So you have a LTL shipment that’s between 4 and 16 pallets that needs to get to its destination quickly and safely. Your first thought might be to go with a traditional common carrier that offers you a discount. But how do you know if they are providing you with the most competitive rates? Or better yet, how many times will your shipment be loaded and unloaded while it’s in the possession of the common carrier?

Let’s go through the process of a typical LTL shipment with a common carrier. 

• First, your load will be picked up by the carrier’s local truck and moved to their nearest terminal. It is unloaded at the terminal until it’s loaded again on another truck taken to another terminal.
• From there it’s unloaded again and put on another truck before making the delivery. Sometimes it’s even delivered by another carrier that has a line haul agreement with the common carrier and that is generally not disclosed until it’s late or there’s a problem.

As you can see, your load is moved from truck to truck, increasing the risk and likelihood of getting misplaced or damaged every time it’s handled.

Here’s how Route will save you money and provide a safer, stress-free shipping experience by using the “Load to Ride” system.

Most common carriers’ rates are determined by discounts based on class, pallet size and weight. They profit the most by picking up as many 1 – 3 pallet shipments weighing 500 pounds or less. When it comes to volume partials (4 – 16 pallets), common carriers just cannot compete with our rates because the spot rate is based on the need of the carrier, not on a tariff, class, weight and size. We work with thousands of carriers that are always looking to fill out their trucks on a daily basis and we negotiate the best rate based on feet, weight and need. Their freight needs become your freight savings. 

Load to Ride:

When shipping partials and volume LTL with Route, you will get improved transit times with less handling and better pricing. We utilize a vast network of contract carriers that only handle partial and volume LTL shipments. Unlike common carriers that have multiple terminals and breakbulk points, our contract carriers will load your partial shipment on the actual trailer that will be used on the delivery. What we consider as load to ride is when your shipment stays on the same trailer from the times it’s picked up and until it’s delivered. Occasionally shipments are consolidated near the origin city to help reduce your shipping cost. But the same load to ride process is applied with your shipment after it leaves the origin city. That’s a huge difference compared to the number of times a common carrier will handle your shipment.  

Just remember when you ship with Route, we strategically match your shipment with the right carrier at the right rate. Each of our carriers are strictly vetted to make sure that they move your load on time and with care. No more worrying about whether your load is going to arrive in one piece or get lost at a terminal or worse, mishandled by an outside line haul carrier.