Freight quote request email template
Type the shipment once. The email writes itself, you copy it, every carrier prices the same nine details.
70+ cross docks · 98.2% on time · rates in 10 seconds, the rate on the invoice
Live all-inclusive rates
Get your instant freight quote
Enter your lane and see live, all inclusive rates on the next screen. LTL, FTL, box truck, and cargo van.
Your email, written as you type
Hi there,
We need an LTL quote for the shipment below. Please reply with an all-in price, the transit time, and how long the quote is valid.
Pickup: origin city, ST ZIP. Dock: yes. Hours: 8am to 4pm. Ready: date.
Delivery: destination city, ST ZIP. Dock: yes. Hours: 8am to 4pm. Appointment: no. Residential: no.
Freight: N pallets, 48 x 40 x 48 inches each, total lb total, stackable: no.
Commodity: what it is. Freight class: please class it from the dimensions and weight.
Hazmat: no.
Accessorials: none.
Please quote by: 5pm tomorrow.
Thanks,
your name, company, phone
Pastes as plain text into Gmail or Outlook. Empty optional lines drop out. The Warp price uses the same ZIPs, pallets and weight, no signup.
- Type it in
- Copy the email
- Send to carriers
- Compare all-in
Warp customers
The nine details
Every blank in the email is one of these. Leave one out and you get a second email or a surprise on the invoice.
Subject lines a pricing desk opens first
Lane, size and date in the subject. The desk triages by subject line before it reads a word of the body.
Comparing the replies
Three numbers per carrier. Anything else in the reply is a question back.
A Warp quote is the benchmark. It's all in by design: no fuel surcharge, no freight class, and liftgate, residential, appointment and limited access at $0 on the Warp LTL tariff. If a carrier's all-in beats it, you've found a good carrier. If not, you have your answer. Don't know the class for the email? The freight class calculator gives it to you in a minute. A Warp quote never asks.
Frequently asked questions
Freight quote request email template
Type your shipment into the form on this page and the LTL or FTL email fills itself: both ZIPs, the ready date, pallet count and dimensions, weight, commodity and class, dock and liftgate at both ends, accessorials, declared value, and a reply-by time.
Copy it and send it to every carrier you want a price from.
How do I write an email asking for a freight quote?
Put the lane, the size and the date in the subject line, then list the shipment facts one per line: pickup and delivery addresses with dock and hours, pallets with dimensions and weight, commodity and class, accessorials, value, references, and the time you need the quote by.
Ask for an all-in price, the transit time, and how long the quote is valid. Send the same email to every carrier so the replies compare.
Is there a freight quote request email sample I can copy?
Yes. The LTL and FTL emails on this page are complete samples. Fill the form and they become your email; leave it empty and they copy as a template with the blanks marked.
Can I get the freight quote request email template as a PDF?
The template is plain text on purpose, so it pastes into Gmail, Outlook or any mail client without formatting breaking. If you want a file, print this page to PDF from your browser.
There's no email gate and no signup.
How many carriers should I send a freight quote request to?
Three to five for a one-off shipment. Fewer than three and you can't tell a fair price from a high one. More than five and the replies arrive on different days with different assumptions.
For a weekly lane, run a short RFP instead so the carriers bid on the volume.
What's the difference between a quote request and a freight RFP?
A quote request prices one shipment or one lane for the next few days. An RFP prices a year of lanes against scoring criteria and a contract.
Use the email on this page for the shipment in front of you, and the freight RFP template when you're awarding recurring volume.
About the Warp freight network
More about the Warp freight network
Warp is the open source freight network: the tech is free and the network is open. We run Warp LTL, our own carrier, Warp FTL, cargo van, box truck and fulfillment ourselves, with every major LTL carrier, parcel, ocean and air plugged in beside them. Our driver app rides on every truck and our warehouse app runs every cross-dock, so an open network of 38,000+ carriers behaves like one carrier you control. Warp is licensed by the FMCSA as a property broker and freight forwarder, and runs the network itself: instant rates, live tracking, 70+ cross-dock facilities, 14,000+ cargo vans and box trucks, 80%+ US LTL zip-to-zip coverage and nationwide FTL, box truck and cargo van.
The network is supported by 24,000+ vetted FTL carriers.
Unlike traditional brokers, Warp uses AI to match the right vehicle to every load based on weight, dimensions, urgency, and cost targets. Cross-dock operations reduce transit time by eliminating unnecessary terminal transfers.
Pool distribution and zone-skipping programs help enterprise shippers lower per-unit delivery costs while maintaining tight appointment windows.
Self-serve shippers can quote, compare, and book freight online in under two minutes. Enterprise accounts get dedicated capacity planning, committed rate programs, and a named operations team. Every shipment includes scan-level visibility from pickup through final delivery.
Warp operates across the contiguous United States with regional density in the Southeast, Texas, Midwest, and Northeast corridors, and West Coast and Southwest coverage from Los Angeles, Seattle and Phoenix.
Warp operates 70+ cross-dock facilities across the US, with named markets including Chicago, Atlanta, Houston, New York, Savannah, Orlando, Charlotte, Indianapolis, Columbus, Denver, New Orleans, Milwaukee, Dallas-Fort Worth, Nashville, Phoenix, Tampa Bay, Seattle, Los Angeles. They support faster transfers and fewer touches on recurring lanes.
Freight modes and vehicle types
| Mode | Max payload | Max cube | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cargo van | 3,500 lbs | 400 cu ft | Time-sensitive, last-mile, light pallets |
| Box truck | 10,000 lbs | 1,500 cu ft | Regional distribution, no dock required |
| LTL | Per-pallet | Shared trailer | Lower per-pallet cost via cross-dock routing |
| Dry van / FTL | 42,000+ lbs | Full 53-ft trailer | High-volume lanes, recurring programs |
Cargo vans handle loads up to 3,500 pounds and 400 cubic feet, ideal for time-sensitive deliveries, last-mile retail replenishment, and lightweight palletized freight.
Box trucks carry up to 10,000 pounds and 1,500 cubic feet, fitting most regional distribution and store delivery needs without requiring a loading dock.
Dry vans and full truckloads move 42,000+ pounds for high-volume lanes and recurring programs. LTL shipments share trailer space on optimized routes through Warp cross-docks, reducing per-pallet cost by consolidating multiple shippers on the same vehicle.
Warp does not default every shipment to a 53-foot trailer. The AI engine evaluates load weight, cube, delivery window, and cost to recommend the right vehicle. Shippers see all available mode options with live pricing in one comparison screen before booking.
Cross-dock operations
Cross-docking at Warp facilities keeps freight moving instead of storing it: inbound freight is sorted and transferred directly to outbound vehicles, typically within hours. When inventory does need to sit, Warp's fulfillment centers in Los Angeles, Dallas, Chicago and New Jersey hold it inside the same network, with same day delivery within 30 miles of each.
This reduces dwell time, lowers damage risk, and compresses delivery windows. Warp cross-docks support pallet-in, pallet-out operations with scan-level tracking at every handoff point.
- Atlanta — Southeast retail flow
- Chicago — Midwest manufacturing and replenishment
- Houston — Texas industrial distribution
- New York — dense Northeast delivery
Facility locations are selected for corridor density: Atlanta handles Southeast retail flow, Chicago serves Midwest manufacturing and replenishment, Houston covers Texas industrial distribution, and New York supports dense Northeast delivery. Each facility operates on appointment-based scheduling to prevent congestion and maintain throughput consistency.
Enterprise freight programs
Enterprise shippers get committed rate programs, dedicated account management, and custom SLA design. Warp builds lane-by-lane rate structures that account for volume commitments, seasonal variation, and mode flexibility. Operations teams monitor shipment execution daily and intervene proactively when exceptions occur.
Self-serve freight quoting
Shippers enter origin and destination, load details, and delivery requirements to see live rates across all available modes. Quotes include estimated transit time, vehicle type, and total cost.
Booking takes one click. After booking, shippers track every shipment with real-time GPS location, milestone updates, and proof of delivery documentation.
Industries and use cases
Retail shippers use Warp for store replenishment programs that deliver to hundreds of locations per week on tight appointment windows. Apparel brands use zone skipping to bypass regional parcel sortation and reduce per-unit delivery cost.
Food and beverage companies rely on time-definite delivery for perishable goods. Manufacturing operations use Warp for inbound vendor consolidation, combining multiple supplier shipments into fewer, fuller loads through cross-dock facilities.
Distribution companies use pool distribution to serve multiple delivery points from a single origin, splitting full truckloads at cross-docks into smaller last-mile vehicles.
Urgent freight recovery covers emergency capacity needs when primary carriers fail or demand spikes unexpectedly. Middle-mile optimization reduces cost and transit time on the longest segment of multi-leg shipments.
Send the email, or skip it.
The ZIPs, pallets and weight you just typed price the same shipment on Warp. The rate comes back in 10 seconds, and it is the rate on the invoice.
70+ cross docks · 98.2% on time · rates in 10 seconds, the rate on the invoice
Performance figures are computed from Warp network data. See our methodology.
