8 Big Factors to Consider for Efficient Less-than-Truckload Shipping

If you are a shipper who regularly ships via the over-the-road mode of Less Than Truckload, also known as LTL, you understand there are a lot of moving parts to have efficient LTL Shipping.

Efficient means executing a program that allows you to achieve maximum outcomes all while not using too many resources, too much time, or spending too much money.

With transportation costs often comprising 4 to 7.5% of sales for a shipper, and with the myriad of factors involved in LTL shipping, shippers often forget about the core factors and fundamentals of LTL shipping. 

A good analogy is that following the fundamentals to gain efficient LTL shipping may seem like an easy task, just like getting on the treadmill every day, but if you don’t execute every day, you most likely won’t reach your goals.

There are some fundamentals that seem easy to do, such as making sure you pick the right class or scoring carriers to make sure you are picking the best ones each time for your freight, but many shippers tend to forget about executing the right way every day letting things slip, which may seem at the time like a good short-term decision, but in fact, can come back to bite you.

Think about the price. When have you chosen to go with a lower priced LTL carrier only to find out every time they have your freight it gets damaged?

Now you have to spend time working on a freight claim. Add the cost of your time to that shipment, and that you may also have to give some emergency customer service with the damaged freight they received, you are no longer looking at efficient LTL shipping, but a big headache.