Practical guides to less-than-truckload freight — classification, density, pricing, fuel, documents, and claims — from the desk that wrote the book.
An LTL rate isn't one number — it's built from a base tariff, your discount, weight breaks, fuel, and accessorials. Here's how the pieces fit together.
Accessorials are the extra services that quietly inflate an LTL invoice. Here's what the common ones mean, when they apply, and how to keep them off your bill.
Should your shipment move LTL or full truckload? Here's the practical breakdown by weight, pallet count, cost, transit time, and handling risk.
The BOL is the contract that governs your shipment. Learn what each field means, which ones drive your rate, and the errors that cause billing adjustments.
The fuel surcharge is often 20–30% of an LTL invoice. Here's how carriers set it from the DOE diesel index, and how to sanity-check the number on your bill.
Density drives freight class for most LTL shipments. Learn the exact formula, a worked example, and the packaging mistakes that quietly raise your class.
Freight class is the single number that most affects an LTL rate. Here's what the NMFC classes mean, the four factors that set them, and how to find the right one.