How Less Than Trailer Load Shipments Work

As a manufacturing company, or a company that produces a physical product

, you may have different sized pieces of freight that need to be shipped. Smaller parcels or packages of up to 150 pounds are usually handled by parcel carriers. Full semi-trailer loads run between 26 and 53 feet and usually need to be full in order to be economical. If your cargo is between these two sizes, it is usually described as "Less than Trailer Load" or LTL. You may wonder how local shipping and freight companies deal with less than trailer loads.

Consolidation

One of the ways that local carriers handle loads that are between 151 pounds and 20,000 pounds is to consolidate freight from various shippers onto trailers that are enclosed and are then delivered to either the source terminal or a hub terminal where they can be sorted for additional dispersion. Often, local carriers will begin with a full load in the morning and follow a set route where portions of the load are delivered.

When the trailer is empty, the driver begins his pickup route and picks up loads until either the trailer is full or the route has been completed. Once he returns to the terminal, the freight may be unloaded and inspected and weighed so it can be compared to the paperwork that was included with it. At that point, the freight may be loaded onto a trailer which will either take it to its destination terminal or to a connecting terminal.

Timeframe

Less than Trailer Load freight usually takes longer to be delivered than Full Truckload freight (FTL) because the time for transporting it includes more than just the distance from the shipper to the delivery point. For LTL shipping, time is spent along the pickup route as the trailer is filled with cargo from a number of shippers, and there is also time spent relative to the number of connections that must be made before the shipment reaches its destination.

Benefits

Although it often takes longer for LTL freight to arrive than for FTL freight, the cost to hire a full trailer to haul a smaller or exclusive shipment is much higher than the cost for LTL shipping. In addition, LTL carriers often offer services that are not usually available from FTL carriers. These are services such as pickup or delivery liftgate service, inside delivery, non-commercial or residential pickup or delivery, notification before delivery, and other similar services.

by: John V

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