subject: What Is Ltl Service? [print this page] LTL shipping service is a type of courier service which is offered by larger trucking companies. This might be the most common type of courier service utilized because it is appropriate for such a wide range of customers shipping a wide range of products. For companies that need to ship loads larger than what can be comfortably carried by a small parcel carrier, or for those shipping loads which are not large enough to warrant the hiring of a whole truck, LTL is the perfect option.
LTL shipping means less than truck load. The other primary option which a trucking company offers is known as full truck load, or FTL. FTL is only for people that are shipping loads which weigh more than 10,000 lbs, unless they have a special reason for wanting to hire a full truck when shipping a lighter load. Cargo under 100lbs is usually going to be shipped with a parcel carrier or courier company. Everything in between is perfect for an LTL delivery company.
LTL means that a single truck is going to be shared between several different companies. The trucking company will find several clients who are shipping in a similar direction, if not to the exact same city. They will then try to fit as much cargo as they can, from as many clients as they have to, onto a single vehicle until they have managed to fill a truck completely.
LTL provides an advantage for this middle class of shippers because of the money it can save them. Many of the costs on a shipment that have to be paid in full by a single company when shipping FTL can be split between many different customers when shipping LTL. For someone trying to ship larger amounts of cargo on a budget, LTL is often an excellent option.
The only downside to LTL shipping comes in the form of less flexibility with your shipping options. When shipping FTL, because you're in control of the entire vehicle, you can pretty much ship anyway you like. You can have things delivered in a certain order, or dictate certain routes for your courier to take, which is not a luxury you will have with LTL shipping. The other large difference is that when shipping LTL, your shipping can take longer, because it may have to wait for other deliveries to be completed before it can be dropped off.
