Why LTL Freight Size Matters

If your freight doesn’t require a full truckload for shipping, using LTL (Less Than Truckload) can be an amazing alternative to help save you money and time. In an LTL shipment, your items will be placed on a pallet inside of a truck with other LTL cargo. Your LTL shipping quote depends on a number of different variables – the shipment origin, shipment destination, the packaging type, the number of pieces, the shipping class and the weight. However, the dimensions of your freight shipment could make the most difference when shipping through this method. A careful understanding about the size of your shipment would be very helpful when you are shipping by truck.

Size plays an important role in the price of shipping cargo by truck. After all, a truck can only hold a certain amount of space. Most standard trucks contain varying sizes. For example, a 16-foot truck usually holds about 800 cubic feet, whereas a 26-foot truck can hold up to 1,400 cubic feet. In LTL trucking, shipments are transported on pallets. Most standard pallets maintain a general size of usually 48” x 40”, but this may vary and alter to fit different needs. Most pallets are made of either wood or plastic. And the height of the trucks are usually a maximum of 96 inches, but again, this may vary depending on the shipment and other circumstances.