Freight tools · Cost drivers

Freight Cost Calculator

Describe the shipment and see which of the ten cost parts apply, what drives each one and what information would change it. Every part is marked Requires Quote: this tool explains cost, it does not price it.

  • No prices, no guesses
  • Human-reviewed quotes
  • Nothing is sent while you use it

Last reviewed: 2026-09-30 · Pricing: Requires Quote on every cost part

RapidShips LLC · rapidships.com · 800-376-2808

Your shipment

Only relevant questions appear
Freight already rejected, shifted, damaged or stuck?

Choose what happened. You get the fastest path, not the quote form.

1. Services

Which services do you need?

Pick all that apply. Not sure? Pick the closest and add a note.

2. Freight

Weight unit

Largest pallet or piece optional

3. Route and equipment

Container or trailer type and size.

Pickup required?
Delivery required?

4. Timing and handling

How urgent is it?
Appointment requirements
Special handling

For your own copy of the breakdown. Notes are never sent or saved.

Cost breakdown

Not a price

Choose a service to see which cost parts apply.

  1. Base ServiceNot indicatedRequires Quote
      What drives base service

      What it is. The service you are asking the dock to perform: cross-docking, transloading, storage, rework, or a combination of them.

      Why it affects cost. Each service uses the dock, the crew and the equipment differently, so the service mix sets the starting point of every quote.

      What information changes it:

      • Which services you need
      • Whether freight arrives in a container, a trailer or a box truck
      • How many inbound and outbound loads there are

      Learn more: Cross-Docking, Transloading, Cross-Docking vs. Transloading vs. Warehousing

    • HandlingNot indicatedRequires Quote
        What drives handling

        What it is. Each time freight is touched at the dock: unloading, staging, moving it into storage, retrieving it and loading it out.

        Why it affects cost. Every touch takes a forklift, a pallet jack or hands, plus dock time. Floor-loaded cartons take far more handling than pallets.

        What information changes it:

        • Pallet count, or carton count if the freight is loose
        • Floor-loaded or palletized
        • Mixed items that must be separated
        • How many outbound loads the freight is split into

        Learn more: Floor-Loaded Freight, Floor-Loaded vs. Palletized Containers, Devanning

      • LaborNot indicatedRequires Quote
          What drives labor

          What it is. Crew time for the work itself, from unloading to the last label.

          Why it affects cost. Labor follows the job. Hand-unloading, sorting, repalletizing, labeling and rework are all crew-heavy, and fixed appointment windows can require crew at specific times.

          What information changes it:

          • Pallet count
          • Loading and unloading complexity
          • Sorting
          • Repalletizing
          • Labeling
          • Rework
          • Appointments

          Learn more: Repalletizing, Lumper, Freight Rework & Restacking, Retail Compliance Relabeling

        • EquipmentNot indicatedRequires Quote
            What drives equipment

            What it is. Forklifts, pallet jacks and dock doors the job ties up, plus materials used on the freight such as new pallets, stretch wrap and corner boards.

            Why it affects cost. Heavy pieces, tall or non-standard pallets and floor-loaded containers change which equipment is used and for how long. Forklift operators must be trained and evaluated under OSHA rules, so equipment time is skilled time.

            What information changes it:

            • Container or trailer type and size
            • Heaviest piece and total weight
            • Pallet size and height
            • Whether new pallets, wrap or corner boards are needed

            Learn more: Pallet, Pallet Calculator, How a Damaged Pallet Gets Rebuilt

          • StorageNot indicatedRequires Quote
              What drives storage

              What it is. Time the freight spends in the building between arriving and leaving.

              Why it affects cost. Stored freight occupies floor or rack positions for as long as it stays, so more pallets and more days mean more storage. Storage is separate from the handling in and out.

              What information changes it:

              • Number of days
              • Pallet count and whether pallets can be stacked
              • Handling on the way in and on the way out

              Learn more: Warehousing & Short-Term Storage, Short-Term Freight Storage vs. Demurrage, Free Time

            • TransportationNot indicatedRequires Quote
                What drives transportation

                What it is. Moving freight to or from the dock: drayage from a port terminal, pickup from a shipper, delivery to a customer.

                Why it affects cost. Trucking is priced by the carrier on distance, equipment, waiting time and appointments. RapidShips is an asset-backed dock, not a broker or drayage carrier, so transportation is usually arranged and priced by your carrier. Tell us if you need it and the team will confirm what is possible.

                What information changes it:

                • Whether pickup is needed
                • Whether delivery is needed
                • Origin and destination
                • Equipment type
                • Appointment windows

                Learn more: Drayage, Port Newark Drayage Guide, How Is LTL Freight Priced?, LTL vs. FTL: Which Should You Use?

              • Special HandlingNot indicatedRequires Quote
                  What drives special handling

                  What it is. Extra care the freight needs: fragile or high-value goods, heavy or oversize pieces, damaged or leaning pallets, or an overweight load that has to be corrected.

                  Why it affects cost. Special handling slows the job down, can need extra people or equipment, and usually needs photos and written documentation.

                  What information changes it:

                  • Condition of the freight
                  • Heaviest piece
                  • Photos of the freight
                  • Damage already found

                  Learn more: Overweight Load Correction, Shifted Load Repair, Freight Damage Claims Under Carmack, Overages, Shortages and Damages

                • UrgencyNot indicatedRequires Quote
                    What drives urgency

                    What it is. How quickly the work has to happen.

                    Why it affects cost. Same-day, overnight or weekend work means rescheduling crew and dock doors and can displace other appointments. Hard deadlines such as a last free day leave less room to plan.

                    What information changes it:

                    • Arrival date
                    • Must-move-by date
                    • After-hours or weekend needs
                    • Deadlines such as the last free day

                    Learn more: Freight Emergency Help, Free Time, Port-Rejected Container Recovery

                  • AccessorialsNot indicatedRequires Quote
                      What drives accessorials

                      What it is. Charges for services or events beyond the basic move, usually defined in a carrier's tariff or a contract: detention, layover, lumper fees, redelivery, truck ordered not used.

                      Why it affects cost. They are triggered by events, often waiting or last-minute changes, so they are hard to predict until the plan is fixed.

                      What information changes it:

                      • Appointment requirements
                      • How long trucks wait
                      • Who unloads
                      • Chassis and container return

                      Learn more: Accessorial Charge, Detention, Who Pays When a Truck Driver Waits at a Shipper or Receiver?, Chassis Split Fee, Pre-Pulls & Street Turns

                    • Potential Additional ChargesNot indicatedRequires Quote
                        What drives additional charges

                        What it is. Costs that show up when the freight or the plan changes: freight booked as palletized that arrives floor-loaded, damage, count differences, extra storage days, or clocks billed by others such as demurrage, detention and chassis per diem.

                        Why it affects cost. A quote is built on the information you give. When the freight is different, the work is different.

                        What information changes it:

                        • An accurate freight description
                        • Photos
                        • The packing list
                        • Realistic timing
                        • Container free time

                        Learn more: Demurrage vs. Detention, Shipper Load and Count, Packing List

                      This tool explains cost drivers. It does not price freight, and nothing here is a quote or an offer. RapidShips has not published approved pricing, so every part shows Requires Quote. A person reviews every request.

                      Scenario mode

                      Compare three ways to run the same freight

                      Same freight, three setups. Each added service adds work: handling, labor, storage and coordination. No dollar amounts, only what gets added.

                      What each scenario adds, based on the freight details above
                      ComparedA: Cross-dock onlyB: Cross-dock and storageC: Cross-dock, rework and storage
                      Cost parts that apply   
                      Cost drivers   
                      Handling touches   
                      Labor tasks   
                      Storage   
                      Coordination steps   
                      Adds compared with A   

                      Uses your pallet count, packing and timing from the calculator. With no details yet, it compares a generic palletized load.

                      How to Read the Breakdown

                      Each of the ten parts shows whether it applies, may apply or is not indicated by what you entered, and lists the drivers behind that. Open a part to see what it is, why it affects cost and which information would change it. The full explanations, with sources, are on Freight Cost Intelligence.

                      Why There Are No Prices Here

                      RapidShips quotes each job after a person reviews it, and has not published approved pricing. A number made without seeing your freight would be a guess, so every part is marked Requires Quote. The calculator is built so that approved pricing rules can be switched on later; until then it will not show a dollar figure.

                      Want to know how prices across the industry have moved? The trucking and warehousing price indexes show the trend. An index is not a rate.

                      From Cost Drivers to a Quote

                      Ready to ask? The Freight Scope Builder picks up your selections, lists what is still missing and builds a freight request summary you can copy, print or send. Freight already in trouble? Freight Emergency Help is faster.

                      Frequently Asked Questions

                      Does the Freight Cost Calculator give me a price?
                      No. It shows which parts of a job drive cost and why, and marks each part Requires Quote. RapidShips has not published approved pricing, so the calculator never shows a dollar amount. A person reviews every quote.
                      What does Requires Quote mean?
                      It means the cost part depends on details the dock has to review, such as the freight's condition, counts and timing. The team confirms the scope and quotes it.
                      What is scenario mode?
                      Scenario mode compares three common setups for the same freight: cross-dock only, cross-dock with storage, and cross-dock with rework and storage. It shows which cost drivers, handling touches and coordination steps each one adds, without dollar amounts.
                      Is anything I enter stored or sent?
                      Nothing is sent while you use the calculator. If you continue to the Scope Builder, your selections are kept in this browser tab only, so you do not have to type them again. Free-text notes are not kept, and closing the tab clears everything.
                      Freight Scope BuilderTurn the details into a request summary and a human-reviewed quote request. Freight Cost IntelligenceThe cost factors, the ten parts of a quote and where each cost is explained. Transloading CostWhat drives transloading charges near Port Newark. Pallet CalculatorFootprint, cube and weight for pallets.
                      RapidShips dock, East Brunswick, NJ

                      Talk to the dock

                      RapidShips runs its own dock with 3 doors in East Brunswick, NJ, 24/7 by appointment. Every quote is reviewed by a person.

                      Call RapidShips 800-376-2808