Freightquote® specializes in LTL freight, and ships 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 pounds to around 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 does less-than-truckload 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.
LTL: A closer look
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 calling "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.
LTL freight trailer sizes:
| Length |
Pallets* |
Weight Limit |
Cubic Feet |
Door Opening Height |
Door Opening Width |
Inside Width |
Inside Height |
Inside Length |
| 28' Pup trailer |
16 |
24,000 |
2065 |
105" |
93" |
99" |
104" - Front
110" - Rear |
27'6" |
| 48' Trailer |
28 |
45,000 |
3550 |
110" |
98" |
98" |
106" |
47'6" |
| 53' Trailer |
30 |
45,000 |
4000 |
111" |
98" |
98" |
107" |
52'6" |
* These are just estimations. Please contact your LTL freight service rep. at 800.323.5441 to get an exact size.
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