Freight and logistics for closeout loads, from pickup to dock

What does freight look like on a closeout deal?

Closeout freight is the work of moving a load you bought from the seller's dock to yours, at a cost that still leaves margin. Pick the mode by pallet count, weight and destination. Agree who pays, who loads and when risk passes before you agree price. Then inspect every load before you sign.

Most closeout loads are sold where they sit. The buyer usually arranges the truck or container, pays the freight and takes the risk once the goods leave the seller's dock. That makes freight a buying decision, not an afterthought. A load that looks cheap at the warehouse can become expensive at your door if it needs a liftgate, sits in storage for a week, or arrives short with nothing written on the receipt.

How large a share of your cost freight takes depends on the lane, the mode and how dense the goods are. Get a real freight quote before you offer, divide it by the units you expect to sell, and add it to the unit cost. On light, bulky goods it can matter more than a few points on the purchase price.

Contents

• What does freight look like on a closeout deal?
• Freight modes for closeouts
• How is freight priced?
• Pickup terms: who pays and who carries the risk
• How much fits: trailers and containers
• Appointments, docks and liftgates
• The bill of lading
• Receiving, damage and freight claims
• Storage and staging
• Freight per unit and landed cost
• Handing off to export
• Choosing a carrier or broker
• Before you book freight: checklist
• Mode decision table

Freight modes for closeouts

Each mode suits a different size of deal. Most experienced buyers use three or four of them in a normal year.

Parcel

Parcel carriers move individual cartons. It makes sense for samples, a few cartons of a high-value item, or online resellers buying small lots. Once you are shipping more than a handful of boxes to one address, a pallet is usually cheaper and safer, because one pallet is handled as one piece instead of many.

LTL (less than truckload)

LTL freight puts your pallets on a trailer with other shippers' freight. Pallets move through terminals, often changing trucks along the way. It is the default for one to several pallets. Every extra handling is a chance for damage, so stretch wrap, corner boards and a solid pallet matter more here than anywhere else. For the cost side, read what it costs to ship a pallet LTL.

Volume LTL and partial truckload

When you have too much for normal LTL but not enough to fill a trailer, carriers and brokers offer volume LTL or partial truckload quotes. Your freight shares a trailer but usually moves with fewer handlings. It is the right tool for something like 8 to 18 pallets, depending on lane and weight.

Full truckload (FTL)

A full truckload means you pay for the whole trailer, usually a 53-ft dry van. The truck picks up at the seller and goes straight to you. Price is set per trip, not per pallet, so cost per pallet falls as the trailer fills. What a full truckload costs covers the drivers of that price. Closeout truckloads are sized around this unit.

Intermodal

Intermodal moves a container or trailer by rail for the long middle part of the trip, with trucks at each end. It can cost less than over-the-road truckload on long lanes, at the price of longer and less predictable transit. It suits goods that are not time-sensitive and are packed to handle rail movement.

Ocean FCL and LCL

For export, a full container load (FCL) gives you a sealed box of your own, packed at the warehouse and opened at destination. LCL shipping puts your pallets in a shared container through a consolidation warehouse, priced by volume or weight. FCL vs LCL for export compares them in detail. Most closeout export trade runs on full containers.

Local box truck or your own pickup

For short distances, a rented or owned box truck, or a cargo van for a pallet or two, can beat any carrier quote. You control timing and loading. You also carry the cost of the vehicle, the driver's time, fuel, insurance and any damage. It works well for buyers within a short drive of the seller who can collect during warehouse hours.

How is freight priced?

Freight is priced on what the goods are, how much space and weight they use, where they go, what extra services the pickup and delivery need, and fuel. No two quotes are comparable unless they use the same dimensions, weight and services. Get those right and most surprise charges disappear.

Class and density

US LTL pricing uses freight class under the National Motor Freight Classification (NMFC), published by the NMFTA. There are 18 classes, from 50 to 500. Lower classes are denser and cheaper per pound. Since the 2025 changes, the NMFC relies much more on density, which is pounds divided by cubic feet. A pallet of loose plush toys and a pallet of canned goods with the same footprint can fall many classes apart.

Weight and lane

Carriers price by weight in breaks, and by lane: origin, destination and direction. Lanes into busy markets with little freight going back out often cost more than the reverse. Rates move with the season and the market, so treat any quote as good for a short time and get a fresh one for each load. Ask two or three carriers or brokers for the same lane on the same day to see where the market sits.

Accessorials

Accessorials are charges for anything beyond dock-to-dock service. Common ones:

• Liftgate at pickup or delivery
• Residential or limited-access delivery (schools, farms, construction sites, storage units)
• Delivery appointment or notification call
• Inside delivery
• Re-delivery after a failed attempt
• Detention (driver waiting beyond the free time) and layover
• Reweigh and reclass when the carrier finds your declared details were wrong

Fuel surcharge

Most carriers add a fuel surcharge that moves with diesel prices. Many tie it to a published diesel price average and a table in their tariff, so ask which index and table a quote uses. Compare quotes on the all-in number, including fuel.

Pickup terms: who pays and who carries the risk

The pickup term in your deal tells you who books freight, who pays it, and when the risk of loss moves to you. The closeout trade uses a mix of international and US domestic terms, often loosely. Always write the term, the named place, and who loads into the purchase confirmation.

EXW and "FOB origin"

Most closeout loads are sold EXW or "FOB origin". Under Incoterms EXW, the buyer handles everything from the seller's premises, including loading. In practice the seller's warehouse often loads your truck with a forklift, but the risk is still yours. In US domestic trade, "FOB origin" or "FOB shipping point" usually means the buyer takes title and risk once the goods are handed to the carrier at the seller's site.

Incoterms 2020 vs US domestic FOB

The Incoterms rules, published by the International Chamber of Commerce, have 11 rules in the 2020 edition. Seven work for any mode: EXW, FCA, CPT, CIP, DAP, DPU and DDP. Four are for sea and inland waterway only: FAS, FOB, CFR and CIF.

That is where confusion starts. Incoterms FOB means risk passes when the goods are on board the vessel at the named port of shipment. It has nothing to do with a truck at a warehouse in Ohio. US domestic "FOB origin" and "FOB destination" are separate commercial terms that come from US practice and the UCC, not from the ICC. If you write "FOB" on an export deal, name the port. If you mean the seller's dock, say "EXW [address]" or "FOB origin, [address], buyer's carrier".

CIF is common in export quotes. The seller pays freight and minimum insurance to the named destination port, but the risk still passes to the buyer when the goods are loaded on board at origin. If the container is damaged at sea, the buyer claims on the insurance the seller bought.

On Skyline Dealz Marketplace, once a member's offer on a load is accepted, the load is on hold for that buyer. Ask us for pickup details on the deal: the pickup point, loading, timing and payment terms are agreed in writing before the truck is booked.

How much fits: trailers and containers

Space and weight decide the mode. These numbers assume standard 48 x 40 in pallets.

Heavy goods can hit the weight limit before the floor is full. US federal gross weight on the Interstate is 80,000 lb for the whole truck, and usable payload depends on the tractor and trailer, so give the carrier the real load weight and ask what their equipment can legally take. Container payload limits depend on the box, the road and the port; the box's own maximum is printed on its door, and the trucker hauling it will tell you what the road allows. LTL carriers also cap pallet height, and limits vary by carrier, so check before you build or accept tall pallets.

Floor-loading loose cartons fits more product than palletizing, but it takes much longer to unload and needs labor at your end. Tall gaylords of loose returns usually cannot be stacked. For worked examples, Euro pallets, turned pallets and overhang, read how many pallets fit in a trailer or container.

Appointments, docks and liftgates

Most warehouses that sell closeouts run on appointments. Missing a pickup slot can push you a day or more and may add storage or detention. Book the slot first, then the truck.

Match the equipment to both ends. A dock-high door is roughly 48 to 52 in off the ground, the same height as a trailer bed, so a forklift or pallet jack can roll straight in. Without a dock you need one of these:

• A liftgate truck (book it as an accessorial at pickup or delivery, or both)
• A forklift on site that can unload from ground level
• A box truck or trailer with a ramp you can pallet-jack down safely

Tell the carrier the truth about your receiving site. A "commercial dock" that turns out to be a storefront on a narrow street is a re-delivery charge waiting to happen. How to pick up a closeout load walks through the pickup day step by step, including what to do when the load is not ready.

The bill of lading

The bill of lading (BOL) is the shipping contract and receipt between shipper and carrier. It names the shipper, consignee, carrier, pickup and delivery addresses, piece count, weight, freight class for LTL, special instructions and any seal number. On ocean freight, the ocean BOL also works as a document of title.

For closeout buyers, three lines on the BOL matter most:

1. Piece count. Write the number of pallets or cartons, not "1 load".
2. Condition at pickup. Any damage visible at loading should be noted then, with the driver's signature.
3. Seal number. For sealed trailers and containers, record it at pickup and check it at delivery.

Receiving, damage and freight claims

Receiving is where you protect your money. Count pallets against the BOL, check the seal, photograph the load before anything moves, and inspect while the driver is still there. Write specific exceptions on the delivery receipt, such as "3 pallets leaning, shrink torn, 6 cartons crushed". A bare "subject to inspection" may not protect you.

In the US, the Carmack Amendment (49 U.S.C. § 14706) governs carrier liability for interstate shipments. A carrier may not set a claim filing deadline shorter than 9 months from delivery. Damage you only find after the driver leaves is concealed damage, and carrier tariffs set short windows to report it. Read the carrier's tariff or ask for the window in writing before delivery, and report concealed damage as soon as you find it. Keep the damaged goods and packaging until the claim is settled or the carrier releases them.

A freight claim is not the same as a condition dispute. If the trailer arrived sealed with the seal intact and the goods are not what the manifest said, that is between you and the seller, not the carrier. Inspect a load and file a freight claim covers the documents and the process. For manifest differences, see manifest accuracy and variance.

Storage and staging

Sellers rarely want to hold sold goods for long. Warehouses that sell closeouts are usually clearing space, and many charge storage after a set number of free days. On a Skyline Dealz load, ask us for pickup details on the deal. Ask about free time before you pay, and plan pickup inside it.

Staging is the step between "paid" and "on the truck". The seller pulls the pallets, wraps them, labels them and places them near the dock. A load that is staged and labeled loads fast. A load that is still mixed into racking does not. Ask whether the load is staged before you book the truck.

At your end, plan floor space before the load arrives. A 26-pallet truckload takes up real room, and floor-loaded cartons take even more labor and space to sort. If you are reselling to other jobbers or running a bin store, decide in advance which pallets go straight back out and which get broken down.

Freight per unit and landed cost

Freight only means something per unit. Landed cost is what each unit costs you once it is on your floor: purchase price, freight, accessorials, insurance, handling, storage and, for imports, duties and clearance.

Work it in letters. A load costs P and freight costs F. Spread over N units, freight adds F ÷ N per unit, and landed cost before handling is (P + F) ÷ N. Now take a second load at the same P and the same F, but with heavier goods, so only a fifth as many units fit on the truck. Freight per unit is five times higher. Same truck, same freight bill, very different effect on margin.

This is why buyers compare loads on landed cost, not on purchase price or percent of retail alone. The pricing side is covered in how to calculate landed cost.

Handing off to export

Export changes who does what. The domestic leg runs from the seller's warehouse to a port or consolidation warehouse. The ocean leg runs from port to port. A destination leg ends at the buyer's warehouse. Each leg has its own documents and its own risk point under the Incoterm you agreed.

Most closeout exporters load full containers at the seller's dock (a "live load" or "drop and pick"), so the goods are handled once and sealed at origin. Smaller buyers often truck pallets to a consolidator for LCL, or buy mixed pallets and build a container over several deals.

Paperwork carries as much weight as the box. Commercial invoice, packing list, ocean BOL and, for some markets, a certificate of origin or pre-shipment inspection. See FCL vs LCL for export and the bill of lading entry. Skyline Dealz works with exporters who load containers at origin, and agrees loading details in writing.

Choosing a carrier or broker

You can book through a freight broker, call an asset carrier directly, use your own truck, or accept the seller's carrier. Each has trade-offs on price, control and liability. Freight broker or own carrier lays them out.

Whoever you use, check their operating authority and insurance on the FMCSA registration lookup before you hand over a pickup number. Brokers must hold a $75,000 surety bond or trust. Double brokering, where a load is re-brokered without permission to an unknown carrier, is a known fraud pattern. A pickup number is a release of goods, so treat it like money. For more on fraud in the closeout trade, see how to spot a fake liquidation supplier.

Before you book freight: checklist

Run through this before you request a quote or give anyone a pickup number.

1. Payment made as agreed, and the seller has confirmed in writing that the load is ready for your carrier.
2. Pickup term written: EXW or FOB origin, named address, who loads.
3. Pallet count, dimensions (L x W x H) and weight for each pallet, or carton count if floor-loaded.
4. Stackable or not stackable.
5. Pickup site: dock-high or ground level; forklift available; hours; appointment required.
6. Delivery site: dock-high, liftgate, residential or limited access; hours; appointment.
7. Any hazmat, lithium batteries, aerosols or temperature needs declared.
8. Free time at the seller's warehouse and storage charge after it.
9. Carrier or broker authority and insurance checked.
10. Who signs the BOL at pickup, and who will inspect at delivery.
11. Freight cost divided by unit count, added to your landed cost.
12. For export: Incoterm, named port, documents list and who prepares each.

Mode decision table

Use this as a starting point, then quote at least two options when you sit between rows.

Pallet counts here are rough guides. Heavy or tall freight changes the answer, so check space and weight together.

If you buy loads, freight is part of your offer. Skyline Dealz Marketplace offers pallets, truckloads and containers to approved member buyers; browse the wholesale closeouts hub and request access to receive matching loads. If you hold excess stock, send us your load details and we will come back with an offer; read about selling excess inventory and get an offer for your inventory.