How to ship FTL freight. A full truckload from your dock to theirs in six steps.

What FTL shipping is, and when it beats LTL

FTL is one shipment on one dedicated trailer. You pay for the truck, not for the space you use.

Full truckload means the carrier picks up at your dock, drives to the receiver, and delivers the same trailer with the same seal. Nothing is sorted at a terminal and nothing shares the trailer. Less than truckload (LTL) is the opposite: your pallets share a truck with other shippers and pass through one or more cross docks on the way, which is why LTL costs less for a few pallets and more handling for all of them.

Choose FTL when any of these is true:

• You have 13 or more standard pallets, or 26 to 30 pallets that fill a 53 ft dry van.
• The load weighs more than about 15,000 lb, where per pallet LTL pricing stops being the cheaper option.
• The freight is fragile, high value or oddly shaped and should not be handled between pickup and delivery.
• The receiver holds a firm delivery appointment, such as a retail DC or a scheduled production line.
• One pickup and one delivery is the whole move. Multi stop truckloads exist, but every extra stop adds time and cost.

Between 6 and 12 pallets, a partial truckload or a dedicated 26 ft box truck often beats both. The decision page at /ltl-vs-partial-truckload-vs-ftl sets the three side by side.

Step 1: Measure the load and pick the equipment

Record the pallet count, the footprint and height of each pallet, and the weight per pallet. The standard 53 ft dry van interior is 630 by 98.5 by 108 inches. Standard 48 by 40 inch pallets fit 26 in two straight rows, or 30 when turned (pinwheeled). Payload tops out around 44,000 lb, so a dense product fills the weight limit before the floor is full.

Three equipment questions decide the rest of the booking:

• Dock or no dock. A 53 ft dry van has no liftgate. Both the pickup and the delivery need a dock, a ramp or a forklift. If one end has neither, a 26 ft box truck with a liftgate is the right vehicle for that leg.
• Dry or temperature controlled. A dry van is the default. If the product needs a set temperature, book a reefer and give the carrier the setpoint in writing.
• Palletized or floor loaded. Pallets load and unload in under an hour with a forklift. Floor loaded freight can take a crew and several hours at each end, and most carriers bill the extra time.

Step 2: Price the lane

A truckload rate is one number for the whole move. What sets it is the lane and the day, not your commodity, so there is no freight class on an FTL shipment. The drivers, in rough order of weight:

• Distance. Rates are built per mile with a floor for short moves.
• Direction. Lanes that run into a region with more inbound freight than outbound (think Florida or the Northeast) cost more than the return trip, because the truck leaves empty.
• Lead time. Same day pickup is quoted higher than next day. Booking a day or more ahead is the simplest way to pay less.
• Equipment. Reefers and specialized trailers cost more than dry vans.
• Season and timing. Produce season, year end and the week before a holiday tighten capacity.
• Accessorials. Detention past the free loading time (two hours is common), layovers, a truck ordered and not used, lumper fees at the receiver, and driver assist each carry a published charge.

Ask every quote the same question: is this all inclusive? A base rate plus fuel plus accessorials is not comparable to an all inclusive rate until the extras are added. On Warp the FTL rate covers pickup, line haul and delivery with no separate fuel surcharge, and accessorials are listed before you book and billed only if they happen. The cost drivers are worked through with examples at /how-much-does-ftl-shipping-cost.

Step 3: Book the truck

Booking locks the rate to a pickup date and a lane. Give the carrier or platform everything the driver needs before dispatch:

• Pickup address, dock hours and a pickup window. Receiving hours and a delivery appointment if the consignee requires one.
• Pallet count, total weight, commodity and whether the load is stackable.
• Reference numbers: your PO, the receiver’s PO, a BOL number and any appointment confirmation number.
• Contacts at both docks with phone numbers, and any site rules (check in gate, PPE, no touch freight).

You should get a booking confirmation with the rate and the pickup date, then a driver and truck assignment before the pickup window opens. On Warp the booking options screen shows next day pickup rates for the lane, you pick one, and the platform assigns a vetted carrier with automatic backup capacity if the first truck falls through.

Step 4: Prepare the freight and the bill of lading

The bill of lading (BOL) is the contract for the move and the receipt for the freight. It travels with the driver and gets signed at both ends. A complete FTL bill of lading lists:

• Shipper and consignee names, addresses and contacts.
• Piece count, pallet count, total weight and a plain description of the commodity.
• Reference numbers (PO, BOL, appointment) and any special instructions.
• The trailer seal number, written on at loading, and whether the load is shipper load and count.

Prepare the freight so it survives the road: stretch wrap each pallet to the base, band tall or mixed stacks, keep heavy pallets low and forward, and leave the load secured with straps or load bars where there is a gap. A free template with every field is at /tools/bill-of-lading-template.

Step 5: Loading day

The driver checks in, backs to the dock, and your team loads. Most carriers allow two hours of free loading time; past that, detention bills by the hour. Before the driver leaves:

• Count the pallets onto the trailer and match the BOL.
• Apply the seal, write the seal number on the BOL, and have the driver sign.
• Photograph the loaded trailer and the seal. It is the evidence if anything is disputed at delivery.
• Keep a copy of the signed BOL. It starts the clock for payment and for any claim.

Step 6: Track to delivery and close out

A dedicated truck is easy to track: the driver’s ELD or the platform’s GPS shows the trailer and an ETA. Watch for two things on the road: a late departure that threatens the delivery appointment, and a missed appointment that can send the truck to a layover.

At delivery the receiver checks the seal, unloads, counts, and signs the proof of delivery (POD). Any shortage or damage must be written on the POD at that moment; a clean signature makes a later claim hard to win. Under the Carmack Amendment a shipper has nine months to file a freight claim, but the note on the POD is what the claim rests on.

Then reconcile. The invoice should match the quote plus any accessorial that was actually incurred. On Warp the quote is the invoice unless an accessorial happened, and every scan, GPS point and POD photo sits in the shipment record.

How to ship FTL on Warp

Two ZIP codes, a pallet count and a pickup date. The rest is a booking options screen.

• Enter the pickup ZIP and delivery ZIP in the form above. The hand off opens at 20 pallets, which you change to your count.
• Choose the pickup date. Next day pickup shows the standard rate; same day is quoted higher.
• Pick a booking option. Each one is an all inclusive per load price with pickup, line haul and delivery.
• Add references, dock hours and contacts, then book with a card. No account setup call and no rate confirmation email to chase.
• Track the truck in the portal. The carrier runs the Warp driver app, so pickup, in transit and delivery post as scan events with GPS and a POD photo.

Common FTL mistakes

• Quoting today and shipping tomorrow. Pull the rate for the date you ship; same day and next day price differently.
• Forgetting the liftgate. A 53 ft dry van cannot deliver to a storefront with no dock. Book a box truck for that leg.
• Comparing a base rate to an all inclusive rate. Add fuel and accessorials before deciding.
• Overweight on one axle. 44,000 lb is the payload, but weight has to be spread along the trailer or the truck fails the scale.
• A clean POD on a damaged load. Note everything at the dock, with photos, before the driver leaves.
• No appointment at the receiver. Retail DCs turn trucks away without one, and the layover bills to you.