Difference Between LTL & FTL in Logistics?

Stephen Day holds certified transportation broker (CTB) certification. As the president of the Logistics Group International (LGI), located in Houston, Texas, Stephen Patrick Day brings his vast experience to provide logistics services to the company’s customers. LGI provides LTL and FTL services to its customers.

FTL stands for full truckload, whereas LTL stands for less than truckload. Both are freight shipment categories that do exactly what their names suggest. LTL shipments need just a fraction of the trailer's space to ship the products, but FTL shipments need the full or almost whole trailer.

Here are some of the differences between LTL and FTL.

1. Users only pay for the space the cargo takes up inside the trailer. Other shipments from other shippers will fill the balance of the LTL trailer. For smaller volume shipments, companies of all sizes often choose the LTL option.

If the goods are large enough to fill the full trailer, one might consider booking a full truckload. When the freight volume is significant enough to warrant paying for the full trailer, opt for FTL.

2. LTL shipments take longer to reach the destination. This is because the truck trailer makes many stops along the trip and transfers the freight between several vehicles. The number of varying goods carried in the truck trailer also determines the pace at which a user gets the shipment.

Full truckload shipments remain on the truck trailer until they arrive at their destination. Because the cargo stays on the truck without making many stops or swapping to various trucks along the trip, this approach is faster than LTL.

Emerging Trends in the Logistics Industry

Houston-based Stephen Patrick Day is the CEO of Logistics Group International (LGI), a heavy haul, third-party logistics company primarily serving the energy and manufacturing industries. As the head of LGI, Stephen Day performs C-level operational oversight and stays abreast of new technologies and potential disruptors in the logistics industry.

Last-mile logistics is one of the biggest drivers of innovation in the industry. With so much of the operational cost allocated to such a relatively small link in the chain, emerging technologies such as drones are rapidly approaching widespread adoption in many segments.

As with most other industries, big data is increasingly being used in logistics to make decisions about everything from routes to investment strategies. Predictive algorithms are trusted to anticipate busy periods, fuel shortages, and myriad other factors that affect the bottom line, significantly streamlining operations.

As connectivity increases across the entire industry, security fears are at an all-time high. Concerns about cyber attacks and data breaches are driving huge investment into protection measures from small and large operators alike.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Less-Than-Truckload Shipping

Stephen Patrick Day is a longtime Houston entrepreneur who guides Logistics Group International (LGI) and provides freight brokerage solutions. In his leadership role at LGI, Stephen Day coordinates with a wide range of freight carriers, including those who provide less-than-truckload (LTL) shipping solutions.

Distinct from full truckload shipping, LTL involves transporting freight that does not use up the entire truck space or weight limit. An advantage of the LTL approach is that more than one shipper can share space within a single truck, with each company paying only for their portion of the entire load.

There are some issues involved with LTL, including the necessity of carefully breaking shipments into palletized or crated packages that ensure the various shippers’ materials stay intact and don’t get mixed up or damaged.

In addition, there are often multiple destinations involved, which can add to the transit time. With more unloading and loading stages involved, there is also a correspondingly greater risk of damage to goods during the handling process. In general, shipments of greater than 15,000 pounds or 10 pallets of the product will require a full truckload approach.