subject: What Does Ltl Shipping Mean? [print this page] Trucking companies have several different types of services that they can offer their customers. By allowing customers to choose the option that works best in their particular circumstance, 3pl providers can help them to find the perfect balance between cost and speed of delivery. LTL is one of the most versatile, and most commonly used of the different types of services which are offered by trucking companies.
LTL stands for less than truck load. It is probably one of the most used types of services which are available, simply because it is extremely versatile and offers people in most shipping situations a very substantial price savings than they would get over the other available options. LTL shipments are shipments which are shared between two or often more clients of the courier company. They find several people whose goods need to travel in a similar direction and load a truck full that would otherwise be far too large to carry any of the client's shipments individually.
LTL is essentially the opposite of FTL, the other primary means of shipping with larger trucking companies. FTL means full truck load. This is the type of shipping that big companies utilize when they hire entire trucks to move their goods for them.
LTL is used to ship a huge range of shipment sizes. When packages weight less than 100lbs, it's usually easiest for a regular package or parcel carrier to move them. When they are larger than that though, they require the service of a larger truck. There are many deliveries over 100lbs though which are not nearly large enough to warrant their own truck, and that is where LTL comes in. Usually, anything weighing between 100-10000lbs is going to be well suited for an LTL shipment.
The greatest advantage that shipping LTL offers to customers is that it is substantially cheaper to ship when you're sharing the space in a truck with other clients. There are many flat costs involved in a delivery which apply to each and every shipment, but that weight can be spread around during an LTL shipment.
The only downside to LTL shipping is that it can take longer to have your goods delivered than it would if you were shipping FTL. During an FTL shipment, yours is the only delivery to be made, so it will be made immediately. During LTL, on the other hand, depending on how the route is scheduled, there may be several deliveries before yours.
by: Everette Lyons
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