LTL Accessorials - What Do They Mean

When you are getting ready to book a shipment from point A to point B, you have to keep in mind that just knowing the dimensions and weight of your items is not enough. Sometimes there are additional services that will be added to the freight quote as “accessorial fees”. Knowing which ones apply and selecting them correctly will determine the final cost of your shipment.

Most freight payers fail to correctly select the services that apply to their shipment, some due to a lack of knowledge on what the accessorial fees are, resulting in additional charges being made after the shipment has been booked and paid for.

Of course, nobody wants to receive additional charges after they have already paid a specific price for a shipment, thinking that was all. To avoid these issues, it is important to be well informed of what the services are and when to apply them or not.

Here are some of the most known accessorial fees.

Inside Pickup and/or Inside Delivery

This is a tricky term that MOST of the time is selected incorrectly due to a misunderstanding of the term. You may think it means the driver will be going inside the home or location to pick up the package, but it is NOT.

Inside pickup is normally used for residential pickups, or an office with no loading dock. Normally common carrier LTL drivers will only pick up freight from the end of the dock –at most they might use a device called a “pallet jack” to pull the skids from the end of the dock onto the back of the truck.

Anything more than that and they will charge an accessory fee of some kind – inside pickup or driver loading, most likely. Inside delivery indicates moving the pallet to the driveway, porch, or garage. Drivers will NOT take freight from or into a home unless a service such as 2-man delivery, white glove, or deluxe delivery is arranged. Normal delivery or pickup is at the end of the truck, period. More is extra!

Normal common carrier truckers are not allowed to enter homes. This is for your own safety and protection. Imagine if something is stolen or what other liabilities there are from authorizing a driver into your home. Inside pickup applies even if the driver has to move an object from the back of the garage into the truck, or from a business interior into a truck.

If you want to avoid this accessorial, freight must be situated at the end of your dock if a commercial shipment, or put onto the back of the truck by yourself (with assistance from family or friends) or right where the truck will back up to if a Liftgate has been requested.

Residential Pickup, Delivery, and Appointment

This service refers to pick up or delivery at a residence home or a residence business.

You must select this accessory if picking it up from a residential neighborhood. The freight is only taken from the first entrance, no stairs up. You must select this accessory if delivering in a residential neighborhood. This will only be a curbside delivery. The driver will not touch the freight once off the trailer.

This service is very important to select when necessary because not all carriers deliver to residential locations. Sometimes carriers send 18-wheelers or big trailers to deliver or pick up in a residential location and these “big rigs” may not always fit on the street. If this happens and you have failed to specify residential, this will result in additional charges, such as re-delivery, in addition to the residential charge. The appointment required service is automatic for residential services, but this option can also be selected without residential services, if needed.

Liftgate Service

If you do not know what a liftgate is, it is the hydraulic machine located at the back of the truck that allows the freight to be loaded and unloaded from the trailer.

This detail is HIGHLY important to specify. The service is provided by the carrier, but has an additional cost varying from $40 - $100 per liftgate.

Limited Access Site

This service is used when the freight is being picked up or delivered to a difficult-to-access location or as the name says it, has limited access. Not all carriers deliver to limited-access locations.

This includes but is not limited to the following:

  • Airport
  • Construction Site (for example - heavy equipment, or heavy machinery)
  • Correctional Facility
  • Military Base
  • Piers Wharves
  • Storage Facility
  • Church
  • Farm
  • School
  • Ranch
  • Country Club
  • Shopping Mall
  • Mines Quarries
  • Golf Course
  • Nursing Homes
  • Government Site
  • Container Freight Station
  • Hotel

Deluxe Delivery

This service is also called White Glove Service. Here the driver WILL touch the freight and deliver it to the room of choice. The first flight of steps is free and debris removal to the dumpster is included. For this service, 2 Men and Delivery signatures are usually required.

Refrigeration and Protect from Freeze

It is not a problem if you need to ship refrigerated or frozen goods (frozen LTL transportation services), or goods that need to be kept at a specific temperature to avoid melting or freezing.

Refrigerated trailers, which are called “Reefers” or “Temperature Controlled Trailers”, have a refrigeration unit on the outside and vents on the inside which allow to the temperature to be set and controlled. Your goods will not melt, go bad or freeze.

Always remember to double-check your details before shopping for rates. This will allow you to save money by not having to pay any additional fees the carrier might impose for you failing to mention some details of the shipment. Hundreds of dollars can be saved by just making sure these small yet important details are confirmed.