Shipping cargo is something most businesses will have to do at one time or another.  The sea of options that are available when it comes to shipping makes it difficult to choose one.  How can you ensure that you are choosing the right company for your shipping needs?  Not all shippers will be right for you and your particular shipping situation.  If you are looking to ship a lot of items, or a few large items cheaply but don’t have enough to fill an entire truck your best option is to use an LTL trucking company, otherwise known as less than truckload.

Less than truckload shipping is for cargo that weighs between one hundred and fifty one pounds and twenty thousand pounds.  It is an option for small businesses that don’t have enough shipments to fill an entire truck but are tired of paying the high cost of Parcel Post.  LTL shippers take multiple small loads to create one full truckload.  This allows them to charge less than companies that ship parcels separately.  They fill an entire truck to in order to save money and maximize their profits whereas you are only paying for your share of the truck that is being used.

An example of this is if your shipment only fills a quarter of the truck you pay for that portion of the truck.  Then the rest of the truck is packed with orders from other companies to fill it completely.  Each company only pays for the amount of the truck that their shipments are taking up.

Even though LTL shipping can handle shipment upwards of twenty thousand pounds the ideal shipments will weigh around one hundred to ten thousand pounds.  When shipments weigh over one hundred pounds is when they become too expensive and too heavy to ship Parcel Post.  At around ten thousand pounds the expense of LTL shipping gets close to that of full truck load shipping at twenty thousand pounds.  These are things to consider depending on if you will have more shipments and you can hold off until they are ready to lessen the overall expense of your shipping needs.

Most local shipping companies offer less than truckload shipping options.  In order to find one that meets your needs shop around and research your options.  Find a company that is based around customer service, a solid reputation, availability and lastly price.  If a company is cheap but unreliable and falls short on customer service you are not better off in the long run.

Jefferson Diversified Group, LLC is a Global Logistics expert offering LTL shipping and more. Check out available rates today at http://www.detroitltl.com.