Shipping Solutions For Your Business: LTL Shipping
by Leeia Ladipoh on November 16th, 2007
A huge part of any small business that sells products today is the shipping process. Not only is selecting the right shipper important so that your customers receive quality, undamaged goods within a very reasonable time, but shippers may also make a huge difference in your bottom line; you want to be sure that your products are shipped to and from you in the most economical form possible.
One alternative to regular shipping measures that can mean a big difference in the bottom line of a small business is LTL shipping.
In this article we will take a look at exactly what LTL shipping is, and the pros and cons of using LTL shipping over parcel carriers.
What LTL Shipping Is
LTL is an acronym which stands for Less than Truck Load. Think about one of the big semi-trailers you see cruising along the freeway; the goods in that trailer constitute a full truckload. As you can imagine, it gets pretty expensive to send all those goods along their way, particularly with the rising costs of fuel.
LTL shipping means that freight from 100 pounds to 10,000 pounds can be shipped without paying the same costs as a full truckload (without LTL, small businesses would have to pay the same cost as full truckloads, but with less inventory to balance it out).
Freight is consolidated onto the truck until the truck reaches capacity, and then shipped. So, LTL shipping means that the goods of several businesses are combined for shipping.
LTL vs. Parcel Carriers
Parcel carriers are another way option when it comes to shipping goods that are not economical to ship on a trailer. Parcel shipping is more limited per unit than LTL, because parcel carriers will not ship more than 150 pounds in one trip.
This means that when it comes to large shipments, parcel carriers can create a lot of extra work in the form of tracking (you’ll have to keep track of each package), record keeping, and of course loading and unloading. With LTL shipping, you are able to ship larger quantities – and that means a lot less paperwork.
Also, when the final costs are broken down, LTL shipping will cost less per unit than parcel carriers. The "strength in numbers" factor also applies to the safety of goods in transport; one unit shipped via parcel carrier is more likely to be damaged than 100 units palleted together on an LTL shipment.
Of course, even LTL prices might not be practical for some small businesses. The outlay of money for the shipping will still be quite high, and you may have to wait for a truck to become full before shipping. In cases where a business sends or receives high end, expensive products that are relatively light on a semi-frequent basis, parcel carriers will remain the most economical form of shipping.