being shipped, from where it’s coming and where it’s going.
You can buy Bills of Lading from office supply stores. The Holland Bill of Lading is available at no charge from your Holland Customer Terminal. Another option is to fill out the Holland Freight Bill of Lading online and print a copy.
4. Arrange a pickup.
Call your Holland Customer Terminal to request shipment pickup. Or request your pickup online at our Pickup Request page. When your Holland Freight driver arrives to pick up the shipment, give him or her the Bill of Lading.
5. Follow your freight.
After pickup, use our online tracking tools to follow your freight as it moves through our system to final delivery. Your entire shipment moves through our system with only one tracking (PRO) number to follow. If shipped on a pallet, your shipment remains on the pallet. Individual boxes are not separated from the rest of your shipment.
Those are the basics—you’re ready to ship!
If you want additional information about shipping with Holland, read through the details below.
Set Up Holland Account
- Call Customer Service at 1.866.465.5263.
- Provide this information to the representative:
- Physical address
- Telephone number
- Fax number
- Email address
- How often and where you ship
- Shipment type and estimated weight
- Request registration to use our website’s secure tools. Customization and personalization allow you to work more efficiently and productively.
Even if this is your first shipment with Holland, you may qualify for discount pricing depending on your shipment type.
Get a Quote
- Use the rate quote tool to obtain a quote using your specific pricing program.
- Choose standard, guaranteed or time critical service
- Call to get your rate quote 1.866.465.5263, or log in today
Transit Times
To obtain an estimated delivery date for your standard service shipment, please use our Transit Times tool.
Service Day Calculation
Our Service Day Calculation tool provides service days based on an origin and destination ZIP code. Additionally, where expedited service is available, you will see service days for our Time-Critical service.
Along with standard and guaranteed service, we can schedule delivery for a time window as tight as one hour. Register today to use our secure Service Day Calculation tool to get help determining the date your shipment would need to be ready for pickup to make your customer’s required delivery date or window. When you register, you also get access to our secure and personalized online tools to quote, book and track your shipment.
Call 1.866.465.5263 for personal assistance.
Ship Now
If this is the first time you’ve used Holland and you don’t want to set up an account, call your Customer Service Center or fill out our online pickup request form.
Questions, Pickups
Complete an online pickup request or call Customer Service (1.866.465.5263) to arrange a pickup or to obtain answers to your questions.
For shipment-specific pricing, help with online rating or a list of our enhanced services, log in to use our online Rate Quote tool.
Need to expedite or guarantee delivery of your shipment? Need to schedule delivery within a specific hour, on a certain day, or across a span of days? Time Critical™ is your solution. For personal assistance, call 1.866.465.5263.
Before your shipment is picked up, you’ll need to complete a Bill of Lading and pack and label your shipment. Once your shipment is in our system, you may want to track it to its destination.
Receiving a Shipment
If you are to receive a shipment, ask your supplier when it was shipped, the expected delivery date, and inspect and review documentation that arrives with the shipment.
When the shipment is delivered
- Inspect it immediately for obvious signs of damage.
- Compare the number of shipping units received to the number listed on the delivery receipt.
- Sign the delivery receipt.
- If you have questions, ask the Holland driver making the delivery.
While the driver is there, compare the pieces you are receiving to the delivery receipt. If the condition and quantity of your shipment is acceptable, the driver will ask you to sign the delivery receipt. The driver will give you a copy and take the original signed copy with him/her (as proof of delivery).
A signed delivery receipt with no exceptions is called a “clear delivery.” Clear deliveries mean there were no shortages or visible damage at the time of delivery.
A shipment invoice will be sent to the paying party soon after pickup or delivery, depending on whether the shipment is prepaid or collect.
If a shipment is short or damaged, you should still accept the delivery. It’s the duty of the shipper and the consignee to mitigate the loss. After you accept the shipment, take steps to protect it from further loss and promptly file a claim for the actual shortages or damages involved.
Claims and Exceptions
Our goal is to deliver every shipment intact and undamaged. When we fall short of our service promise, we strive to make it right for you.
All claims for damage and shortage must be filed within nine months of delivery. If an entire shipment is lost and never delivered, the claim must be filed within nine months after the shipment should have been reasonably delivered.
To file a cargo claim, contact your Holland Customer Service Center or download and complete our cargo loss and damage claim form
If you think you were overcharged for shipping services, file an overcharge claim by downloading and completing our overcharge claims form.