Ultimate LTL Shipping Guide for US Shippers

Shipping freight might seem easy until you face some of the most common challenges. They include your first damaged pallet, overinflated bill, or major delay. To be prepared, you need to understand how LTL shipping and modern LTL freight networks work. This will help you foresee the potential problems and ship via LTL thoughtfully.

Common variables in LTL trucking include costs, LTL freight shipping routes, terminal handoffs, and freight classification. To accurately predict and estimate costs, arrival times, and fees, you need to understand these factors better.

This guide walks you through everything you need to know. We’ll learn how less-than-truckload LTL differs from FTL, which mistakes to avoid, how to handle delays, claims, and other issues.

How to Prepare Your Freight for LTL Shipping

To prepare for LTL freight pickup, you need to follow a few simple steps:

Variables and Documentation

First, you need to record the freight’s length, width, and height. This is important for an accurate freight classification. These measurements determine the freight classes and directly affect your freight cost, shaping the bill of lading.

Freight Packaging & Pallet Base

When building your pallet base, always place the heavy freight below the lightweight. Then you must use the correct packaging materials to wrap everything up in place. Make sure to avoid any overhang and use internal protection like bubble wrap. You should also secure the load with stretch wrapping to avoid any shifting.

Labeling and Reference Numbers

Properly packaging your freight not only includes a stable base and shift prevention but also labels and reference numbers. We recommend labeling the freight on multiple sides to make it easy to identify. This can reduce unnecessary handling during the LTL freight shipping process.

Palletizing and Packaging Best Practices That Reduce Claims

The main goal of the LTL freight and packaging is to fit and protect your load in a shared trailer space. Hence, most claims typically come from a weak pallet structure. That’s why there are a few proven practices that guarantee efficient preparation:

• Keep your palletized freight’s height within the limits (commonly listed in the carrier’s rules tariff).

• Hook the heaviest items directly to the bottom of the pallet so your LTL truck load stays rigid during transit.

• Use boards, vertical and horizontal, between packages to prevent any compression from above.

• Try to build a uniform distribution of weight to prevent the pallet from being unbalanced on the forklifts.

Those are the general best practices you can apply when preparing an LTL freight. More or less, this drastically reduces the chance of unexpected claims.

LTL Shipping - Common Accessorial Fees

Several accessorials are outside your base LTL service cost. They include any potential support required during the transit.

These fees are not listed in the original LTL shipping quote. So, it’s best to explore each of them so you can accurately predict when they apply.

How LTL Transit Times Work

The freight LTL shipping transit times mostly depend on how smoothly your freight moves. This means the transfer between terminals and any potential issues that may arise. The LTL shipping times follow a structured flow. The freight goes to a consolidation terminal, where it gets sorted by destination and then moves through the regional network.

The scheduled linehaul run is later built around the confirmed delivery date. Hence, if everything goes smoothly, there shouldn’t be any unexpected delays.

Typical LTL Shipping Times Across the US

The transit time can differ based on different origins and destinations, as well as the handling profiles involved. We’ve listed several LTL freight services' transit times as per their routes and handling profiles, moving through multi-terminal networks:

LTL Freight Carrier Selection - How to Vet Carriers and Avoid Costly Mistakes

When it comes down to searching for the best LTL shipping services, you need to consider a few important things. Start by comparing LTL freight carriers: how they move freight, how consistent they are with LTL truck freight, and how long they’ve been in the business. Also, don’t forget to check what other shippers say about the carrier’s truckload shipping services. Positive reviews often mean seamless service while negative ones show their limitations.

However, before you commit to one carrier, try to estimate your LTL freight cost by checking other (real) invoices. This will help you target an approximate LTL rate, helping you see the difference between cheap LTL freight offers and expensive offers.

How to Get the Best LTL Freight Quote - Mistakes That Make Your Quote Wrong

In the US LTL shipping, many shippers still choose the very first LTL quote they see. This is a fundamental mistake, along with choosing the absolute cheapest LTL freight shipping. This often results in much higher costs than expected, many claims, delays, and unreliable overall service.

To overcome this rookie mistake, we recommend using FreightRun.com Free Quote Calculator to explore multiple LTL freight shipping quotes. This allows you to compare multiple carriers and many offers to narrow down the one that suits you best.

Common LTL Shipping Tips for Reducing Costs and Risks

The risk reduction and savings come from strengthening your internal process. This includes not chasing the lowest rates, rigid packaging, thoughtful planning, and more. Let’s take a look at the best tips you should adopt and apply when dealing with LTL freight:

• Always measure and report accurate LTL freight dimensions before booking to avoid potential issues.

• Ship on business days, so that the carriers can accurately forecast space, transit time, and routing.

• Clearly outline the approved accessorials, their availability, or absence at the designated locations.

• When you have small orders, consolidate them into one shipment when pickup locations match.

Beyond these general tips, there isn’t much else you can do to strengthen your strategy, except for thoughtfully choosing the LTL carrier. Strong LTL shipping comes from in-depth truckload freight knowledge, not from shortcuts.