Pack n Send Blog

This article may seem a bit early to our friends out west who are experience snow and blizzard conditions. These may be the exact people who are considering moving to warmer climates this summer. 

So, as summer approaches individuals and families are talking about moving.  It can be for a better job, a better school district, a move to be near family, or simply wanting a new place to live. Moving in the city is relatively easy. You can hire your own truck and move things on your own, or you can hire a company to move you. This way you save your back and have the move done professionally. Why not look for a small load mover?  A Houston shipping company offers advice below.

We will now discuss the type of move that may prove to be a bit more challenging. It is the out of town move. These moves usually involve job changes or moving closer to family members.

If you have a relatively small amount of belongings to move, or if you have date specific pick up and delivery dates, we recommend that you look at freighting your belongings.

What is freighting belongings? It is when your furniture and belongings are protected and then loaded onto a pallet.  The pallet is then loaded onto a freight truck. The freight truck moves your belongings and will then drop them off, still on the pallet. The pallet can be dropped off at your curb, and you and some friends can unload the pallets on your own.

As an alternative to you unloading, you can have the pallets delivered to a warehouse. The warehouse personnel will unload the pallet and then deliver them inside of your new residence, just like regular movers.

 Why do Houston shipping companies recommend freighting of furniture?  First of all, you can specify the pick up and delivery date, even if you are moving a small amount of belongings out of town.  A traditional out of town mover will make stops at other residences along the way to your new destination. This may not work within your time frame. Freighting of furniture does not require any pound minimums, and does not require any minimum amount to be spent on a move.

College students use furniture freighting at the end of semesters or at the end of their stay at a university.  Families use furniture freighting as a way to save on moving costs. Businesses use furniture freighting when moving to new cities, or when consolidating offices.

Besides the freighting of furniture and belongings, you can request for the company you hire to both pack and un pack for you. If you look at the whole picture, you are able to move and have a time specific delivery in a new modern and effective method. Traditional movers will be happy to pack and unpack you, or you have the option of doing it on your own.

As a way to feel more comfortable with freighting furniture and belongs, talk to interior designers. They analyze the least expensive cost to ship furniture across country. They send their furniture to receiving warehouses. These are the same receiving warehouses that will take receipt of your belongings. They then accumulate their purchases until the residence or business that they are decorating is ready to receive the new furnishings.

The interior designer or interior decorator then determines the best time and day for the delivery of the furniture or accessories.  You will be treated to the same service that professionals in the decorating world experience. 

If you have any questions about pick up, packing or freighting furniture or belongings, please feel free to contact pack n send in Houston at 713 266 1450.  We are happy to discuss your move and a modern way to ship your items from city to city.

When describing to our customers exactly what a “small move” is, it is best to discuss the difference between a small move and a large move.

 In the shipping industry we usually talk about a few pieces of furniture being a small move.  When you are moving from city to city and only want to take a few pieces of furniture and some boxes with you, this is considered a small move.

 There are a few ways to accomplish this move.  You can hire a traditional blanket wrap mover who will charge you based on the mileage, the value and the amount of space that your items will take up in the truck.

 Or you can look for a company that can freight your furniture. The company you choose should wrap your furniture, place it on a pallet, and secure the furniture to the pallet.

 The furniture should be surrounded by protection on the outside of the pallet.  Our website has a video that you can view to see exactly how a pallet should be built and protected. Our video can be found at www.pack-n-send.com  See the recent videos on the bottom left of the home page.

 When you freight furniture,  the pallet is delivered to your curb and you are responsible for unloading the pallet.  This is a great option for locations that are a little off the beaten path.

 For more information about a small move, please feel free to call pack n send at 713 266 1450.

www.mikemccaffrey.net/projects/my_new_desk" title="DSCN9597 New Work Area" class="draggable ui-draggable shadow" style="top: 0px;" />

When looking to move a few items, there are a few alternatives. 

You can hire a small load mover that has no minimum weight requirement, or you can look a company that can move your belongings via freight. 

When you use the freight alternative, your items are picked up, loaded onto a pallet and delivered to your curb. You save moving dollars this way by unloading your belongings and taking them inside your home or business on your own. 

We recommend locating a company that can offer both small load moves and a freighting alternative. That way, you as a consumer can analyze the best option for you. 

Companies that offer both services can ship freight anywhere in the world, and move items anywhere in the 48 lower states. 

They offer blanket wrap moves, where the pick up your belongings, blanket wrap the belongings and then deliver them inside your residence or business. 

Ask if the company has experience moving the following:

• Antique dealers
• Individuals
• Interior decorators
• Offices
• Auction houses
• Assisted Living Centers
• Estates
• Nursing Homes
• Furniture Stores
• Businesses    

  Check and make sure that the company you choose has experience with high value, difficult to manage and large items.

 If you need more information on differentiating between a small move that is a blanket wrap move, and a furniture move via freight, please feel free to call pack n send at 713 266 1450.

Pack n send in Houston, TX. has a recommendation to businesses and individuals with small amounts of furniture or office equipment.

Instead of using a traditional mover, it may be cost effective to look for a company that is willing to build a custom pallet and freight your furniture. The furniture or office equipment can be sent via freight to its destination. Your items can be valued for loss or damage during shipping. This is usually a money saver, because it involves less manpower.

When you receive your freight shipment, inspect it before the driver leaves. Make sure as you would in a move that everything has arrived in good condition.

If you do not want to use freight, then you should look for a mover that puts more than one individuals belongings on a truck and does multiple multi city moves at one time. The truck driver will pick up and deliver your goods either inside your home or business. Your items can be valued for loss or damage during shipping.

This is an alternative to using a large mover that requires a minimum dollar amount be spent, or a minimum number of pounds be shipped.

For more information on freighting furniture or moving small amounts of furniture in a truck,  please contact pack n send at 713 266 1450.

 Pack n send is posting this article from the Houston Chronicle.  This is the most current update on the closure of the Houston ship channel.  While it was anticipated that the ship channel would be open this morning, it looks like there is a slight delay.

 Ship Channel closure could be lifted today

By ZAIN SHAUK and JENALIA MORENO
HOUSTON CHRONICLE

Problems clearing electrical tower delayed plans to reopen sooner

 After encountering unexpected difficulties Tuesday in clearing a damaged electrical tower from the Houston Ship Channel, workers hope today to end a three-day bottleneck at the Port of Houston.

At least 70 ships, including 33 oil tankers, were waiting Tuesday to leave or dock at the port. The U.S. Coast Guard cut off access to about three-fourths of the 150 terminals Sunday after a tug pushing three barges crashed into the 300-foot-tall electrical tower.

An average of two dozen vessels move through the port daily, generating about $322 million in economic activity.

Houston-area refiners receive crude oil shipments through the channel and have said that so far they've been able to continue operations using oil already on hand.

"Certainly having the Ship Channel open will improve conditions for everyone and we're eager to see the channel opened as quickly as possible," said David Harpole, a spokesman for LyondellBasell.

Valero had not expected a crude shipment before today, and a spokesman said its operations were not affected.

Unexpected delays

The Coast Guard and CenterPoint Energy, which owns the tower, had hoped to reopen the channel Tuesday night, but faced delays in cutting down some of the 14 cables — including 12 high-voltage wires — from the damaged structure, which was leaning precariously on one of the barges involved in the collision

An investigation continues into the cause of Sunday's accident.

Tuesday afternoon, a crew of 40 using four barges, two cranes and three tugboats was removing a cable from the tower when the cable hung up on other equipment, one of several unexpected delays, said Capt. Marcus Woodring, the Coast Guard's sector commander in the Houston-Galveston area.

"That's going to take a little while to untangle," he said. "It's not a showstopper, it'll get untangled, but it's just one of those unforeseen things."

No electricity was flowing through the lines.

After removing the cables, CenterPoint was expected to begin an operation to sever the steel tower from its crumpled base in the waterway, Woodring said.

"We have a shearing tool — like a hydraulic cutter — that hopefully will cut through the legs very easily and then we'll be able to lay the tower down on a barge," he said.

"We have a shearing tool — like a hydraulic cutter — that hopefully will cut through the legs very easily and then we'll be able to lay the tower down on a barge," he said.

Some optimism

Meantime, shipping companies awaited word on when they can resume transiting the channel.

"Every day that goes on, it gets more and more serious and there are more backups," said Niels Aalund, vice president of the West Gulf Maritime Association, which represents 183 shipping industry firms. Still, he said, "there's optimism that this can get opened up quickly."

Buffalo Marine Service, a Houston bunkering company, continues to work in terminals that remain open in Galveston and Texas City. But its business in the closed area of the channel has come to a halt.

"If there aren't any ships coming in that need fuel, we don't have much work to do," said company Vice President Chuck King.

For information about Houston shipping, crating and freighting, please contact pack n send at 713 266 1450.

SOMALIA – In yet  another  pirate attack, the most southerly reported this year so far in the region, a UAE owned tanker was seized around 100 miles South of Dar es Salaam after unloading its cargo of bitumen at Mombasa in Kenya. The attack follows three previous attacks this week on freight vessels off the Tanzanian coastline.

The vessel was once again Panamanian flagged and was manned by an all Indian crew of 15 according to local reports. We have had no word so far from the vessels owners Bitumen Invest. The ship is the MT Asphalt Venture an asphalt carrier en route to Durban when radar observation showed her turn suddenly and set a course for Xaradheere, about 300 miles north of Mogadishu on the Somali coast.

We have no reports of any contact with the vessel at this time since she altered course early this afternoon. With the seasonal increase in pirate raids, vessel owners and operators are warned by the  authorities to be extra vigilant and take all possible precautions against attack.

Pack n send found this article in the Handy Shipping  Guide. Since we ship worldwide freight and cargo, we constantly monitor the shipping lines throughout the world.  With ships being detained on a regular basis, we look for lines that offer the best possible routes.

For more information on cargo and freight shipping from the United States, please contact pack n send at 713 266 1450.

 Pack n send is publishing this article taken from the Handy   Shipping News to show that weather and natural delays in freight do not only occur in the Untied States.

NEW ZEALAND – After our story  earlier this month  on the hardships endured in South Island in the wake of the earthquakes there were immediate disruptions the following day (15th September) when landslips on North Island in the Manawatu Gorge closed State Highway 3 to all traffic, including freight trucks. At that time the road was swiftly cleared and reopened within a few hours.

NEW ZEALAND – After our story earlier this month on the hardships endured in South Island in the wake of the earthquakes there were immediate disruptions the following day (15th September) when landslips on North Island in the Manawatu Gorge closed State Highway 3 to all traffic, including freight trucks. At that time the road was swiftly cleared and reopened within a few hours.

Now however the Gorge is closed to rail freight for the next two days at least after a further slip caused a train carrying a cargo of 400,000 litres of milk to derail yesterday (Saturday). The freight train was heading for Palmerston North from Hawkes Bay when upon rounding a bend the driver saw the blocked track. Despite efforts to stop in time the KiwiRail train ran into the earth slip, fortunately with no injuries to the crew. Another train also hit a slip at Taumarunui on Saturday morning, fortunately again with no injuries and no reports of major delays.

Further interruptions to cargo have occurred due to the persistent bad weather which closed State Highway 73 to high sided lorries and caravans when high winds threatened to overbalance tall vehicles and heavy snowfalls occurred in some mountain areas. The outlook however is good for the next few days with dire weather warnings lifted. Meanwhile the stricken milk locomotive remains stranded after the wagons were removed and towed via an alternative line to their destination and efforts to clear the earth fall using other trains continue whilst the main line at Kaikoura is due to open later today after almost two weeks following the massive landslip there.

Now however the Gorge is closed to rail freight for the next two days at least after a further slip caused a train carrying a cargo of 400,000 liters of milk to derail yesterday (Saturday). The freight train was heading for Palmerston North from Hawkes Bay when upon rounding a bend the driver saw the blocked track. Despite efforts to stop in time the KiwiRail train ran into the earth slip, fortunately with no injuries to the crew. Another train also hit a slip at Taumarunui on Saturday morning, fortunately again with no injuries and no reports of major delays.

Further interruptions to cargo have occurred due to the persistent bad weather which closed State Highway 73 to high sided lorries and caravans when high winds threatened to overbalance tall vehicles and heavy snowfalls occurred in some mountain areas. The out look however is good for the next few days with dire weather warnings lifted. Meanwhile the stricken milk locomotive remains stranded after the wagons were removed and towed via an alternative line to their destination and efforts to clear the earth fall using other trains continue whilst the main line at Kaikoura is due to open later today after almost two weeks following the massive landslip there.

For information on freight and cargo shipping, please contact  pack n send at 713 266 1450.