What is partial truckload?
What is partial truckload? It is a shipment that shares a trailer with one or two other loads, priced like truckload rather than off an LTL tariff.
What is partial truckload compared with the alternatives
Standard LTL moves your freight through a network of terminals, where it is unloaded and reloaded several times. A partial truckload is loaded once and stays put until it is delivered, sharing the trailer with a small number of other shipments going the same way.
That single difference is why partials suit fragile freight, tall or awkward freight, and anything where handling is the risk rather than the rate.
When a partial is the right answer
Roughly six to eighteen pallets, or any shipment long enough to trip an LTL carrier's linear foot rule. Also freight that would classify badly: light, bulky goods often price better as a partial than as high-class LTL.
No freight class is involved, so the class argument, the reweigh and the reclass all disappear. You are buying space and miles instead.
Related terms
Quick answers
Is partial truckload cheaper than a full truck?
Usually, because you pay for the space you use rather than the whole trailer. Once you are past roughly eighteen pallets a full truck often wins.
Does partial truckload avoid freight class?
Yes. Partials are priced on space, weight and lane, so there is no class to argue about and no reclassification to catch you later.
Too big for LTL, too small for a truck?
That gap is exactly what is partial truckload built for. Send the pallet count and dimensions and we price it against the alternatives.