Less Than Truckload shipping or LTL shipping involves the shipment of relatively small freight between 100 and 15,000 pounds. Because of its size, less than truckload freight does not need a full capacity truck. That's how it got the name less than truckload.
Less than truckload freight shipments share cargo space with other similarly sized freight. Because of its size and versatility, less than truckload freight shipping is a very competitive part of the freight shipping industry. That means Freightquote.com® is able to offer very affordable LTL freight shipping options for you.
LTL freight rates with Freightquote
We realize that competition means choice, and that finding the right carrier can be a challenge.
Fortunately, Freightquote.com has spent the past 10 years finding the best less-than-truckload freight carriers in the industry - and they are waiting for you with our simple online tool. Get instant quotes on the best LTL freight rates for shipments between 100 and 15,000 lbs. Freightquote.com's LTL freight rates include:
- Great rates on pallet freight shipping.
- Ship boxes, crates, tubes, pipes, drums and more.
- Industry leading customer service from dispatch to delivery.
Save time and money with LTL freight rates from Freightquote.com
Freightquote.com has made finding the best less than truckload freight rate a simple task. There's no need to call multiple carriers and negotiate prices. We've done the heavy lifting for you.
Freightquote.com's online LTL freight rate solution needs a few pieces of information from you. Then we'll provide you with a complete menu of options so that you can choose the carrier, service, and price that best fits your LTL freight shipping needs. Then book, track, and manage all your shipments in one place—through your secure Freightquote account. Our system is fast, easy, and free to use and gives you the best LTL freight rates available.
Freightquote's online LTL freight rate tool helps you:
- Compare quotes from the best less-than-truckload carriers in seconds
- Manage locations of inbound and outbound freight facilities
- Get great freight rates instantly
Our experience gives you the best LTL freight rates
Freightquote.com employs more than 500 employees and manages more than 750,000 shipments each year. Our people know the trucking business inside and out—and we’re dedicated to exceeding your expectations.
We specialize in less than truckload or LTL freight and ship thousands of loads per day. Less than truckload (LTL) freight makes up the majority of freight shipments in North America. LTL shipments are also often called motor freight and are between 100 and 15,000 pounds. There are multiple types of trailers with different capacities.
With Less-than-truckload freight, you "share" the truck with other customers. This proves to be much more economical when you don't have a lot of freight to move. LTL trailers are typically between 26 and 53 US feet. LTL shipments are usually palletized and packaged tightly due to other kinds of freight that are on the trailer with it. Unlike shipping with UPS or Fedex, LTL shippers must provide their own strong packaging, as LTL carriers do not provide any packaging supplies or help. However, crating or other substantial packaging is required for LTL shipments due to the mass and weight of the freight.
How do less than truckload freight rate calculations work?
Since you "share" the truck with other customers, an LTL trucking company will pick up several small shipments from multiple customers that do not require an entire trailer to be used for their load. The LTL carrier will "pool" these products together on an LTL truck and move them using a "hub" and "spoke" transit model similar to a commercial airliner company. For example, to travel on Southwest airlines from Denver to Miami, you must go to the Atlanta "hub". Then you take a smaller, separate airplane from Atlanta to Miami. A freight shipment follows a very similar pattern using the hub and spoke model.
When you ship with Freightquote, a city driver will pick up the freight and bring it back to a terminal where the freight is unloaded from the truck. As it is being unloaded, it is sent to different locations based on the final destination of the freight; this is called "break bulk". Then the freight is reloaded onto another truck and travels to another terminal based on where the shipment will ultimately be delivered.
For example, all "motor freight" that is going north will be sorted and placed on a truck that is going north. At the same time, all the freight for the day that is going south will be on another truck. As each local truck comes back to the terminal with freight, the truck is unloaded and the freight is sorted. This process of loading and unloading and sorting freight is called "cross docking" and it happens over and over as freight travels via LTL. It is a time-consuming process, but is important to ensuring that freight is transported properly and efficiently.
top