subject: The Economics of LTL Shipping [print this page] The Economics of LTL Shipping The Economics of LTL Shipping
In the recent years, it cannot be denied that more companies are becoming more flexible in their delivery and logistics systems. With the introduction of just-in-time (JIT) manufacturing systems and lean manufacturing systems, more companies are opting to ship only the exact amount of materials that are needed at a certain period of time.
With this, the recent trend has been to ship less in smaller quantities but more frequently. Manufacturing companies are also becoming more concerned over the quality of their products and getting the best transportation service available in order to deliver the products to their customers in their best condition.
With these increasing trends, Less Than Truckload (LTL) shipping companies are booming and the demand for their services is indeed rising.
LTL or less than truckload shipping is the transportation of freight that is of a relatively small volume and weight. The shipments usually range from 151 to 20,000 pounds in weight and usually a single shipment would not fill up an entire truck. That is exactly why it is called less-than-truckload shipping because the shipment is less than a full truckload.
Since the whole truck is not full, you only need to pay for the space that is occupied by your products. The LTL carrier bases the payment they charge on the weight of the shipment and also on the additional services that the company availed of like lift gate for pickup and delivery, notifications, freeze protection, and others.
LTL shippers also have the privilege of checking the status and delivery of their shipment which really gives the shipper a sense of security knowing that the delivery is easily tracked.
Using the traditional methods of delivering goods like renting out a private truck would not only cost you more from the rental, labor, fuel, and toll charges but would also cost you some compromise in terms of quality since you might not be so familiar with the effective logistics systems and procedures.
LTL carriers also have the technical know how on effective scheduling of delivery and the right way to package shipment so that the deliveries arrive on time and in good quality.
The overall time of delivery usually depends on the number of terminals between the point of pick-up and delivery. But since LTL carriers are good in scheduling, your package will surely arrive on time. They usually make use of a transportation management and logistics software so that they come up with the optimum schedule always at the most optimal costs.
