Find the best Warehousing & Fulfillment company by filling out the form below, or Click Here to continue reading our page LTL vs FTL Freight Shipping: Everything You Need to Know
The process of transporting goods or commodities from one place to another is an immensely important part of keeping business moving around the world. Whether you’re planning to send a large shipment across the country or a smaller order to your customer down the street, understanding how different types of shipments work can help ensure your goods reach their destination quickly and safely.
If you’re wondering about the differences between “less than truckload” (LTL) and “full truckload” (FTL) freight shipping, we’ve got you covered! In this article, we’ll explain what LTL and FTL shipments are, take a look at their advantages and distinctions, and provide optimized options to work with your shipments. Read on for more information about these two modes of transportation and learn which one is best suited for your business.
LTL shipping, also known as “less than truckload” shipping, is a way for small businesses to ship their products without investing in the cost of a full-service trucking company. It removes the need for expensive long-haul freight services, allowing you to use smaller carriers. This type of shipment consists of multiple small shipments combined into one “truckload,” therefore reducing costs and increasing efficiency.
The rate of the shipment is determined by the shipment’s weight, size, shape, and classification, as well as delivery time requirements. It’s an ideal option for smaller businesses or small shipments that gets the job done while keeping costs low and efficiency high.
LTL shipping offers many advantages for businesses transporting freight, some of which aren’t immediately obvious. While you may be considering a range of options for a small shipment, including parcel shipping, LTL shipping, and FTL shipping, LTL has quite a few great qualities to boast about. Some of the advantages of LTL shipping include the following:
Full truckload shipping, or FTL shipping, is when a full truckload of goods from a single sender is moved from one point to another in one go, usually at cost-efficient rates. FTL shipping can be used to transport large and heavy items, as well as bulk substances like food and raw materials. Many times, this type of shipping requires the use of a special oversized or overweight vehicle due to the size and weight of the freight. FTL shipping has become increasingly popular among businesses that need larger shipments on a time-sensitive basis, as it’s more cost-efficient and reliable for them than other options.
Larger businesses or those with a tight delivery deadline, such as large ecommerce brands, manufacturing companies, and logistics centers, are opting for FTL shipping. Some of the advantages of FTL shipping include:
Freight class is a numeric code that identifies the shipping and storage needs of your shipment, typically determined by its weight, density, value, and packaging. Knowing your freight class helps the carrier determine which method of delivery to offer for your shipping needs. Freight carriers work on this basis to ensure efficient distribution and help provide lower costs to merchants. If your freight class is accurately identified and assigned, it can help speed up processing times while maintaining a high quality of service.
When it comes to freight shipping, you have two major options – LTL shipping and FTL shipping. Although both services involve a truck carrying goods from point A to point B, there are quite a few differences between them. Deciding which option is most suitable for your business depends on several factors, such as the size of your shipments, the urgency of delivery, budget constraints, and more. Understanding the main differences between LTL and FTL shipping will help you make the right choice when deciding how to send your merchandise.
LTL shipping is more economical for small shipments than FTL, as the cost of using a truck is distributed among multiple shippers. Conversely, FTL entails the entire use of a truck and therefore costs more, which may actually be a cost-saving option for larger businesses that have large loads to send frequently. This cost difference will be most obvious to smaller businesses or low-volume businesses that may not have many items to ship or may not ship as frequently, making choosing the correct type of freight even more important.
LTL shipments are usually smaller than FTL shipments, with a weight capacity of between 150 and 15,000 pounds. In comparison, FTL shipments can weigh up to 45,000 pounds or more. To make the best shipping choice, businesses with smaller shipments should consider LTL, and those with larger shipments or denser, heavier products should go for FTL.
Transit time is another key factor to consider when choosing between LTL and FTL shipping. LTL shipments tend to take longer to arrive at their destination than FTL shipments because they require additional stops and handling. This is because LTL shipments need to be consolidated with other shipments to fill a truck. FTL shipments go directly from the pickup location to the delivery location without any stops in between. Therefore, businesses with time-sensitive shipments may prefer FTL shipping.
Although LTL shipments typically require less handling than parcel shipments, LTL shipments also involve more handling than FTL shipments, increasing the risk of damage. FTL shipments are typically loaded and unloaded using specialized equipment, decreasing the risk of damage when compared to LTL.
To determine the best shipping option, consider factors such as shipment size, transit time requirements, and budget. LTL shipping is a good choice for smaller shipments that do not require a full truck. FTL shipping is better suited for high-volume businesses, larger shipments, high-value products, or those requiring special handling.
Prior to working with a 3PL provider for LTL and FTL shipments, it’s important to understand their operating style. Generally, they don’t own trucks and instead collaborate with carriers in providing shipping services. Some 3PL providers, however, do have their own trucks and other assets, which creates extra flexibility in the shipping process. The role of a 3PL is to make sure that goods get from you to storage and then to your customer, or directly from you to your customer, as quickly, safely and efficiently as possible. By taking advantage of their expertise, resources, and industry connections, a 3PL provider can help optimize your shipping options and reduce costs along the way.
The main way that 3PL companies help with LTL and FTL shipping is by letting you tap into their existing agreement with their preferred carriers. By passing LTL and FTL shipments through a single carrier, they can earn significant discounts on shipping and freight rates – well in excess of what you might do with your own company’s internal shipping volume. 3PLs can then pass some or all of this discount to your company. However, it is important to note that they generally don’t pass all of the discount, so they can make a profit off of the freight as well.
No matter how large or small your business, or how much freight you have to ship (including international freight forwarding), Warehousing and Fulfillment can help you find the perfect fit. From storage and warehousing to pick and pack to shipping and freight, we’ve got the inside track on the very best services for your business in every area of the country. Get in touch with us to start finding the right LTL and FTL shipping solutions for your business today!
Your contact information is held in the strictest of confidence. We will contact you before we connect you with vendors so that we can learn about your situation, obtain any of your contact preferences, and answer any of your questions.
YOU have control over your contact details:
Get Connected with your best matches, and receive up to
We Care About Your Privacy. Your information is shared with only pre-screened providers. You may opt out of communication at any time. View our Privacy Policy.
Why Warehousingfulfillment.com?
I want to say thank you for your help in finding a warehouse so quickly. Your service was amazing. I received replies the same day and have selected a company that will work well for us. I definitely recommend your services.
They really listened to our requirements and then matched us with great vendors that could meet our specific challenges.
I just wanted to say thank you so much for setting me up with these vendors. I have found pricing better than I ever expected to find.
I want to say thank you for your help in finding a warehouse so quickly. Your service was amazing. I received replies the same day and have selected a company that will work well for us. I definitely recommend your services.
I wanted to express my gratitude for your services and let you know that it was a very enjoyable experience! We have selected one of the companies and they are awesome!
You are doing such a great job and this service that you provide is a life saver for people especially startups like me....We cannot spend budgets on researching as much as the big firms can...and you provide us one stop solution which will answer all our questions.
I just wanted to let you know that I selected one of your vendors as our fulfillment house. They can do what we need and we’re looking forward to working with them. They can handle our “special projects” fulfillment, which was key to our decision in bringing them onboard. I appreciate this service. It was great for our company.
I didn’t know there was so much difference in fulfillment companies — this was my first time in need of this sort of service. After a Google search I luckily stumbled upon WarehousingAndFulfillment.com. They saved me an incredible amount of time and money. Within minutes I had a couple of emails from good companies that fit my situation. I am very appreciative of their help.
Warehousing and Fulfillment was the perfect matchmaker in finding us a fulfillment partner. They provided several great options, all of whom were very responsive and willing to take the time to talk through our needs. We ended up going with W&F’s top match and we couldn’t be happier. I highly recommend W&F, particularly to anyone whose business relies on a strong fulfillment partner.
We were having multiple issues with our 3PL fulfilling warranty replacement parts. Our company needed to make a change and make one fast. I reached out to WarehousingAndFulfillment.com to facilitate my search for a reputable, service oriented 3PL that can handle the demands of a highly seasonal business to pick, pack and ship parts quickly. I received several qualified 3PL leads that matched what we were looking for and we found a great partner.
We found the perfect third-party fulfillment vendor through insightQuote. We never would have found them on our own. We can’t thank you enough and our customers thank you too.
Thanks for all of your help. This was a huge undertaking for us and your guidance was extremely helpful!
Thank you so much for your excellent service. We have chosen one to go forward with. This has saved us a great deal of time.
They really listened to our requirements and then matched us with great vendors that could meet our specific challenges.
I just wanted to say thank you so much for setting me up with these vendors. I have found pricing better than I ever expected to find.
Legit, this was such a good experience ... I was shocked how fast the vendors contacted me and got the ball rolling. This was such a pleasant experience
What an awesome service. A problem I fought with daily for over 3 weeks, solved in less than 24 hours.
View More
Get fulfillment tips delivered to your inbox!
