Consolidation and multi-stop loads

Consolidation means combining orders that would each go LTL into one bigger load. Three small shipments heading the same way might cost more as three LTL bills than as one truck that drops them off in turn. A planner's job is to spot those groups and check they really are cheaper.

A multi-stop truckload is priced as a truckload rate for the whole trip plus a stop-off charge for each extra stop, often $50 to $150 each. Compare that with the LTL quotes for each shipment on its own. LTL is priced by weight, distance and freight class: a number from 50 for dense, sturdy freight to 500 for light, bulky freight, set mostly by density. The lighter and bulkier, the more LTL costs per pound.

Three orders, all east of Dallas

Order   Pallets  Weight     LTL quote
A       8        14,000     $900
B       10       16,000     $1,100
C       6        12,000     $750
Total   24       42,000     $2,750

One truck: $2,200 + 2 extra stops x $100 = $2,400
Saving: $350

Before you say yes, check the load works: 24 pallets fit on 26 spots, 42,000 lbs is under the payload, and the axle weights balance with the stop order. Then check the time: each stop adds unloading time and miles. Miles that a stop pulls the truck away from the straight route are out-of-route miles, and too many can wipe out the saving or blow an appointment.

Good stops lie roughly in a line, in the direction of travel, and close enough to each other that the driver can make them all in the hours they have. A stop far off the line, or one with a narrow appointment that clashes with the others, is often better sent LTL on its own.

Bigger shippers use other forms too. Pool distribution sends one full truck to a cross-dock near the customers, where the freight is sorted and sent out on small local trucks. Cross-docking moves freight straight from inbound trucks to outbound ones without storing it. Inbound consolidation does the reverse: many suppliers' small shipments are collected at one hub and sent on to a factory or warehouse as full loads.