Less-than-truckload (LTL) is a cost-effective service for small shipments offered by freight and trucking companies. LTL shipments are picked up by a driver, transferred to a terminal, and then moved to another truck until they reach their destination. Although it takes longer than full shipments, LTL has economic advantages. UPS is an example of a company that offers LTL services, but most LTL services prefer bulk packing or consolidation.
Less-than-truckload is a service offered by many freight and trucking companies for businesses that need only a small shipment of goods delivered. Conversely, a full load or large shipment uses up all available space in a tractor trailer. A LTL shipment is delivered with several other shipments and is usually not delivered directly to a destination in the way full loads are.
LTL shipments are arranged so that the tractor trailer driver picks up the shipment along a short route and takes it back to the terminal, where it is then transferred to another truck. This second truck takes the shipment, along with other small shipments, to another city terminal. The LTL shipment is transferred from one truck to another until it finally reaches its destination.
LTL shipments have a clear economic advantage for companies. Compared to hiring a trucking company for the price of a full shipment, the cost of shipping a less than truckload is relatively inexpensive. However, a LTL shipment can take longer to deliver than a full shipment because it doesn’t follow a direct path from shipper to destination.
Less-than-truckload is a service that falls between full load shipments and couriers. It is shipped by the same means as full loads, usually in a tractor trailer, but behaves like shipments handled by carriers. One well-known company that offers less than a truckload services is UPS.
As a parcel service that tends to handle large packages, UPS is a good example of how shipping less than one truck involves repeated transfers. A UPS driver picks up a shipment en route, which is returned to the terminal at the end of his shift. The shipment is then loaded onto an overnight truck and transferred again through a day route. This process is repeated until the shipment reaches its final destination.
Most LTL services differ from UPS in that they prefer the shipment to be packed in bulk, tied to a pallet, or consolidated with other bulk packing. Although UPS offers underload shipments, fulfilled shipments are generally smaller than undershipments handled by trucking companies.
Protect your devices with Threat Protection by NordVPN
