What is LTL shipping
The pillar guide: how less than truckload works, and when it is the right tool.
Read the LTL shipping guideFreight pricing
How much it costs to ship a pallet in the GTA
How much to ship a pallet in Canada is not one number. For KHLOELTL it is a GTA and Ontario question: less than truckload (LTL) pallet freight, also called skids, between two docks. The quote is the number. This page is the method.
You pay by the skid
KHLOELTL prices each skid, not the trailer. Two things move your number more than anything else: how much trailer space the skid takes once it is wrapped, and whether either end needs the tailgate instead of a dock. Everything below is detail on those two.
We do not publish a rate card. It would be wrong the moment fuel, labour, or a zone pair moved, and the national averages you will find for shipping a pallet in Canada describe a country-sized market rather than a run from Etobicoke to Markham. The quote form gives you a real number for your two docks.
What changes the price
Inputs that move an LTL skid quote in the GTA and Ontario. None of these rows is a price.
| Input | What the carrier is pricing |
|---|---|
| Origin and destination | The pickup dock and the delivery dock. Two GTA cities are not the same pair as a GTA pickup and an out of area delivery. |
| Skid count | How many units move. The model is per skid, so the count is the first thing dispatch needs. |
| Weight | Kilograms or pounds on the scale. Heavier freight uses more of the truck's legal payload. |
| Dimensions | Length, width, and height of the skid, including the pallet and the wrap. A tall skid occupies cube another shipper cannot use. |
| Density | Weight divided by the space the skid occupies. A light, bulky skid of empty totes can cost more than a short, heavy skid of steel. |
| Stackability | Whether another skid can sit on top without damage. A stackable skid uses trailer space more efficiently. |
| Dock or tailgate | A raised dock at both ends is the standard stop. No dock means the tailgate does the work, at both pickup and delivery independently. |
| Appointments | A booked receiving window is extra coordination, and a missed window is a wasted stop. |
| Other accessorials | Inside delivery, residential, wait time, after hours. See accessorial charges. |
| Fuel surcharge | A separate line that moves with fuel. The rule, when published, is on accessorials and fuel. |
| Minimum charge | A floor under a calculated total that came in too low to cover the stop. The floor is confirmed on the quote, not printed here. |
The method
Canadian LTL still talks in pounds and inches as often as kilograms and centimetres. Put the units you have on the quote. Dispatch will not guess.
What about freight class?
American LTL prices most shipments by NMFC freight class, and calculators for it are everywhere. Canadian domestic LTL mostly does not, and KHLOELTL does not. Work out your density if you want to understand the number, but you do not need a class code to get a quote from us.
What you can control
None of these is a guarantee. They are the levers a shipper actually holds before the quote is requested.
- Confirm the skid can stack if it genuinely can. Stackable freight uses trailer space more efficiently.
- Have a raised dock ready at both ends where the buildings allow it. A tailgate is extra work.
- Accept a receiving window instead of an exact time where your consignee permits it.
- Measure and weigh accurately. An under described skid is corrected at the scale, not avoided.
- Give the whole picture once: docks, contacts, hours, and any access restriction. Rework at the door is the expensive kind.
Where the number comes from
Use the quote form for a price that applies to your skids and your docks. If you are still deciding whether LTL is the right tool, start with what LTL shipping is. If the dock is in a township you do not see named every day, read LTL Greater Toronto Area.
Questions
Questions shippers ask
How much does it cost to ship a pallet in Canada?
There is no honest single number for the country. For GTA and Ontario LTL with KHLOELTL, the price is built per skid from weight, size, density, the two docks, accessorials, fuel, and a minimum charge. The quote form is where a number comes from.
Why can a light skid cost more than a heavy one?
Density. A tall, light skid occupies trailer space another shipper cannot use. LTL prices the space as well as the kilograms on the scale.
Do you publish a rate card?
No. A public rate card would be wrong the moment fuel, labour, or a zone pair moves. The quote is the number that applies to your skids.
Get the number
The quote form is where a price comes from. It applies to your skids and your two docks, and nothing on this page replaces it.