Standard freight · PTL
Partial truckload shipping
Partial truckload sits between LTL and full truckload. Your freight rides with a small number of other loads — fewer than LTL — so it sees less handling than LTL while costing less than buying a whole trailer.
What it is
What partial truckload is
Partial truckload (PTL) carries freight that is larger than a typical LTL shipment but does not fill a trailer — often several pallets up to roughly half a load. It rides with only a few other shipments, so it is handled far less than LTL freight moving through a terminal network.
Because PTL is priced on the space and weight it occupies rather than freight class, it can be the cheaper option for dense, heavy, or higher-class freight that LTL classes expensively.
When partial beats LTL and FTL
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More than LTL, less than a truck
You have roughly 6 to 18 pallets — too many for economical LTL, not enough to fill a full trailer.
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Dense or high-class freight
Heavy or high-freight-class goods that LTL prices steeply often cost less as a partial, priced by space.
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You want less handling
Fewer touches than LTL lowers the risk of damage for freight that does not need a full dedicated truck.
The benefits
- 01
Lower cost than a full truck
You share the trailer, so you do not pay for capacity you will not use.
- 02
Fewer touches than LTL
PTL skips the terminal-to-terminal handling LTL relies on, protecting your freight.
- 03
No freight-class surprises
Pricing on space and weight avoids the class-based reclassification that can inflate an LTL bill.
How partial freight moves
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Shared dry van space
Your pallets occupy a defined block of a trailer alongside a few other partial loads.
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Pickup-to-delivery routing
We build a route that fits your freight with compatible loads heading the same direction.
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Palletized and secured
Freight is blocked and braced so it travels safely without a full trailer’s walls around it.
Related services
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