LTL and FTL: how to choose the perfect logistics system for your eCommerce business

The LTL and FTL models involve transporting large quantities of products by truck to physical stores or to home delivery centres for customers of online stores. From this point on, each has its own unique characteristics. 

LTL or less than truckload 

This is characterised by the fact that your products don’t fill the entire truck. In this mode of transport, shipments from several different companies are added to the same truck until it’s completely full, thus taking advantage of all available space. The main advantage here is that the transport costs are shared jointly by the different eCommerce businesses involved in the shipment. This is usually quite a profitable model for small- and medium-sized businesses. 

In these cases, the logistics service provider is in charge of picking up the product, storing it, and carrying it to its destination, similar to Amazon’s FBA. This model is particularly suitable for items with greater flexibility in terms of delivery times since the truck has to make different stops along its route, meaning that your products can be delayed. You can lose efficiency in your deliveries but save on costs. 

FTL or full truckload 

In this mode, your products occupy the entire truck, not sharing space with other vendors or manufacturers. This is the best option when you want to transport a large quantity of products on pallets, weighing several tonnes, as well as for delicate, high-risk, or urgent products since the only stops will be those indicated by the company in question and the merchandise will only be handled during loading and unloading. 

Another advantage of this mode is its greater efficiency since there’s no need to invest resources in notifications, billing, stopovers, or multiple loading and unloading operations. Despite this, only those large eCommerce companies with inelastic demand and already loyal buyers can generally afford this due to its high cost.