BENEFITS OF LTL SERVICE
Kelly Jorgensen, Vice President
Buehler Logistics Division
Buehler Companies – The way the world is moving
January 25, 2012
Benefits of LTL Service
When you first opened up for business, you could easily get away with using the post office, or one of the parcel carrier services for your shipping needs. Now that your business has grown, it is time for your means of freight shipping to do the same. This means that you need to start taking a look at the benefits of using a logistics service.
When you have grown your business to ship large orders from your warehouse or production facility, but aren't yet (or have no plans to start…) running your own truck division to freight your product to your customers distribution facilities around the country, you will be faced with many options from many sources.
Buehler logistics has a variety of suggestions to help your company control its freight costs. From handling your warehousing, order fulfillment and shipping, as well as utilizing carrier partners that offer expedited, truckload or less than truck load services.
Whenever you are dealing with any type of freight shipping, there are going to be two terms that you hear a great deal. FTL and LTL. FTL stands for full truck load. This term is used when you have enough of one shipment to fill an entire trailer, or close enough to it. It doesn't always mean that you have enough “pieces” or “boxes” to fill up a truck; it can also be used to describe the weight of the shipment. Most shipments weighing over 20,000 pounds are usually described as being a full truck load (FTL) shipment. This also means that you have enough product or weight to completely hire it from the trucking company with no other product from other companies on it. LTL or Less than Truckload is the shipping option that most small to medium sized manufacturers use. This term is used when you “rent” or “occupy” only a small portion of an entire truckload, with the remainder of the trailer divvied up among other companies who are shipping to a destination located close to where your shipment is going. LTL shipments are usually made up of 20,000 pounds and under or 10 pallets or less.
There are many advantages to shipping LTL. The biggest advantage is the savings it can bring to your company and your customers. Because you only have a portion of the trailer, and because the trucking company will make more money on the entire truck, the trucking company can afford to reduce the overall costs for each company shipping on the truck. The only advantage of utilizing Full Truckload service versus Less than Truckload service is if you have a very specialized order, requiring guaranteed delivery times, white glove handling or zero hour expediting. This way you have control over the entire truck, because you have purchased the entire truck.
Buehler Logistics Division has specialists dedicated to finding the most effective way to ship your goods. All options and services will be presented to you and we listen to your needs to determine the best way to ship your products. Call Buehler Logistics Division today at 303 388-4000 to speak to one our logistics specialists.
