What is Less Than Truckload Shipping Anyways?
Less than Truckload, otherwise known as LTL shipping is one method of shipping goods that don’t require an entire truck to be shipped. The shipment that is being sent can fit in a truck with other shipments and does not require an entire forty-eight to fifty three foot trailer to haul it. Truckload and LTL services are similar in that they both offer different services depending on what the client needs shipped. Trucking services include residential pick up and deliveries as well as lift gate services, guaranteed services, freeze protection, bottom line cost and transit to name a few.
With any shipping service, including LTL, products will move from one point to another using a variety of methods that include truck, air, railway and water. When shipping within the United States, shipping via truck lends to infinite possibilities consider time and place. There is no waiting on a railway and their defined schedule. LTL shipping offers both flexibility and decreased costs when it comes to shipping. Freight carriers in the U.S. operate in a manner that allows for truck load services or less than truck load services. This allows small companies the ability to compete in the ever bustling and changing business world.
There are defined characteristics of LTL shipping carriers. Many less than truckload carriers use van trailers and enclosed trailers to move goods for their clients. Some but not many also offer refrigeration services. This is less common in LTL shipping than in FTL. It is common to see rear roll up doors in many vehicles specializing in LTL shipments. The entrance area with these carriers is often times smaller than trucks that offer swing doors. Some LTL carriers use pup trailers in hauling. When using a pup trailer most LTL carriers will not accept anything from a shipper that is bigger than one pup trailer. They can easily maneuver and pick up ad deliver shipments when using pup trailers. Often times when full a carrier will pull tandem pup trailers to their destination making the most of their time on the interstate roadways.
Pup trailers allow goods to be sorted and stored then easily dropped. The packages are sorted by destination and can easily be maneuvered throughout carrier terminals to their final destinations. Many carriers use central hubs to collect deliveries from LTL shippers. This allows the goods to be delivered using smaller carrier trucks. Carrier trucks are designed to deliver packages while also picking up shipments that will need to be sent through the distribution channel out for delivery in another part of the country or world.
When you consider logistics and the world we live in it is simply amazing. Business owners using LTL shipping methods to allow customers to receive their goods within a day or two of ordering it. Instant gratification is something that is facilitated using the services of well laid out LTL shippers and carriers. Think about how amazing the system is the next time you order something that has to be shipped from overseas or from a state thousands of miles from yours. It is amazing how fast it can actually get from the sellers location to your door step.