What are LTL Shipment and How Can They Help Your Business

LTL shipping has increased in popularity over the years and is currently an estimated $35 billion market. Transportation of goods is and always will be a necessity that majority of businesses must utilize. There are approximately 12 million trains, vessels and trucks involved in transportation process, so choosing the right one can be hard. Knowing the benefits for shipping full loads and loads that aren’t full can be the difference between saving your company money and costing your company money.

What is LTL
LTL shipments means less-than-truckload shipments. These shipments are typically smaller than a typical truckload for a number of reasons. Many times these shipment consists of a few pallets of products rather than an entire truck full of them.

Why

Why are LTL shipments used? What makes them more resourceful and how can they save a company money? Less than truckload shipments are used for a variety of reasons when shipping an entire truckload doesn’t make sense. Produce is one of the most popular reasons. Some stores especially smaller ones, don’t need full truckloads of produce, therefore utilizing LTL shipments to get smaller loads keeps produce from going bad and being wasted. This method is more resourceful because many products from more than one customer are put on a truck. This also reduces the cost of shipping, because multiple customers are utilizing the truck and share the cost.

> Is This Reliable

Managing LTL shipments means that you are responsible for making sure the shipment arrives on time. This process can be a chore but with smaller loads, it’s easier. Customers have direct access to their loads and where they are at. Since there are usually multiple stops for each shipment you should account for a delay in your goods reaching their desired destination.

The trucking industry is going strong and will continue to go strong throughout the years. This industry isn’t going anywhere, in fact in 2013, 15 billion tons of cargo was transported by the trucking industry. This number is expected to rise to over 18 billion tons by the year 2040. If transportation is an important part of your business it is not something that is going to go away. Learning everything you can will save time and money in the future. Utilizing the most cost effective services is the best choice for your business. If your business transports smaller truck loads then managing LTL shipments is worth the time and investment to save money in the future.