That is a great question!
FTL and LTL are two of the most commonly used ways to transport cargo from point A to point B. There are a couple of differences between them.
FTL stands for Full Truck Load.
LTL means Less-than Truck Load, the same as LCL, which represents Less-than Container Load.
Not sure which one is the best for your cargo? It will all depend on a couple of things.
First, you need to identify the commodity, required temperature, pallet count, case count, gross weight, and cargo dimension. Then, consider the transportation budget and time frames.
For example, if your cargo consists of only 1 standard pallet, you should focus on finding the best LTL option. Now, if you have 20 standard pallets, your best option is FTL.
With an LTL move, your cargo will be loaded sharing space with other products, matching route, and destination. Therefore, it will be picked up and delivered with approximate window dates, cargo will be handled multiple times, it might be offloaded at different facilities (depending on the distance from the origin to destination) and delays could impact the destination's delivery day.
On the other hand, FTL goes from origin to destination with a numbered seal. There are no planned stops or additional handling in transit and arrivals delays are not frequent.
If cargo requires temperature-controlled ambiance, the LTL cost could be higher than the FTL and cargo may stand longer at the consolidation warehouse waiting for more cargo to be loaded with it, based on temperature, commodity, and safety requirements.
In my experience, FTL provides more control over your freight and it runs smoother than LTL.
You can combine both options LTL and FTL. This is a good alternative if you have more cargo from other origins and need to consolidate them before sending the container to the port for sailing. If you choose this combined model, please consider storage charges, consolidation, and rework fees.
I strongly believe every load is different. Each one should be planned individually to maintain the quality and safety of the product.
If you would like to know more about which option fits your cargo needs best, please feel free to contact me. Send me an email with more details: MyLogisticsLab@gmail.com.
About the Author: My name is Gloria Isamar Rivera. I have more than 17 years of combined experience in business administration, marketing, customer service, supply chain, logistics, and 3PLs. I consider myself a young professional, a supply chain leader, and an out-of-the-box strategist. I enjoy the simple things in life and value every process as a learning experience. Looking forward to sharing something interesting for you very soon! Thank you for reading! ;-)
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