You know that trucking makes the ecommerce world go round, so to speak. With all the steps across the supply chain, your products wouldn’t reach your customers without ground freight transportation. Yet as straightforward as it sounds, there’s more to trucking in the ecommerce logistics process than you’d think.
From cross-country carriers to last-mile delivery trucks, it’s important to understand the different freight options so you can utilize what works best for your business’s needs. And one of the most attractive options for many companies in today’s rapidly-changing ecommerce environment is LTL trucking.
So What is LTL Trucking, Exactly?
What is LTL trucking? We’ll answer that question with another question: If so, start by asking yourself this question: Wouldn’t it be great to experience the ground transportation benefits that ecommerce giants get, but at a more affordable price?
That’s where LTL (Less-Than-Truckload) trucking comes into play. LTL trucking refers to the shipment of freight that wouldn’t fill an entire truckload on its own. As a result, LTL trucking companies will often fill the remaining space on the truck with shipments from other clients.
LTL trucking can benefit companies that send shipments that are smaller in size. Often, these shipments will fit a freight class of somewhere between 150 and 15,000 lbs. To determine the shipment’s transportation requirements, LTL trucking companies will factor in density, handling, liability, and stowability. Ultimately, these shipment sizes are larger than parcel designation (which goes up to 150 lbs.), but not heavy enough to require the entire truckload.
Key Benefits of LTL Trucking
Reduced Shipping Costs
One of the hallmark advantages of LTL trucking is that it allows you to save money on shipping expenses, which is especially beneficial for smaller businesses. Instead of paying for an entire truckload when you don’t need it, with LTL trucking you only pay a reduced cost for the space your shipment fills within the truck.
Sustainability & Environmental Impact
With LTL trucking combining smaller loads into a single truck, it helps cut down the number of trucks on the road carrying individual loads. Less trucks results in less carbon emissions, making LTL trucking a more eco-friendly transportation option. That means your company can achieve its sustainability goals by choosing LTL trucking — and market your environmental efforts to appeal more broadly to today’s customers.
Reach & Flexibility
As many ecommerce companies can experience varying shipping needs, LTL trucking provides welcome flexibility in the logistics process thanks to its capacity to carry different-sized loads. LTL trucking also enables businesses like yours to access the benefits of its larger transportation networks. This allows your company to easily reach customers across a wider geographic area while providing the shipping reliability your customers have come to expect today.
What About the Challenges of LTL Trucking?
Transit Damage
With your goods sharing space with other shipments in LTL trucking, you don’t have control over what else goes into the truck. Your shipments are also typically handled multiple times along the LTL trucking transportation journey. All this means the increased potential for transit damage during handling or transportation.
Shipping Times
While LTL trucking can provide valuable cost savings, there is sometimes a drawback as a result: shipping times. Because you’re sharing a truckload with other companies, LTL trucking requires more stops along the way, taking longer for your goods to reach their destination. This can be especially challenging if you’re trying to sell on Amazon Prime.
Complex Pricing
The pricing for LTL trucking is calculated based on a variety of factors, including the shipping deadline, freight class, pickup and dropoff locations, and more. If all of these details aren’t considered beforehand, you could potentially have to deal with unexpected fees that would cut down on your cost savings.
LTL Trucking: A Worthwhile Option with Smart Warehousing
LTL trucking provides a number of competitive advantages that make it a solid transportation option for ecommerce companies today. And with proper planning, the right packaging, and a reliable, cost-effective carrier, the challenges of LTL trucking can be overcome.
With Smart Warehousing by your side, LTL trucking instantly becomes even more worthwhile. As an expert third-party logistics provider (3PL) with nationwide coverage, we offer LTL trucking, small parcel, drayage, and truckload transportation services to meet a variety of shipping needs. With our large network of warehouses and strategic relationships with the best national carriers, we can provide 1-2 day shipping across 99% of the US—all at discounted prices. That means you can reliably deliver your orders on time when they’re needed most, creating satisfied, loyal customers. To learn more about our LTL trucking and other transportation services, contact us today.