This means your freight is the only one on the truck for the duration of transit from pickup to delivery. FTL freight shipping is most commonly used for large shipments that require the use of the entire capacity of the truck.
#Ftl vs ltl full#
This allows for the truck to be filled as near to capacity as possible making it cost effective and environmentally friendly.įTL is an acronym for full truckload, often just referred to as truckload as well. Several LTL shipments are combined into one truck based on similar logistics like destination and speed of transit.
For this method, you’re sharing a truck with multiple shippers rather than exclusively using the truck. Just as it sounds, this refers to shipments that require less than an entire truck’s worth of space. LTL is an acronym for less than truckload. So let’s dissect the difference between these two methods. While the definition of each is pretty straightforward, each one comes with several qualifying variables. We often see the biggest confusion over full truckload freight (FTL or TL) and less than truckload freight (LTL). So, it's wise to first evaluate the requirements and utility, then go on to decide the final option to be considered as the management in various facets is different for both choices.Terminology in the freight industry can be confusing, especially when you’re trying to find the right information to suit your shipping needs. The cost analysis is done based on the requirement of whether we need full truck space or partial because if you choose the wrong option, you might end up paying for space that you are not even utilizing. The LTL pricing is governed by NMFTA (National Motor Freight Traffic Control) having fixed cost but FTL has no governing body and market price is to be borne by the organization. The equipment and maintenance cost management in FTL is also different from LTL due to the distance factor and capacity allocation. So, if you are thinking of lowering transportation investments by choosing LTL shipping and expecting security and speed than an FTL offers, you will be inviting trouble. This increases the chances of tampering and delays. With more than one drop point, delivery executives need to open up a trailer every now and then to move pallets and unload goods. In the case of FTL, once the goods are loaded on a truck, it goes untouched until it reaches the final destination as there are no drop points in between. Hence, there are multiple drop points as well, making it difficult to calculate ETAs. Multiple shippers have their goods being transported on a single truck. LTL shipments have multiple stakeholders. With regards to FLT, the freight being transported has only one destination, making it easy to calculate ETAs. Managing FTL shipping is not too complex, but its best practices can not be applied for LTL. Why It Is Not A Good Idea To Manage LTL like FTL The Agility Litmus Test for your LTL EcosystemĦ Salient Benefits of Adopting Data-Driven LTL Solutions Top 6 LTL Shipping Challenges and How A Logistics Platform Can Help when we need to hire some other organization to help companies in transportation. These approaches differ when logistics is carried by a third party (3PL) i.e. The management practices also differ in handling both facets, and regular approaches followed in one type may not be fruitful in the other one. Talking about both practices they have their own merits and demerits along with the utility they account for. LTL is used when we do not have an appropriate quantity of products to fill the truck space and hence we only take some of the space of the truck and accordingly costs get divided. The cost incurred will be bearable by the one who is shipping the products as all the space is being allotted to the organization. Let us quickly explain why.įTL means having the full truck space assigned to a single shipper’s products. Some words of wisdom that we have learned from our experience and customers, it’s not really a good idea to tick off the list of FTL (full-truckload) best practices while executing LTL (less-than-truckload) shipping.
#Ftl vs ltl how to#
To address this problem, one needs to be smart when choosing how to transport freight. The major chunk of this overhead comes in the guise of increasing logistics expenses. Every organization and manufacturer wants to ensure fewer overhead charges to keep the cost of products low.