Top 5 Factors Affecting Shipping Prices in Canada

Let’s face it, everyone loves to shop online, but Canadians spend most of their time shopping or adding a few things to their cart daily. With affordable shipping prices in Canada, it’s not a shock to see how much people continue their need to shop from everywhere in the world. The only thing stopping them are certain factors that bring higher shipping prices.

First, from the size of your package to the distance you need to travel – there are indeed various variables that influence the price of your shipment in terms of Canada shipping. Knowing these and several other costs that might occur can better explain how your shipping cost is measured. There are many aspects at stake when it comes to evaluating shipping rates in Canada. 

What are the main factors that affect shipping prices in Canada?

When shipping within Canada, prices tend to depend on various factors. Much like everything else, these factors determine whether your shipping rates in Canada are higher or lower than what you are willing to pay for.

Item height and weight

Each courier seems to have its own unique categories and terminology to define weight and size restrictions, but they will typically provide envelopes for standard A4 papers, containers for bigger documents, and lightweight products, boxes, and pallets. Overly large or odd-sized items can be approved at a surcharge. If you’re still unsure about your package’s size, it’s a smart idea to contact your chosen courier.

Dimensional (DIM) weight is another aspect that may affect shipping prices in Canada. It relates to the package’s weight, which may be the amount of space that it consumes in addition to its actual weight. The DIM weight of your package would become the billable weight as it approaches the real weight.

Keep in mind that aside from the item height and weight, the possibility of a service charge for oversized or odd-sized packages also exists. You could be paid extra for non-stackable or cylindrical containers as well as for items that are bigger than the regular format of your carrier. Canada parcel rates are highly different from document rates. After all, parcels are much bigger than documents, which also affects how much the shipping rates in Canada are.

Distance of shipping

If you are exporting domestically or internationally, the transportation expenses will also be affected. Carriers often use unique geographical zones to calculate the distance your shipping needs to travel. The longer the gap, the higher the cost.

But if you’re doing local shipping, you must know that in shipping within Canada, prices are much more affordable than international shipping. Before diving into the world of international businesses, you might want to consider starting locally. 

Delivery times

Based on the country of origin and the destination, the carrier will usually provide a range of regular and express operating hours. Business names vary by carrier, but timelines typically fall under any of the following domains. Under delivery times, you will also encounter factors like these:

• Time-specific shipments that distribute packages to accurate time slots

This category includes express deliveries, which also has overnight and same-day shipping services involved. Standard shipping times likely differ around two to seven working days, based on the distance to be traveled by the shipment.

• Extended area coverage for remote areas

We all know that there is a huge difference when sending products to residential and commercial areas. The same concept goes for remote areas. There must be an additional charge to distribute packages to remote areas since its remoteness is why not all shipping services are open to serving.

Insurance Charges

Damages, loss, and theft can never be something you can’t rule out even when you give your package the utmost care when loading, unloading, and driving the package to its destination. Therefore, it is important to get insurance coverage for your items. Insurance costs can significantly contribute to your transportation costs and depend on your transporting products’ type and value. When shipping packages, Canada parcel rates tend to cover a lot more insurance than documents.

Mode of Transportation

Choosing the appropriate mode of transportation is of the utmost importance when moving goods. You need to consider two things when making your decision: transit time, which is the time it takes for your item to reach the destination, and the costs related to the selected mode of transportation. 

To lower transit time or achieve faster transit, you need to use faster transportation modes, such as air transport. This mode of transportation also comes at a higher cost. But higher transit time or slower transit can also increase costs by increasing the inventory carrying costs.

Shipping Prices in Canada

You must not forget to keep track of what kind of items you are purchasing or selling online. Take note that there is also a list of products that aren’t allowed in Canada, in addition to a variety of hazardous products that pose a danger to an individual or any other shipment. 

Transporting goods begins with the packaging. You should know that, as a seller or as anyone sending products anywhere because you can’t just half-heartedly load things into any truck then drive away to reach your destination faster. You need to appropriately wrap those packages with proper packaging materials that you can easily buy from anywhere. 

A good thing about proper packaging is that it ensures the safety and security of all your items. However, this aspect also increases your item’s volume and weight. How you pack your items also decide your mode of transportation. Road transport and air transport come with a difference in transportation costs. You must also ensure that all information stated is correct and up-to-date to avoid correction fees incurred when a shipping courier changes the paperwork.

Every company has different costs to ship the same package between the same two points since every company operates on its own mission and vision. Some companies’ high operating costs are because of the lack of presence or established network within particular areas of Canada. For other companies, they prefer to ship items to those areas less. 

Shopping around for prices from different companies is a great way to get the cost of shipping down. With Stallion Express just one call away, you can easily handle shipping and get shipping rates in Canada that’s within your budget.

Diana Zheng

Diana leads the growth marketing initiatives at Stallion Express. As a personal trainer turned digital marketer, Diana is obsessed with equipping eCommerce entrepreneurs with everything they need to scale their online businesses. You can catch her doing yoga or hitting the tennis courts in her spare time.