LTL: Unexpected Charges
While LTL shipping has its advantages, there are also some things to watch out for that are unique to LTL. Often there can be unexpected charges due to certain factors of a shipment, and these will not be included in an initial rate estimate. Today we are covering a few of these charges and things to watch out for when shipping a load via LTL.
Did you know that many customers get invoiced at a much higher rate due to their shipments being “hit” with Cubic Capacity, Exceeds Linear Foot, or Oversize Dims? All three of these things are different and very expensive so pay close attention to what your customer is shipping.
Cubic Capacity
This is when a shipment is greater than 750 cubic feet and an average density of 6 or less (some carriers are 4 or less).
- Example of a Cubic Capacity load:
- 6 Pallets at 2600 lbs., each pallet is 48x48x55, cubic feet is 768, and the density is only 5.91
- This shipment would get “hit” with cubic capacity without a quote.
Linear Foot Rule
Each carrier has their own version of the linear foot rule. If your shipment equals more than the LTL linear foot rule for that carrier then it will get “hit” with the “exceeds linear feet” fee.
- Example of Linear Foot load:
- 5 pallets at 5000 lbs., each pallet is 49x49x50, and because the pallets cannot be placed side by side this shipment takes up a little more than 20’ of space
Oversize
Each carrier has an over dimension rule; most LTL carriers are 12′. The oversize accessorial should be applied to any shipment 12’ or more. You can find the “Linear Foot Rule” for most carriers by looking at their carrier tariff on their websites.
Check back every 2nd and 4th Wednesday each month for more inside information on LTL through our Multimodal Wednesday Series.