When it comes to shipping LTL freight
, there are many pros and cons to consider. Sometimes it might make more sense to source an alternative way to ship if the risks outweigh the benefits of less than truckload services. For example, if it’s cheaper to ship a box via parcel, you should consider that instead.
Businesses looking to improve their bottom line typically stray away from traditional shipping methods and opt for LTL due to its pricing structure. Other reasons that make LTL a smart choice include:
- Reduced Cost: The most significant benefit of using LTL is the cost. Since you share space with other businesses, you only pay for the portion of the trailer your freight occupies.
- Environmentally Friendly: The importance of becoming a green business is increasing. LTL freight helps you take a step in the right direction by reducing emissions.
- Minimized Risks: Since LTL carriers require shipments to be packed into durable crates or stacked neatly on pallets, the risk of damage is significantly reduced. This can also protect the shipment from wear, other freight, and loss of individual packages.
- Easy Tracking: Many carriers will provide real-time tracking that includes stop-offs, pick-ups, and delivery. If you are shipping with multiple carriers, uShip offers a free portal to track your shipments all in one place.
- Service Options: The vast majority of LTL carriers offer many services such as notifications, inside pick-up and delivery, liftgate, special handling, and more.
While LTL shipping might make sense for most business shippers, there are reasons that can make it less appealing to others. Some of those reasons are:
- Potential Longer Shipping Times: Being that shipment pickup times are dependent on the businesses sharing the truck, any issues occurring before your pickup can cause delays or even your shipment to be missed completely.
- Less Secure: There’s no doubt that LTL is much more secure than most shipping methods; however, there are risks involved when compared to FTL shipping. LTL shipping requires your freight to be handled quite a bit since you are sharing a trailer, whereas FTL shipping is a dedicated truck for your freight only.
- Less Predictable: Since your freight will be traveling around and making different stops en route to its final destination, delays will happen.
- Prone to Damage and Loss: Even though shipping via LTL is very safe, damage can still occur. Since the freight is loaded and unloaded multiple times throughout its journey, damage and complete loss can occur.
All things considered, less than truckload shipping is still a great way to ship pallets and crates due to its convenience and affordability. Learn more about saving money on LTL shipping with uShip here
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