LTL Freight Definition
When shipping small amounts of freight on pallets or when the use of an entire trailer is not necessary, less than truckload (LTL) freight shipping is used. The shipper only pays for the space that their cargo takes up on a standard truck trailer; the remaining space is filled by the shipments of other shippers.
LTL Shipping Benefits
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- Lowers costs:
Paying only for space used within the trailer.
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- Tracking:
Carriers provide tracking options through online systems.
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- Additional services:
Liftgate, expedited, residential, limited access, inside pickup and delivery are some of the services that are available when shipping LTL.
Cost associated with LTL shipping
- Location:
Origin to Destination. Usually, a greater distance increases price.
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- Dimensions:
The weight and size of the shipment are used to determine the freight class, which has an immediate impact on costs.
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- Other Cost:
Refrigerated, hazardous, expedited, and products that need special handling can affect the cost when shipping LTL.
LTL Shipments
• Dimensions:
Number of pallets and length x width x height of each pallet. Most standard pallets are 48 x 40. For carriers to operate at full capacity and for you to avoid paying adjustment fees, accurate dimensions are needed.
• Weight:
Accurate weight of each pallet being shipped is essential in determining freight class of the shipment.
• Commodity:
Knowing exact product of what’s being shipped helps with NMFC Codes and description of palletized goods.
• Labeling:
Pallets or crates should have packaging labels that match the paperwork of each shipment. This helps to make sure that what’s being shipped is what’s received by the customer.
• Documentation:
BOL or Bill of Lading should be filled out as precisely as possible. This document serves as a receipt for the shipped goods. Carriers must have paperwork of everything they are hauling in case of inspection.
Additional LTL (Accessorials) options
- Delivery Appointment:
When a receiver needs a product at a certain time or day.
- Residential Delivery:
Consumers that buy product that ship on pallets can use this option from carriers to deliver to their home.
- Expedited:
If you need your goods to get to their destination faster than the typical transit time, get a freight quote for expedited shipping.
- Liftgate:
Used when pickups or deliveries don’t have access to a dock or forklift to load or unload product from the truck.
- Limited access:
This service is necessary for deliveries going to areas where carriers have limited access, such as schools, construction sites, car dealerships, strip malls, etc. Carriers will use a smaller trailer to gain access.
- Inside pickup and delivery:
Request this service if the carrier needs to go inside a building to get the freight to load or finish a delivery by bringing it inside.
Do you have an LTL Shipment? Contact us today for a free quote.