Probably going to start sending some stuff to FBA LTL. Re-reading through the ‘help’ section here:
and it says:
Blockquote
To use a partnered LTL or FTL carrier, you must meet the shipment requirements described below and have the following:
A forklift to place pallets on a truck
A dock to place pallets on a truck. See the dock requirements below.
The ability to accommodate a 53-foot trailer coming to your pickup address.
Do we actually have to have a forklift? We’re planning to use a powered walkie (walk behind pallet jack) to put stuff on the truck. These pallets will be single stacked and less than 700 pounds. We have the appropriate dock (we already receive stuff by 53’ trailer) and dock plate.
And for those of you who use partnered LTL carriers, how long is it taking for pickups these days? I don’t think we’re in an area where Amazon-dudes will actually do the pickups. Lowest cost carriers will probably be Estes, SAIA, or Central Transport.
(Disclaimer: I’m not actually in shipping, I just walk by a lot.) I can say I don’t think I have ever seen the actual forklift vs a powered pallet jack used, though we have both available at our loading dock. I think we only ever single stack for Amazon. Similar niche to ASV_vites so chiefly our pallets are case pack, stacked for stability as appropriate.
Yes. These trucks don’t have power lift gates - I guess you could request it before pick up but that will be a headache and a half. If you don’t have a loading dock (we don’t) then forklift is your 99% option with a bit of a chance they have trucks with lift gates. I’ve only seen UPS trucks have them a while ago, but UPS is no longer a partnered carrier option in our area since 2023. Estes, Central, ABF, ACT Cooper etc - haven’t seen with lift gate but before setting up shipments you can call local dispatch and ask them if they do have them for amazon pickups. Then set up shipment plan and select the LTL shipper (not necessarily the lowest cost) and try to match - it will be a headache and a half imho.
It’s a min of a week for Amazon Freight usually. If you are forced to use 3P, it’s muck quicker, and often 3X the cost. Also, the 3P companies don’t get into FBA anywhere near as quickly as Amazon Freight (which is why we wait (faster in and cheaper). If you don’t have that option, you don’t have that option. But certainly look, because they show available much further in the calendar for pickup. You’ll see it as a much lower cost which indicates AMZ Freight.
Depending on who the other carriers are in your region they will have liftgates and drivers who GAF. There is no negotiation with Amazon Freight LTL they will blame you for everything, even when you do things to make things easier for the driver.
We had a full set of docks one day and we got dinged for using the forklift in the parking lot, instead of making him wait 45 minutes. You also only have 30 minutes to load them when they arrive (within their appointment window), so hand loading and lifting a pallet jack onto an Amazon Freight LTL trailer will most certainly make the driver roll their eyes and rat you out.
We have an appropriate size/height dock. We receive stuff all the time from 53’ trailers. We just pull them off with a pallet jack. Wondering if we’re going to get in trouble if we load with a non-fork lift (a manual or powered pallet jack).
No, not if you have a dock. We have loaded at least 50 docked trailers with a pallet jack when we ran out of propane (my fault) one week. I didn’t schedule the truck to come refill the cylinder rack.
What VTR says is correct. If you have a loading dock then the trailer should be able to back up with no issues - then you can use any pallet jack roll in pallets.
I’ve been doing partner carrier pickups for about 10 years and never had any issues with needing a forklift. Amazon limits your pallet weight limit to 1500 lbs so I don’t see why a forklift would be required as long as you have a trailer height dock.
My guess is this will come into play if you put that your pallets are stackable. How would you stack the pallets without a forklift? I haven’t looked recently but I saw no discount to stack pallets before, why take a risk on damage doing it?
