What is LTL shipping
LTL vs FTL, LTL vs courier, and how LTL pricing works: those are the three questions shippers actually type. The short version is below. The longer version is the rest of this page.
What LTL is
LTL means less than truckload. You have pallet freight, also called skids, that does not fill a trailer. Those skids travel with freight from other shippers. You are quoted and billed for the space and weight you use, not for a truck you did not fill.
KHLOELTL is a local LTL carrier. The work is business to business pallet freight in Toronto and the Greater Toronto Area.
LTL vs FTL
FTL means full truckload. The trailer is yours. You pay for the truck whether you load twenty skids or two. Use FTL when you can fill it, or when the freight cannot share a trailer.
Use LTL when you have a few skids. Sharing the trailer is the point. The trade-off is that the truck is not dedicated to you, so pickup and delivery are planned around a route, not around a truck that sits at your dock.
LTL vs courier
A courier is built for parcels and envelopes. A driver can carry the piece. There is no pallet jack, no dock, and no tailgate.
A skid is freight. It is wrapped, labelled, and moved with a pallet jack or a forklift. If the receiving door is a warehouse dock, you want LTL, not a courier who will refuse the piece at the truck.
If you are unsure, describe the piece on the quote form: is it on a pallet, what does it weigh, and does the building have a dock.
How LTL pricing works
KHLOELTL quotes per skid. That is the commercial model. The number still moves with weight, dimensions, density, the pickup and delivery docks, and extra work such as a tailgate.
There is no published rate card. A public average for "shipping a pallet in Canada" is not a quote for your docks. How a skid price is built walks through the inputs. Accessorial charges are the extra work on top of the linehaul.
How a shipment runs
- You send the docks, the skid count, weights, and dimensions on the quote form.
- Dispatch confirms the pair and the extra work (tailgate, appointment, inside delivery, and the rest).
- Pickup is planned on a route. The driver collects the freight against a bill of lading.
- You follow the shipment in the customer portal, not on a public number lookup.
Transit is confirmed on the quote for that pair of docks. This page does not publish a standard transit time.
Questions shippers ask
What is LTL shipping?
Less than truckload (LTL) is pallet freight that does not fill a trailer. Your skids travel with freight from other shippers, and you are priced on the space and weight you use, not on a dedicated truck.
How is LTL different from FTL?
Full truckload (FTL) is the whole trailer for one shipper. You pay for the truck whether you fill it or not. LTL is the right tool when you have a few skids, not a full trailer.
How is LTL different from a courier?
A courier is built for parcels and envelopes. A skid on a pallet jack, a dock, and a tailgate are freight work. If it sits on a pallet, it is an LTL shipment, not a courier parcel.
How does LTL pricing work?
KHLOELTL quotes per skid. The number still moves with weight, dimensions, the two docks, and extra work such as a tailgate. There is no published rate card. Use the quote form.