Know How Ltl Carriers Service Operates

By Author: Sims Global Solutions
Total Articles: 2
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Currently, there are two different types of freight carriers operating in the United States. Less Than Truckload carriers, or LTL carriers, convey products and materials that do not require the use of a semi-trailer. Full Truckload (FTL) services, on the other hand, carry larger shipments in the traditional semi-trailer set-up.
Less Than Truckload shipments generally weigh between 150 and 20,000 pounds. Transit times for LTL packages are longer than full truckload shipments. Sometimes, packages can spend up to ten days in shipment. Transit time is dependent on how many shipping terminals there are between you and your destination. The more times a shipment needs to be unloaded and repacked, the longer it takes to ship.
How LTL Carriers Operate
In a city, a Less Than Truckload operator has a number of smaller moving trucks that pick up products, shipments, and materials from their customers. After accomplishing this, these smaller collection trucks take these materials to the ltl carriers shipping terminal, where the shipments are measured and weighed.
Then, these shipments are loaded onto various outbound ...
... vehicles with other shipments being sent to the same regional area. Eventually, shipments are conveyed to one of the company’s regional branches, sorted, and then delivered locally.
Packaging for Less than Truckload Carriers
Because LTL packages are handled so frequently during the shipping process, shipments sent via Less Than Truckload carriers need to withstand scuffing, dropping, humidity, heat, condensation, dropping, and rough handling.
To ensure that your packages are safely delivered, package your shipments in containers that are sturdy and made of a material like corrugated fiberboard.
Unfortunately, mis-routing or missed deliveries are common issues when shipping via a Less Than Truckload operator. To minimize the chance of your shipment being lost in the shipping shuffle, place a shipping label and tracking number on each surface of your package. Remember, the easier it is for dock loaders to identify the destination of your package, the less likely that it will be misplaced or shipped to the wrong destination.
Advantages of Less than Truckload Carriers
The main advantage of ltl carriers is the cost. That is, the price of sending products via an LTL truck as opposed to a full truckload operator is significantly cheaper from a monetary standpoint. In fact, pricing for LTL shipments is comparable to the cost of shipping a package or materials using a parcel service, like the US Postal Service.
The limitation of the US Postal Service and other similar organizations, though, is that they usually do not send packages that weight between 70 and 100 pounds. For this weight range of packages, ltl carrier services offer the best price on the market.