LTL VS PTL: What’s The Difference And How To Know Instantly

We are constantly developing and adding features to help customers find their ideal shipment mode with less effort, lower costs, and lower CO2 emissions through mode optimization. Today, we added a new feature for our small business shippers to leverage this optimization when they quote LTL on our website.

Small business shippers: if you could move an LTL load via PTL for less would you? In today’s landscape where margins are tight, the answer is almost definitely yes. In some cases when an LTL load is very large, you can move it for less via PTL, here’s why many still don’t:

• It’s not immediately obvious if a LTL shipment fits the requirements of PTL
• Getting a quote for your LTL shipment and a separate quote for PTL doubles the time it takes for rate discovery
• Shippers are less familiar with PTL and don’t know what they don’t know

We’ve heard these concerns from shippers so today when you quote an LTL shipment, you’ll automatically see a PTL alternative alongside LTL options if your shipment meets the requirements of PTL, giving you an instantaneous comparison between equipment types.

Website users can now see PTL rates when they are quoting LTL

That means that, by providing shipment details, they can see options that match their needs (in terms of rates and lead time) and book them instantly. There will be cases they will only see one type of mode and other cases where they’ll get rates for both PTL and LTL (depending on the size/number of pallets). Rates will be ordered from the lowest rate to the highest (in case the user uses our favorite carriers feature, they’ll see the favorite carriers’ rates first, also ordered by rate).

Here’s How

• Step 1: Go to https://loadsmart.com/quote/#/ and click on the LTL tab.
• Step 2: Add all required load information and click on “get quote”.
• Step 3: See rates and lead time for LTL and/or PTL (whenever load is suitable for both, both rates will be displayed). Decide on which is the best match for your load and click on “select”
• Step 4: Book your load as you typically do for any mode with Loadsmart.com

About Loadsmart

We are industry veterans and data-scientists using innovative technology to fearlessly reinvent the future of freight. As the ‘nerds of logistics’, we seek intelligence in data to solve deep-rooted inefficiencies in the industry. We give shippers, brokers and carriers access to our data connections (linking supply and demand) and suite of award-winning solutions to strike the perfect balance of cost and service. We’re creating a more efficient and environmentally responsible way to move more with less. For more information, please visit: https://loadsmart.com.