Trucking by Consolidated Carriers
LTL
A trucking industry term; a less-than-truckload (LTL) shipment is when a shipper contracts for the transportation of freight that will not require an entire truck. LTL shipments are priced according to the weight of the freight, its commodity class (which generally determines its cube/weight ratio), and mileage within designated lanes. An LTL carrier specializes in LTL shipments. These companies operate a complex hub-and-spoke network with major consolidation points. The cargo’s last mile comes from these warehouse points. LTL carriers carry multiple shipments for different customers in single trucks. Combining several cargo owner’s cargoes in one truck reduces the cost each cargo owner must pay.
LTL freight goes by consolidated common carrier trucks and it almost always travels in 53 ft vans. Texas International Freight can ship LTL by any of the larger consolidated truck carriers in the lower 48 plus Canada. LTL consolidated carriers use arcane coding to classify freight. These codes determine the freight’s “tariff” rate. They are called NMFC classification numbers. LTL carriers are bound by law to charge their published rates and not less. However, Texas International Freight can offer superior rates than consolidated carriers offer the public due to our volume discount contracts. With contracts in place, we get rates not offered to the public. We pass these savings on to our customers.
Consolidated Carriers offer LTL for cargo that is picked up from airports, from container freight stations, from business docks, and in some instances, from residential addresses. The trucks used by consolidated carriers can use liftgates to offload and on-board cargo when the use of business docks are unavailable.
If you have freight that needs to move cheaply in the United States and Canada, please contact us. We can get you pricing for pallets, skids, and crates that will beat most other company’s offerings.
And any freight rate that we cannot beat, we will add our first class service to ensure a total value that is superior to any other company’s offering.