LTL Business
- Thread starter RoadKing
- Start date
20
Hi RoadKing,
we have done ALOT of ltl in the past. It's not what it used to be. It depends on what area you want to work.
For things to go well, you need to be in the same place regularly. you will end up making contacts that will give you their freight every week if that is the case. There is a lot of competition though, and they will give it to someone else if they can save $5 unless you give outstanding service. If your aren't there for just one week, you risk loosing your regular customers. You need to be consistant, honest (delivery times) and on time. The faster you can deliver, the better. Also, you need a really good driver, who isn't afraid of a little work and who know how to load up his/her trailer. Trailer should be logistic, if at all possible with at least a few load bars and lots of straps to secure. The most important thing you need to know is that no matter where you are doing ltl, the prices are about the same (california or oh to mtl = about the same rates). Hope this helps and good luck
we have done ALOT of ltl in the past. It's not what it used to be. It depends on what area you want to work.
For things to go well, you need to be in the same place regularly. you will end up making contacts that will give you their freight every week if that is the case. There is a lot of competition though, and they will give it to someone else if they can save $5 unless you give outstanding service. If your aren't there for just one week, you risk loosing your regular customers. You need to be consistant, honest (delivery times) and on time. The faster you can deliver, the better. Also, you need a really good driver, who isn't afraid of a little work and who know how to load up his/her trailer. Trailer should be logistic, if at all possible with at least a few load bars and lots of straps to secure. The most important thing you need to know is that no matter where you are doing ltl, the prices are about the same (california or oh to mtl = about the same rates). Hope this helps and good luck
30
I still feel that LTL is a good business, but the barriers to entry to do it right are much higher than they are for simply truckload service.
Martineav is right in that you have to be consistent in where you are. Truckload works better that way too but the cost of sale of truckload is far lower (you only need to sell space once each direction for TL, you'd probably be selling on average 6-8 times to fill and LTL trailer. You'll also find you need a seperate P&D fleet at your home terminal to gather and/or deliver freight effectively. As a general rule, if the standard for service is 500 miles per day on a truckload, it's 350 miles per day on LTL ... some longer lanes a bit faster, some shorter odd lanes longer.
It used to easier to sell skid-lot LTL a while ago when freight for the most part was managed at the facility level. But now with larger companies centralizing and using TMS software, it's harder to sell shipper direct because the TMS systems on LTL routing are all geared towards tariff-based LTL and the algorithms to transfer to LTL don't make sense a lot of the time when doing skid rates. Also, tariff based LTL carrier service now is arguably better than what it used to be.
If you do it right, it's good business. But the promise of easy money ... it isn't there any more.
Martineav is right in that you have to be consistent in where you are. Truckload works better that way too but the cost of sale of truckload is far lower (you only need to sell space once each direction for TL, you'd probably be selling on average 6-8 times to fill and LTL trailer. You'll also find you need a seperate P&D fleet at your home terminal to gather and/or deliver freight effectively. As a general rule, if the standard for service is 500 miles per day on a truckload, it's 350 miles per day on LTL ... some longer lanes a bit faster, some shorter odd lanes longer.
It used to easier to sell skid-lot LTL a while ago when freight for the most part was managed at the facility level. But now with larger companies centralizing and using TMS software, it's harder to sell shipper direct because the TMS systems on LTL routing are all geared towards tariff-based LTL and the algorithms to transfer to LTL don't make sense a lot of the time when doing skid rates. Also, tariff based LTL carrier service now is arguably better than what it used to be.
If you do it right, it's good business. But the promise of easy money ... it isn't there any more.
5
LTL is very profitable is done right, basically The Man and Martineav hit the nail on the head, you need to have direct customers that use you exclusively and ship to the same locations weekly. Your drivers have to be able to handle this it's more demanding no pissing around and for a driver that has been hauling T/L for the past 20 years they may not like the idea of it, pay your drivers a good drop charge they like the extra money, and have people that can load a trailer effectively to maximize revenue. Have lots of equipment boards,bars,straps,blankets (depending on what kind of freight you move) most of our LTLs have blankets boards bars straps. Be prepared . I don't agree with [QUOTE The most important thing you need to know is that no matter where you are doing ltl, the prices are about the same (california or oh to mtl = about the same rates). Prices are great if they are your own customers. 90% of our business is LTL and when you have good drivers and people in the office it works out rather nicely. Good luck
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