Book Shaw's Darwin Transport through Senditt.

William Shaw started the business in 1981 with a Kenworth prime mover, hauling road express on the Sydney to Darwin route under subcontract to a national carrier. The name Shaw's Darwin was registered in 1986, and the first Northern Territory depot opened in 1989. In 2011 he handed control to a board of his long-serving managers. It remains independently owned, and it owns and operates its own equipment.

Shaw's runs scheduled direct services each week from Sydney, Brisbane and Perth to Darwin, from Darwin back to all three, from Sydney to Perth, and from Darwin to Katherine as an onforwarding service. The three routes into Darwin and Sydney to Perth carry Express and General services; Darwin to Sydney is Express, while Darwin to Perth and Darwin to Brisbane are General. Every Express service has two drivers.

For its own customers, Shaw's can arrange dry or chilled produce loads out of Darwin on request, extra full trailer loads when asked, and dedicated hot shot charters at short notice.

Adelaide works differently: Shaw's has a depot at Two Wells, and its Adelaide to Darwin freight, stopping at Alice Springs, is run together with other independently owned Adelaide carriers.

The Darwin depot sits on about 11 acres at East Arm, with two warehouses joined by a covered freight area and open hardstand for heavy equipment. The other depots are at Wetherill Park in Sydney, Sumner Park in Brisbane and Forrestfield in Perth, and Shaw's says its own customers always talk to a staff member at their local depot.

Its fleet moves pallets, cartons, crates, shipping containers and machinery, for goods such as fresh produce, boxed meat and seafood, pharmaceuticals, medical equipment, vehicles, mining equipment and building materials. Its refrigerated vehicles run from ambient down to minus 25C, and it offers its customers temperature monitoring. Machinery work covers bobcats, excavators, tractors, forklifts, scissor and boom lifts, cars, vans and trucks. Its B2B Couriers service takes parcels and cartons between Sydney and Darwin, Perth and Darwin, Brisbane and Darwin, and Sydney and Perth.

Shaw's own clients sign in on its website to follow a consignment, check orders and view invoices, proof of delivery and tracking reports. Its prime movers carry satellite tracking, and local drivers update consignment notes on handheld devices as they go. A Shaw's booking made through Senditt is followed from your Senditt dashboard with the rest of your freight.

Shaw's own quote form asks first whether you are a business customer, and separate conditions of carriage apply to business and private senders. Its conditions list goods it will not carry, including firearms, livestock, antiques, household effects and white goods not in their original packaging. Under the business conditions it carries dangerous goods only if it agrees to, while the conditions for private senders exclude them. Shaw's runs no pallet accounts and does not exchange pallets. A Senditt quote lets you compare carriers before you book, and Shaw's can be among them.