freight Freight - Really Don't Get it!

[frattonstation 2]

Am I the only person who cannot get to grips with freight? I have business that are closing down due to not be able to ship freight? I have a Trade Depot with the freight shipping warehouse but they remain empty??

What am I doing wrong?

[perafilozof 143]

It could be that it's too far from the factories, that the delivery trucks aren't getting through traffic in time, that you have too many factories for the number of delivery trucks to get to them in time, or the game simply thinks your making more freight then your city needs.

[frattonstation 2]

ok thanks, will perservere! 

[endorken 13]

Here’s how freight currently works in this game:

 

I buildings want to be able to ship freight every hour – that’s how they make profit, and profit is what makes them happy, allows them to go up in density, and provides you with I tax dollars.

 

Each I building has one truck that goes out and looks for a place to drop off its freight. Freight can be dropped off at depots, ports, C buildings, industrial specialization buildings, some landmarks, some services (these are the sinks).

 

If the truck doesn’t drop off its freight and make it back with the benjamins within the hour, the factory will wait an extra hour before sending the truck out again. If this happens frequently, the factory will complain of no places to ship freight.

 

You can see this process by hitting F12, which pulls up the industrial overlay map. You say you have a depot with a freight module – so you should be all set (emphasis on should, ‘cause the game works in mysterious ways). If everything is working as intended, you’ll see a truck (marked yellow on the overlay) exit the factory, drop the freight at the depot, and return back (this time marked in cyan) to the factory. If things are not working as intended, you might see the delivery truck get stuck in traffic, take a longer route, head to a different sink (like your commercial zone), etc. Sometimes buildings bug out and never send out their trucks. Sometimes the building will complain of no places to ship freight simply because it’s new or has just gone up in density or tech level (which resets all building stats).

[galacticwarrior 9]

Sometimes I get this problem when the freight warehouse is full when the freight delivery trucks get there. Try adding another trade depot or freight shipping warehouse.

[frattonstation 2]

Thanks everyone all good tips! 

[Bobington 4]

Freight is simple. Factories produce 9 freight every x minutes and have to ship it out to either a commercial zone or trade depot then the truck comes back with 9 profit. While the truck is delivering the factory stops producing freight, so the shorter the commute between industry and where it's delivering the freight, the more profitable that building will be.

[gmart530 6]

To make sure that your industrial ships its freight, I would make it a point to put your trade depot near the industrial area, literally right next to it.  You aren't limited to trade depots, so I generally place one near my factories, and another near my city entrance.  Make sure that the route is accessible, meaning that your trade depot is on the same side of the street, or if on the opposite side, an intersection is nearby to allow for u-turns. 

 

Lastly when it comes to RCI, you can largely ignore chasing the "freight order" number.  To me, in the current form of the game, the amount of industrial required to fulfill even 50% freight orders would outstrip your workforce.  I would hope this is something that gets patched as freight has no bearing on how well commercial shops or service buildings function.

[Bobington 4]

To expand on Gmarts point, freight demand is essentially infinite in the game, only zone enough to provide enough jobs for your workers and nothing more.