Who owns Shaw’s Darwin Transport?
Shaw’s Darwin Transport is a private family company owned by its founder William Shaw, who actively controls the business. Whilst we provide services to many of Australia’s major transport companies, they have no financial interest in this company.

How long has Shaws been operating?
William Shaw purchased his first Kenworth in 1981, and has operated road services from Sydney to Darwin continuously since December 1981.

Which destinations are serviced by Shaw’s?
We are specialist long haul carriers and operate only direct services from Sydney, Perth and Brisbane to Darwin, and return. We also operate between Sydney and Perth, and can onforward to other destinations in WA and NT. We do not service intermediate towns in NSW, SA, or Qld, and do not provide services between Sydney and Brisbane. See "Depots and Routes" page for more details.

How are freight prices calculated?
In very simple terms freight prices are determined by the size, weight and distance the goods have to be carried. There are several other factors which can influence pricing including the packaging, fragility, urgency, or hazardous nature of the goods and the availability of handling equipment at the despatch and delivery points.

To obtain an accurate freight price you will need to know the exact size and weight of each item to be shipped, and the delivery address.
We are pleased to provide pricing for single movements, simply complete the "Request Quote" page and email us for a fast response.

What is "Cubic Allowance" and how is "Cubic Weight" calculated?
A standard trailer can carry up to 24000kgs of freight and has about 72 cubic metres of space in which to carry that loading. Therefore each cubic metre needs to carry 333kgs. This is the "Cubic Allowance". It can vary for different modes of transport, for example shipping generally works on 1000kgs/cubic metre because it can carry more weight per volume, whereas airfreight works on a smaller figure because it can carry less weight per volume.

Most packaged products weigh less than 333kgs for each cubic metre of volume so it is necessary to convert their size into an equivalent weight, this is the "Cubic Weight" It is calculated by multiplying the volume (length x width x height) of each package by the cubic allowance (333). For pricing purposes the greater of actual or cubic weight is used. To easily calculate the cubic weight of your shipment please use the "Cubic Calculator" page.