How to Pack Your Freight For a Less Than Truckload Common Carrier

Of course, it depends on what you are packing but the ideal pallet is always the same to a carrier: a square strong crate (eg - engine shipping crates) 45" to 50" high on which they can stack another pallet and weighing no more than 1200 lbs.

Pack for Freight Common LTL Truckload

Unfortunately, in the real world, we are not economically able to crate every shipment and most freight does not perfectly fill out a 42" x 48" x 48" space. So we adjust - but your goal should be to minimize the dimensions of your freight while the packages or pieces inside of the skid are configured in the strongest configuration possible to withstand weight on top and/or pressure hits from the side - such as other freight bumping it or a forklift hitting it from the side.

Further - you should use binding - plastic or steel, to tie down/secure your freight to the skid in addition to a plethora of shrink wrap. Both shield your freight from a "pressure event" such as a minor hit by a forklift and keep your freight on its pallet as freight moves around with natural bumps on the road inside the truck - shrink wrap over the top and totally caccoon the freight with shrink wrap to keep humidity out and rain out from a leaky truck or unprotected loading bay.

If you ship an actually fragile product such as beverages or liquids, you should make sure your packaging conforms to rigorous packaging set by the LTL common carrier industry as this will eliminate most claims and eliminate carrier rejections of your claims due to "Insufficiently rigorous packaging."

Feel free to ask us questions or to take issue with something we’ve said that doesn’t apply in your segment of the freight world. We’d love to hear from you, post comments below or contact us.