Freight glossary / Modes and service types

What is LTL in freight?

LTL means less than truckload, a shipment too small to justify its own trailer that instead shares space with other shippers' freight. LTL carriers move it through a hub and spoke terminal network, so it is handled several times and takes longer than a direct truckload move. Pricing runs off freight class, weight, and distance rather than a single negotiated line haul.

Also called: less than truckload.

Related terms

• FTL
• Freight class
• NMFC
• Partial truckload
• Cross dock