Everything About FTL And LTL Shipment
LTL stands for Less Than Truckload. Precisely defining LTL, is the truckload shipping method which is used for transporting large volumes of packages. It consists of smaller parcels from the central hub to the predetermined locations, before reaching the customer’s decided destination. Less than truckload freight refers to the transportation of the goods and the services in pallets ranging from 150 pounds to 10,000 pounds.
What is LTL Freight?
It is basically the optimization of the load so to move it from one place to another in an efficient manner. Less than truckload freight offers flexibility and reasonable cost. As it carries a large volume of packages in one trip we can say it is environmentally friendly. Less than truckload Freight is widely used these days.
Let’s explore LTL freight, its challenges, its pros and cons, and everything you need to know about it.
Pros of LTL freight shipping
Reasonable cost
Less than truckload shipment reduces the cost to a greater extent. In this shipment model, the shipper has to pay for the load portion which his package occupies while other shippers would pay for their occupied space. This is a shared cost model.
Tracking
If you are using a third-party logistics shipment model then you might have the chance of missing packages or poor tracking but in this case, as the whole package is loaded on one truck it’s very easy to track the package.
Safe Delivery of packages
As all the packages are loaded on a single pallet in a truck, there is increased security than other smaller units or parcels sent separately.
Cons of LTL freight shipping
Time Taking
The journey has several pickups and drop-off destinations. LTL freight is very time-consuming when compared to other models.
High chance of freight destruction
In less than truckload shipment model, the freight is much more secure than the parcel, but it is less secure than FTL. LTL freight has many stops which means that many others have access to your consignment. So there is a higher chance of damaging your freight.
What is FTL freight and parcels and how it is different from the LTL freight shipment model?
The full truckload shipment model includes a concept where the truck carries a package of one Shipper or a service provider. In short full truckload, shipment model is limited or reserved for one service provider/company. It is different from the LTL freight shipment model in that, the LTL freight shipment model contains packages from different service providers in one truck, but in this case, the journey is reserved for one shipment only.
Comparison between FTL Shipment model and LTL Shipment model
The biggest benefit of the FTL shipment model is that the shipping container contains the goods and services of a single shipment provider. As a result, the full truckloads cost more than the LTL freight shipment model. But, as it is reserved for one shipment journey FTL shipments reached the destination in a short time as compared to LTL shipments. The parcels are less likely to get lost or damaged in the case of the FTL shipment model.
Some of the disadvantages of the full truckload shipment model include the higher cost. Full truckload doesn’t entertain a small volume shipment model. Moreover, it has limited flexibility for the parcels especially if they need cargo movement.
When looking at shipment options both full truckload and less than truckload freight might be a great choice. Both shipment models have their pros and cons. We have briefly discussed the above in the article. Go through them to decide what type of shipment work best for your product and business.
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