Freight Glossary
Linehaul
Linehaul is the long-distance, intercity movement of freight between major origin and destination points, the primary trunk portion of a freight move, excluding local pickup and delivery. In LTL networks, linehaul connects terminal to terminal. A Chicago to Dallas linehaul move, for example, covers the 900 mile trunk segment while separate local carriers handle pickup and delivery at each end.
Why it matters
Linehaul is typically the largest cost component of a freight move and the portion most affected by fuel prices, driver availability, and network congestion. Optimizing linehaul routing is central to freight cost management. Even a 5 percent improvement in linehaul utilization across a 200 truck fleet can save hundreds of thousands of dollars annually.
When to use it
Consider linehaul strategy when planning freight lanes that span multiple regions. The linehaul leg determines base transit time and the majority of freight cost before local delivery fees are added. When evaluating new distribution center locations, model linehaul distances to your top 20 destination markets to find the optimal balance of cost and transit time.
How Warp thinks about it
Warp's middle-mile network is fundamentally a linehaul optimization engine. More than 1,500 active lanes connect origin cross-docks to destination cross-docks efficiently, with Orbit monitoring each linehaul move in real time. With 9,000+ cargo vans and box trucks executing these linehaul lanes daily, Warp maintains the capacity density needed for reliable transit times.