Sometimes you do not have a shipment that is large enough to need a full truck, and that is where LTL Freight comes in to save the day. It is a wonderful cost-effective solution for anyone that has a smaller amount of cargo that they need to send.
What is LTL Freight?
The LTL in LTL Freight stands for Less Than Truckload. It is a very effective solution for moving shipments where using FTL Freight, or Full Truckload Freight doesn’t make sense cost-wise or size-wise.
If you are looking at your shipping costs and you need to lower your budget this is a great way to do that. It basically splits the truck between different shipments from different clients, so that smaller shipments can be sent, and there is not a whole load of an underutilized truck out on the road.
It is a green solution and one that is used by a lot of people who either only have smaller shipments they need to send or companies that have shipment that is too small to warrant a full truck.
Why Might I Need LTL Freight?
There are many reasons why LTL Freight is going to make more sense for you as an option, as opposed to FTL Freight, or one of the other methods of shipping.
When you have a small shipment it is a much more cost effective way to get your items where they need to be. The cost is going to be split between whatever shipments are being transported. LTL shipping is calculated by freight class and this commonly breaks down to price per weight, where FTL shipping is calculated by the mile.
If your company is a green company, and you are looking to reduce your carbon footprint, this is also a good solution, as this helps reduce the number of half-full trucks on the road and that helps bring down emissions.
Is LTL Freight The Right Choice For Me?
If time is not an issue, the extra time that sending LTL Freight is not going to have an impact on your customer satisfaction. Your item will get where it needs to go, and it will be tracked the whole way.
You also need to consider whether or not the item that you are sending is going to withstand the possible handling and transfer between trucks that are likely to occur. A robust product and good packaging should alleviate any worries on this score. Most shipments are also on a pallet, which makes any transference really easy.
Does your shipment need to have special conditions or are there special handling instructions? If so, using FTL Freight may be a better idea for you, as it gives you more control over the environment your shipment is transported in.
When you are looking at shipping solutions or ways to improve the whole of your supply chain and to handle the logistics that are involved, you are going to want to work with a company that can match your expertise with the answers you need to continue your success and expansion
American Manufacturing Solutions with over 70,000 square feet of warehousing space, a continually growing fleet of trucks can support your company’s warehousing and logistics needs wherever you are in the nation. For more information about American Manufacturing Solutions or LTL Freight, please contact us today.
