5 Benefits of Using Full Truckload Services for Your Shipping Needs
Full truckload (FTL) shipping is a logistics solution for expeditiously moving bulk amounts of freight. It’s more efficient than rail shipping, significantly less expensive than air shipping, and ideal for transporting heavy loads, especially those with abnormal dimensions.
Despite being an effective logistics solution, it’s sometimes not the best option for certain businesses. If you’re considering investing in full truckload services, keep reading to learn more about the most significant advantages of FTL shipping.
#1: Faster Shipping Times
With FTL shipping, a transportation company allocates a dedicated truck for the shipment, and the customer is invoiced for the truck’s entire hauling capacity. The truck is loaded only with goods from a single customer, and then the freight is delivered without stops between the pickup location and the final destination. A single driver, or driving team, picks the load up and transports it.
Comparatively, with less-than-truckload (LTL) shipping, multiple customers’ goods are shipped together, and freight is delivered to different locations using various local and long-haul drivers.
LTL requires stopping at multiple localities, unloading some of the freight at each place, and proceeding onward. This wastes more time and requires separate bouts of material handling and other labor.
#2: Negotiable Rates
While there is typically no opportunity to negotiate the rate for an LTL shipment, various factors can contribute to the overall rate for full truckload services.
Some of the factors that make price negotiation possible with FTL include:
- Fuel Prices
- Availability of Freight Lanes
- The Type of Goods Being Delivered
- A Preferred Origination Point for the Shipment
- Specialized Packaging Requirements (Extra Blankets, Padding, etc.)
Some carriers may also be willing to offer discounts for backhauling loads on the tractor-trailer’s return trip. Overall, FTL pricing fluxes in real time based on variables the current market can bear.
#3: Fewer Risks
Full truckload shipping also lessens the likelihood of en-route damage because the trailer is full, and everything is secured with little or no danger of shifting. Plus, because the entire trailer is dedicated to only your goods, there’s no danger of another customer’s freight shifting and damaging yours or shipments getting mixed up.
#4: Less Handling
FTL typically means there are fewer stops at freight terminals along the route, which is especially advantageous for cargo that needs to be delivered as quickly as possible. Fewer stops on FTL transport routes mean there are fewer cargo touchpoints, which are any instances where the cargo has to be handled, maneuvered, adjusted, or transferred to a different trailer.
With full truckload shipping, the cargo incurs only two touchpoints: one as it is loaded into the trailer or onto the flatbed at the place of origin and another when it’s unloaded at the final destination. Additionally, fewer touchpoints reduce the possibility of your goods being misplaced, misloaded, sent to an improper destination, or damaged.
#5: Better Flexibility
Lastly, you’ll enjoy more versatility with full truckload services than with LTL shipping. You can have your freight delivered to virtually any land-based location, which is not always possible with other freight delivery methods. Even the most advanced drone technology can’t safely deliver bulky cargo that fills a semi-trailer and weighs tens of thousands of pounds.
Learn More about Full Truckload Shipping Today
Are you still considering investing in full truckload shipping services? Learn more from TSI. We provide domestic and cross-border FTL services. If you routinely ship cargo over 5,000 pounds, or cargo that requires more space than LTL shipping can provide, full truckload shipping could be a money-saving game-changer for your company.Contact our team today with your questions, and let us help you find the best logistics solution for your operation.
