The world is a pretty big place, and it’s full of all sorts of towns and cities and stores and so much more. All of this stuff had to be built, and so all of these materials had to be shipped out. This is why a lot of people claiming that freight moving, or trucking, has really been the key to society’s success in terms of development. Basically, anything you see out there that has been built was likely trucked in as raw materials. It’s really amazing to think about all the many items that have been moved over the years.
Though is there anything that you aren’t allowed to transport through this method? Obviously, illegal items are off the table. But what about other sorts of stuff? Trucking companies like SteelesGroup.com can pretty much move anything, but it doesn’t mean they can just freely pack up and go. Here’s some more information on the topic.
Items that May Require a Special Permit
Toxic/Hazardous Materials
There have been huge ecological disasters due to spilled toxic waste, oil and gas, and other sorts of hazardous materials. This is why not every single trucking company in business is going to be hauling this sort of stuff. The company will have to apply for permits to haul this sort of cargo as a specialty, and it may typically require expensive custom equipment and drivers who are trained to work with these sorts of materials.
Livestock
Pigs, cattle, chicken, sheep, and other livestock are very often moved around. But if you have ever seen any of those trucks on the road, then you know that they’re specialty trucks that have stalls in the trailers. Animals aren’t merely loaded up into the backs of trailers and shipped out. This not only requires a trucking company to get a permit to move such an item, but it’s also going to require a lot of specialty equipment. This is why some companies specialize in only moving this sort of freight around.
Foodstuffs
Food is hauled constantly. That’s how it gets from farms and factories to all the many different grocery stores and other locations. People aren’t out there walking it in baskets; it’s all loaded up in the back of trucks. However, most of these trucks are refrigerated trucks or government-approved in some way so that they know that the food is being handled safely. This is something that a trucking company will have to apply to do. It’s not a random job that any company can pick up one day. The government places a lot of emphasis on food safety.
Weapons
While most provinces have no issue with giving you a personal license to own certain types of weapons, it’s not as if random trucks are just going to start hauling tons of guns around the highways without some type of clearance to do so. Of course, these shipments are most likely moving from manufacturers to sales locations, and so they have to get there somehow. But it takes a very trustworthy trucking company and an even more trusting driver to haul such dangerous freight around. It’s an item that’s going to require a special permit.
Vehicles/Wide Loads
Have you ever passed one of those big trucks on the road carrying a bunch of cars on its trailer? How about one of those “wide load” vehicles that are hauling some pre-fab house? While these things are obviously allowed on the roadways, they do require special permits to move. There are all sorts of different insurance and safety implications with such loads. So while they’re allowed, it’s not as if a trucking company can just freely start moving the stuff around. They are going to have to get some type of special permitting to allow the transport of these particular items.
As you might imagine, there’s not much of anything that freight companies aren’t allowed to haul. All sorts of things can be considered freight. The real issue is in knowing what’s legal to be hauled. Quality trucking companies know when they need a special permit for such items, and the best companies already have them and are ready to move.