LTL (Less Than Load) vs FTL (Full Truckload)

We are asked daily if we provide less than load Trucking (LTL) or if we are strictly a full truckload carrier (FTL). The answer is West Coast Carriers offers LTL Trucking for all types of moves in both Refrigerated LTL and  Flatbed LTL. Our philosophy regarding LTL Trucking is simple, why pay a full truckload price if you’re not using the full trailer. There are lots of trucking companies out there offering LTL services when it comes to shipping freight. The difference is that some of these LTL Carriers will pick up your shipment, take it back to their loading facility or dock and unload it and reload it on to another truck. This process usually repeats itself several times before your shipment is delivered and there you are unloading your damaged freight. Unfortunately this is more common than you may think. Now think about it, the more you touch a pallet or have to move your freight from one trailer to another the more susceptible it is to damage.

West Coast Carriers transports LTL daily and the difference is we do not transfer your cargo and deliver your freight to you on the same trailer it was loaded on. Whether you need trucking for one pallet or 17 pallets, we can help you by consolidating your freight with other freight we are transporting.

Service times for Less-than-truckload freight are much different than they are for FTL. For example, LTL trucking companies generally move freight towards the end of the week after they have consolidated other shipments to fill their trailer. On average an LTL carrier will have 5 stops on a single trailer but can have many more and is dependent upon the pay for each partial shipment or LTL shipment they are transporting. FTL trucking companies are much different and are generally on the road right after being loaded. LTL transit times from Coast to Coast are generally 5 to 7 days but again will depend on the other ltl shipments being transported in the same trailer. Whereas a full truckload shipment will have just the one shipment and the average transit time is 4 days.  All shipments will of course vary dependent upon other things such as port of entries, weather, road conditions and most of all good communication. No matter what trucking company you choose, if you don’t have good communication the price doesn’t matter because you’ll be paying for it either way in the end. Make a good choice and choose West Coast Carriers for all your needs in Flatbed or Refrigerated LTL Trucking.