During over the road shipping, truckers take the largest portion of the cake and have a major role in the economy of United States. There are two crucial modes of truck transportation: less than truckload and full truckload. A shipper can use both these options for their transportation needs, but they are really different from one another. But, first you should know about what a truckload is? Truckload has its own specifics depending on the mode you are using.
Truckload is all about moving large volumes of freight to fill the complete truck trailer, on the road and get it delivered at the desired destination. Usually full truckloads are shipped in trucks and trailers which can handle around 43,000 pounds or 45 pallets of freight. The normal trailer dimension for a truckload is 48 ft. or 53 ft. The truckload depends on the kind of vehicle you have, the equipment you own and if there is any need of specific license to transport any product.
Difference between FTL and LTL
The major difference between full truckload and less than truckload is very simple to understand just by reading the names of these. While LTL allows you to transport several loads from different shippers, FTL is all about transporting big volumes of good which can completely fill your whole trailer. Another major difference between FTL and LTL lies in their freight rates. Dissimilar to less than truckload, there isn’t density based pricing called freight classification, available in FTL shipping.
Advantages of truckload shipping
Irrespective of whether you are a small shipper or a big company, anyone can avail truckload services to meet their transportation needs. However, people majorly benefit FTL if they have sufficient load to fill the entire trailer and if you are in constant need to ship goods. Overall you have a number of benefits of truckload shipping. Some of them are given below:
Speed
Truckload shipping is quicker than LTL because the truck doesn’t have to stop too frequently during transit. In less than truckload, the journey includes several stops to drop off and pick up freight from several shippers. However, in full truckload, the truck is fully dedicated to deliver your freight and thus the delivery time gets shorter.
Less handling
Surely, if there is just your load on the board, it wouldn’t require as much handling as in the case of LTL. This majorly lowers any faint chance of cargo damage as in most cases your goods are just pick up and delivered once.
Cost efficiency
Majorly truckload is costlier than LTL. However, you can make it cheaper for yourself if you have high amount of heavy loads. Under such a situation, shipping FTL will prove to be a much more cost efficient alternative than choosing several LTL shipments. Shiply is your one-stop solution to find all types of truckloads for you. Whether you are looking for FTL or LTL, you can easily get it as per your preference. So, go ahead and find truckload according to your requirement.