Less-than-truckload (LTL) freight is a shipping method for orders that are too big and heavy to send as parcel boxes, but don’t reach the level of filling a truck or trailer on their own. Businesses can ship a partial load in a space shared with other companies’ freight, only paying for the portion they use.
LTL works differently than standard package or parcel shipping. Rates depend on freight class, as well as packaging, weight, and delivery location. If you are new to LTL shipping, it is easy to enter the wrong details and end up with a higher bill weeks after the freight ships.
This guide explains what LTL freight is, how such shipments travel from pickup to delivery, and what drives associated costs. It also compares LTL with full truckload and parcel shipping so you can determine when LTL might be right for you.
What is LTL freight?
LTL freight is palletized freight that’s too big or amounts to too much to send as standard packages, but not enough to fill an entire truck. Shippers share space on a single vehicle, only paying for the portion of the trailer that their goods occupy. Goods must be stacked and secured on a wooden or plastic pallet so a forklift can move the entire load as one unit. Carriers combine your palletized freight with others heading the same direction, which is what makes the shared, pay-for-your-space model possible.
How does LTL freight shipping work?
An LTL shipment moves through a carrier’s hub-and-spoke terminal network, passing through several handling points between a loading dock and the destination. The freight travels in a set sequence:
1. Pickup and consolidation. A carrier’s driver collects your palletized load, which is the LTL freight pickup. The driver brings it to a local terminal, where the carrier sorts your freight and consolidates it with other shipments heading the same direction onto a shared trailer.
2. Linehaul. The consolidated trailer runs between terminals in this stage. Along the way, it may pass through one or more hubs, where crews unload and reload freight to build trailers for the next leg.
3. Deconsolidation and delivery. The destination terminal breaks down the trailer and sorts freight by stop. A local driver then completes the final delivery to the destination.
Because your freight is handled several times across this network, it’s important that it’s sufficiently secured and labeled for repeated forklift moves. Generally speaking, you should also plan for longer, less predictable transit than a standard parcel or package traveling the same distance.
How LTL freight costs are calculated
Knowing the main factors that go into LTL pricing can help you estimate shipment costs and control variables:
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Freight class. This standardized rating reflects how easy your freight is to haul, based on density, handling, stowability, and liability.
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Weight and density. Denser freight in the same amount of space generally costs less per pound to move.
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Distance and lane. A lane is a route that a carrier routinely travels/services. The applicable origin-to-destination lane and its mileage set a base rate.
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Accessorial services. Extra services at pickup or delivery, such as a motorized liftgate, add separate fees.
Freight class can seem like the most confusing or complex factor. The National Motor Freight Classification (NMFC) system, maintained by the National Motor Freight Traffic Association (NMFTA), sorts commodities onto a scale from 50 to 500 based on four factors:
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Density
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Stowability
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Handling
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Liability
Denser, easier-to-handle freight lands in a lower class and lower rate, while light, bulky, or fragile freight lands in a higher class and costs more.
Density usually does the most work, and you can estimate it before you book. Major transport and supply chain company Averitt lays out the math:
1. Multiply your packaged pallet’s length, width, and height in inches.
2. Divide by 1,728 to get cubic feet.
3. Divide the total weight in pounds by that cubic-feet figure to get density in pounds per cubic foot
Averitt’s sample shipment of a 44-by-36-by-48-inch pallet weighing 600 pounds works out to about 44 cubic feet and roughly 13.6 pounds per cubic foot, which maps to Class 85. This class is illustrative, since stowability, handling, and liability also apply.
To help manage costs and set expectations, measure and declare accurate weight and dimensions up-front. Carriers inspect freight at their terminals with dimension scanners and scales. SPS Commerce notes that when their readings differ from your bill of lading, the shipment is reclassified and re-billed. An accurate bill of lading—the document that lists your shipment’s contents and details—keeps you clear of that corrected invoice.
Accessorials are another cost that can be easy to miss. Freight and logistics company ArcBest describes common accessorials:
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A motorized liftgate fee when the destination has no loading dock
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A residential delivery fee
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An inside delivery fee when freight has to be transported beyond a receiving area
These are often non-optional when the delivery location requires them, so flag and budget for them when you book an LTL carrier.
LTL freight pros and cons
Although LTL gives you a cheaper way to move partial loads, it trades away speed and simplicity.
LTL freight pros:
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Lower cost. Sharing a trailer costs far less than booking a full truck for a few pallets.
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A fit for small to midsize volume. LTL scales to orders that are too big for traditional shipping but don’t fill a truck.
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Access to added services. Accessorials such as liftgate or inside delivery are available when needed.
LTL freight cons:
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Slower, less predictable transit. Because LTL freight makes multiple terminal stops, it moves slower and less predictably than a full truckload over the same distance.
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Higher handling and damage risk. Terminal and forklift crews load and unload your freight several times across the network, and that repeated handling raises damage and claims risk.
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More complex pricing. Freight class, density, and accessorials make an LTL freight quote harder to predict than a flat parcel rate.
LTL vs. FTL vs. parcel: Which shipping method to use
The simplest way to choose a shipping method is by assessing how much you’re moving. Parcel handles small packages, LTL handles palletized partial loads, and full truckload (FTL) handles loads big enough to fill a trailer. This table compares the three across weight and size, pricing, speed, and use case:
| Parcel | LTL | FTL | |
| Typical weight/size | Up to about 150 lbs per package | Palletized shipments of roughly 150 lbs to 10,000 lbs | A full 48- or 53-foot trailer; about 42,000 to 45,000 lbs and 26 to 30 pallets |
| Cost basis | Per package, by weight and zone | By freight class, weight, distance, and accessorials | A flat rate for the whole truck |
| Speed | Fastest for small items | Slower, with multiple terminal stops | Fastest for large loads and direct delivery |
| Best for | Individual small orders | Bulky or wholesale orders too big for parcel shipping | High volume shippers or a trailer’s worth of goods or supplies |
A few points to keep in mind: FTL figures describe a standard dry-van trailer, what most people think of as a common enclosed trailer, and sit under an 80,000-pound federal gross-vehicle-weight limit. The LTL range also varies by carrier, and some accept up to about 20,000 pounds (though this is uncommon). Treat every figure as a typical range and confirm your own carrier’s limits when booking.
When should your store use LTL freight?
LTL can be a useful shipping method for orders that are palletized, bulky, heavy, or wholesale, or for business-to-business (B2B) shipments that fall above parcel limits but under truck capacity. Amazon Freight puts that profile at roughly one to six pallets, though parameters vary by carrier.
Try checking your order against a short list of parameters:
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Can it go on a pallet? Ensure the goods can be stacked and secured on one or more pallets.
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Is it too big or heavy for parcel? Confirm that a single package would exceed parcel weight or size limits, and that the economics of adhering to such limits for the volume you need to ship don’t make sense.
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Will it fill a truck? Make sure that you’re not shipping enough volume to justify a dedicated trailer.
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Can you (and the items) tolerate slower transit? Account for multiple stops in your delivery timeline when assessing the LTL freight option.
It can be helpful to establish a practical trigger at which your business will choose LTL freight. For example, once an order runs past roughly four or five boxes, consolidating onto a pallet and shipping via LTL can be cheaper and simpler than sending separate packages.
Once you’ve decided to use LTL shipping, the next step is assessing rates and choosing a carrier. A freight broker or third-party logistics provider, going carrier-direct, and manual quoting are all valid paths.
If you sell on Shopify and ship freight, you can surface live freight rates at checkout by connecting your own carrier account through a freight-quote app. Displaying these rates requires Shopify’s third-party carrier-calculated shipping, which is included in the Advanced and Plus plans, and can be added on Grow for an extra monthly fee or by switching to annual billing.
What is LTL freight FAQ
Do I need a loading dock to receive an LTL freight delivery?
You can receive an LTL freight delivery without a loading dock, though you may need to pay a liftgate fee to lower the shipment to the entrance depending on your building and receiving area’s layout. When there’s no loading dock, the carrier’s driver uses the truck’s hydraulic liftgate to lower your freight to ground level, which is a billable accessorial. Residential and other no-dock deliveries typically require this add-on.
How long does less-than-truckload (LTL) freight take to arrive?
LTL freight is slower than standard package shipping because your freight moves through several carrier terminals along the way, with consolidation and handling at each stop. That routing makes transit longer and less predictable than a parcel covering the same distance, so build in extra time and confirm the estimate with your carrier when you promise delivery dates.
Can I track an LTL freight shipment?
Yes, but LTL tracking updates are less frequent than those of standard package and parcel tracking. Because an LTL shipment passes through fewer scan checkpoints than a small package, you get fewer status updates along the way. Plan customer communication around that less granular visibility.
