What is less than truckload (LTL)?

What is less than truckload (LTL)?

Less than truckload or less-than-loads (LTL) is a shipping service for transporting small quantities of freight by road. Unlike truckload (TL) shipping, LTL shipments don’t fill an entire trailer and are usually less than 10,000 pounds.

Many large, national parcel carriers and logistics providers offer LTL services. These services can move smaller batches of goods frequently while reducing shipping costs for smaller shippers. Instead of paying by the mile, shippers pay for the portion of the trailer their freight occupies, while other shippers fill the rest of the trailer space.

LTL freight shipping is great for small businesses as they can share the space and cost with similar shippers. It’s also a cost-effective way for ecommerce merchants to replenish inventory and get goods to customers.

Check out this video to learn more about how you optimize your less than truckload (LTL) fleet management.

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How are LTL freight costs determined?

Many factors determine LTL shipping rates and freight quotes. They include:

• Freight class and weight: Because multiple shipping companies use the same trailer, freight class is important to help standardize commodities.

• Fuel price: Fuel surcharges are very common in truckload freight. Transportation costs are often tied to the current price of fuel.

• Distance: The further an LTL load travels, the more it costs.

• Speed: Shipping services have different service levels, and LTL freight rates are calculated accordingly. If freight is guaranteed at a certain delivery time, it will cost more. The faster the freight service, the more it will cost.

• Accessorial fees: LTL carriers sometimes charge additional fees such as using a lift gate, limited access, special handling, inside pickups and deliveries and reclassifying or re-weighing orders.

What’s the difference between FTL and LTL shipping?

Large volumes of freight are transported through two kinds of trucking operations: full truckload (FTL) carriers and less than truckload (LTL) carriers. 

Full truckloads are a shipping method of freight transportation involving large volumes of freight—typically an entire truck. Full truckload shipments are usually from a single supplier and move directly from a shipper to a consignee. Pricing for FTL shipping works on a cost-per-mile basis and will change frequently, making it pricier than LTL. Also, unlike LTL, freight classification is not important in truckload. 

In contrast, less than truckload shipping requires less space and typically involves smaller shipments. These freight shipments cannot fill an entire trailer, so LTL freight involves trucks carrying goods from different businesses—they share the space. Shipping with LTL carriers is cheaper because shippers only pay for the space they use. However, LTL shipping is slower than FTL because of multiple stops and transfers before the freight reaches its final destination. Transit times are a little longer than TL shipping options.

How does LTL work?

LTL carriers typically move pallets of products. Carriers commonly use a “hub and spoke” distribution model. Local terminals like warehouses are the spokes, and larger centralized distribution centers are the hubs. 

When a freight shipment is picked up for delivery, it’s taken to a local terminal for sorting and consolidation onto an LTL truck. Then, the shipment gets taken to the central hub, where the carrier will transfer it to a different truck for last mile delivery, or consolidated again to move to other terminals until it reaches its final destination. 

Over a single delivery, cargo may get transported on several trucks depending on where a driver is headed and the most efficient routing available.

What are the benefits of less than truckload (LTL) shipping?

Less Than Truckload (LTL) shipping offers several key benefits for businesses that don't have enough freight to fill an entire truck:

1. Cost-effectiveness: The most significant advantage of LTL is its cost-effectiveness for smaller shipments. Instead of paying for the entire capacity of a truck, you only pay for the portion your freight occupies. This shared cost model makes shipping more affordable for businesses with smaller volumes.

2. Flexibility: LTL shipping caters to a wide range of shipment sizes, typically ranging from 150 to 15,000 pounds. This flexibility allows businesses to ship goods as needed without waiting to accumulate a full truckload, improving inventory management and responsiveness. LTL shipping can also transport a variety of different cargo, including fragile or temperature-sensitive products.

3. Access to a wider network: Since LTL is often more accessible and affordable, LTL carriers have established networks that span regional and national levels. This extensive reach allows businesses to access a broader range of destinations, including those in remote or less accessible areas, without the complexity of managing full truckload logistics.

4. Additional freight services: LTL carriers often provide various value-added freight services that can be beneficial for specific shipping needs. These may include liftgate service, inside pickup and delivery, residential delivery, expedited shipping, and specialized handling.

5. Reduce fuel usage: By consolidating multiple smaller shipments onto a single truck, LTL shipping offers a more sustainable transportation model. LTL shipping reduces the number of trucks on the road, leading to lower fuel consumption and reduced greenhouse gas emissions compared to multiple partial truckloads or waiting for full loads.

6. Improved scalability: LTL shipping can easily adapt to the changing needs of a business. Whether your shipping volumes fluctuate seasonally or you are experiencing growth, LTL allows you to adjust your shipments accordingly without the commitment of booking an entire truck.

7. Real-time visibility: Innovative organizations are leveraging fleet management technology that provide real-time visibility into the location and status of shipments. This allows both the shipper and the recipient to monitor the progress of the goods, enhancing customer service and improving communication.

Improving Less Than Truckload (LTL) operations with Samsara

For fleets and owner-operators looking to take their less than truckload (LTL) operations to the next level, fleet management technology like Samsara helps improve the safety, efficiency, and sustainability of complex freight operations. 

Samsara’s Connected Operations Platform offers a suite of AI-powered products aimed at streamlining operations, enhancing driver safety, and minimizing operational costs for LTL freight transportation. Here are a few Samsara features that help improve LTL operations:  

• Vehicle Telematics: Samsara Vehicle Telematics provide fleet managers with real-time location tracking, vehicle diagnostics, and driver behavior data. These features help improve route planning and load management, which are crucial in LTL operations for optimizing cargo space and accelerating delivery times.

• AI Dash Cams: With Samsara AI Dash Cams, LTL fleets can reduce incidents and improve liability protection by providing video evidence to exonerate innocent drivers. 

• Smart Trailers: Samsara’s trailer tracking solution offers real-time visibility into trailer locations and status, ensuring that LTL shipments are handled efficiently and securely. Smart Trailers help maximize trailer utilization and minimize losses or delays in LTL freight shipping.

• Driver Workflows: Samsara’s Driver App enables easy electronic logging, digital vehicle inspection reports, and reliable communication with dispatch, streamlining the operations and documentation required in LTL shipping.

• Environmental Monitors: For LTL shipments involving temperature-sensitive goods, environmental monitors help ensure that cargo conditions like temperature and humidity remain optimal throughout transit, reducing cargo loss and maximizing profitability. 

DHL Group, one of the largest logistics companies worldwide, leverages Samsara consolidated seven separate point solutions—for dash cams, telematics, compliance, trip management, DVIRs, trailer tracking, and speed monitoring—into one platform. This enabled them to deliver a better operator experience, unlock actionable insights, and vastly improve driver safety and retention. They are also partnering with Samsara in their fleet electrification journey, helping support DHL’s ambitious sustainability goals. As a result of deploying Samsara across 20 sites, DHL reduced accidents by 26%.

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If you want to learn more about improving the safety and efficiency of your less than truckload (LTL) operations, explore Samsara’s Platform solution and chat with our team today.