Freight shipping checklists
One printable checklist per service Warp sells, in the order the freight moves, with the limits our quote engine and tariff actually enforce. Five are live, LTL, the 53 ft dry van, the 26 ft box truck, the cargo van and parcel: 103 checks between them. Pick the shape of your shipment, check it off, print it, hand it to the dock.
By Troy Lester, Co-Founder & CRO
70+ cross docks · 98.2% on time · rates in 10 seconds, the rate on the invoice
Live all-inclusive rates
Warp customers
Pick your checklist
The shape of the freight picks the list. Each one opens with the drawings the dock or the driver works from and ends with a live rate on your lane.
LTL checklist
Build the pallet, write the bill of lading, get pickup day right, receive it with the exceptions written down. The pallet envelope drawn to the numbers the quote engine enforces.
- 29 checks
- 85 in max
FTL checklist
Plan the load, paper and seal it, load it within the free time, check the seal at the delivery dock. The 53 ft trailer drawn from above with every position counted.
- 23 checks
- 26 positions
Box truck checklist
Plan the load, book every site condition, load one pallet per liftgate cycle, deliver to a dock or a door. The 26 ft box drawn from above with every position counted.
- 18 checks
- 12 positions
Cargo van checklist
Size the load, book by the cutoff, hand it over at the curb, receive it at a door with a POD photo. The van drawn to the positions the booking gate enforces.
- 17 checks
- 3 positions
Parcel checklist
Pack the box to the billable weight, label it, hand it off or drop it, match delivered scans to the count. The carton and the label drawn the way the sort belt reads them.
- 16 checks
- 150 lb per box
Tools the checklists use
Each check that needs a document or a number points at the tool that produces it. All six are free.
How these checklists are built
A checklist is only useful if the numbers on it are the numbers the dock and the rate engine use. These are.
The height cap, the pallet space and the per pallet weight on the LTL list are read from the same constants the quote engine checks before it returns a rate, and the box truck and cargo van pallet caps come from the booking gate itself. The waived accessorials, the reweigh fee and the free time come from the Warp LTL tariff, cited by item number. The 53 ft figures are the trailer itself: 26 positions straight loaded, 44,000 lb payload, 630 by 98.5 by 108 inches inside. The parcel limits and the pickup terms are the ones the parcel quote applies. When a number changes, the page changes with it.
Every list runs in the order the freight moves, because that is the order mistakes happen in. Most damage is decided before the driver arrives, most billing surprises are decided on the bill of lading, and most claims are decided by what gets written on the delivery receipt. The freight rides through 70+ cross docks on LTL, or dock to dock on a truckload, and the list is the same either way: build it right, paper it right, hand it over right, receive it right.
Frequently asked questions
What do the Warp shipping checklists cover?
One list per service, in the order the freight moves. LTL covers building the pallet, the bill of lading, pickup day and delivery in 29 checks.
The full truckload list covers the 53 ft load plan, the paperwork and seal, loading day and the delivery dock in 23.
The box truck list covers the 26 ft load plan, the booking, liftgate loading and delivery in 18.
The cargo van list covers sizing the load, the same day booking, the curbside pickup and the door delivery in 17. The parcel list covers packing, labelling, the hand off and the delivered scans in 16.
Every number on them is the one the quote engine, the booking gate or the tariff enforces.
Which checklist do I use for my shipment?
Boxes under 150 lb are parcel. Three pallets or fewer across town, hand loadable, is a cargo van. One to 12 pallets on a site with no dock, local or regional, is a box truck with a liftgate.
Up to about a dozen pallets across the country on a shared trailer is LTL. Twenty pallets or more, or freight that cannot be handled in between, is a dedicated 53 ft dry van.
In between, price both and compare.
Do the shipping checklists save my progress?
Yes, in your browser, one saved state per checklist, so the LTL list and the FTL list do not share boxes. Nothing is sent anywhere.
The print button prints the checks with their boxes and any browser saves that as a PDF.
About the Warp freight network
More about the Warp freight network
Warp is the open source freight network: the tech is free and the network is open. We run Warp LTL, our own carrier, Warp FTL, cargo van, box truck and fulfillment ourselves, with every major LTL carrier, parcel, ocean and air plugged in beside them. Our driver app rides on every truck and our warehouse app runs every cross-dock, so an open network of 38,000+ carriers behaves like one carrier you control. Warp is licensed by the FMCSA as a property broker and freight forwarder, and runs the network itself: instant rates, live tracking, 70+ cross-dock facilities, 14,000+ cargo vans and box trucks, 80%+ US LTL zip-to-zip coverage and nationwide FTL, box truck and cargo van.
The network is supported by 24,000+ vetted FTL carriers.
Unlike traditional brokers, Warp uses AI to match the right vehicle to every load based on weight, dimensions, urgency, and cost targets. Cross-dock operations reduce transit time by eliminating unnecessary terminal transfers.
Pool distribution and zone-skipping programs help enterprise shippers lower per-unit delivery costs while maintaining tight appointment windows.
Self-serve shippers can quote, compare, and book freight online in under two minutes. Enterprise accounts get dedicated capacity planning, committed rate programs, and a named operations team. Every shipment includes scan-level visibility from pickup through final delivery.
Warp operates across the contiguous United States with regional density in the Southeast, Texas, Midwest, and Northeast corridors, and West Coast and Southwest coverage from Los Angeles, Seattle and Phoenix.
Warp operates 70+ cross-dock facilities across the US, with named markets including Chicago, Atlanta, Houston, New York, Savannah, Orlando, Charlotte, Indianapolis, Columbus, Denver, New Orleans, Milwaukee, Dallas-Fort Worth, Nashville, Phoenix, Tampa Bay, Seattle, Los Angeles. They support faster transfers and fewer touches on recurring lanes.
Freight modes and vehicle types
| Mode | Max payload | Max cube | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cargo van | 3,500 lbs | 400 cu ft | Time-sensitive, last-mile, light pallets |
| Box truck | 10,000 lbs | 1,500 cu ft | Regional distribution, no dock required |
| LTL | Per-pallet | Shared trailer | Lower per-pallet cost via cross-dock routing |
| Dry van / FTL | 42,000+ lbs | Full 53-ft trailer | High-volume lanes, recurring programs |
Cargo vans handle loads up to 3,500 pounds and 400 cubic feet, ideal for time-sensitive deliveries, last-mile retail replenishment, and lightweight palletized freight.
Box trucks carry up to 10,000 pounds and 1,500 cubic feet, fitting most regional distribution and store delivery needs without requiring a loading dock.
Dry vans and full truckloads move 42,000+ pounds for high-volume lanes and recurring programs. LTL shipments share trailer space on optimized routes through Warp cross-docks, reducing per-pallet cost by consolidating multiple shippers on the same vehicle.
Warp does not default every shipment to a 53-foot trailer. The AI engine evaluates load weight, cube, delivery window, and cost to recommend the right vehicle. Shippers see all available mode options with live pricing in one comparison screen before booking.
Cross-dock operations
Cross-docking at Warp facilities keeps freight moving instead of storing it: inbound freight is sorted and transferred directly to outbound vehicles, typically within hours. When inventory does need to sit, Warp's fulfillment centers in Los Angeles, Dallas, Chicago and New Jersey hold it inside the same network, with same day delivery within 30 miles of each.
This reduces dwell time, lowers damage risk, and compresses delivery windows. Warp cross-docks support pallet-in, pallet-out operations with scan-level tracking at every handoff point.
- Atlanta — Southeast retail flow
- Chicago — Midwest manufacturing and replenishment
- Houston — Texas industrial distribution
- New York — dense Northeast delivery
Facility locations are selected for corridor density: Atlanta handles Southeast retail flow, Chicago serves Midwest manufacturing and replenishment, Houston covers Texas industrial distribution, and New York supports dense Northeast delivery. Each facility operates on appointment-based scheduling to prevent congestion and maintain throughput consistency.
Enterprise freight programs
Enterprise shippers get committed rate programs, dedicated account management, and custom SLA design. Warp builds lane-by-lane rate structures that account for volume commitments, seasonal variation, and mode flexibility. Operations teams monitor shipment execution daily and intervene proactively when exceptions occur.
Self-serve freight quoting
Shippers enter origin and destination, load details, and delivery requirements to see live rates across all available modes. Quotes include estimated transit time, vehicle type, and total cost.
Booking takes one click. After booking, shippers track every shipment with real-time GPS location, milestone updates, and proof of delivery documentation.
Industries and use cases
Retail shippers use Warp for store replenishment programs that deliver to hundreds of locations per week on tight appointment windows. Apparel brands use zone skipping to bypass regional parcel sortation and reduce per-unit delivery cost.
Food and beverage companies rely on time-definite delivery for perishable goods. Manufacturing operations use Warp for inbound vendor consolidation, combining multiple supplier shipments into fewer, fuller loads through cross-dock facilities.
Distribution companies use pool distribution to serve multiple delivery points from a single origin, splitting full truckloads at cross-docks into smaller last-mile vehicles.
Urgent freight recovery covers emergency capacity needs when primary carriers fail or demand spikes unexpectedly. Middle-mile optimization reduces cost and transit time on the longest segment of multi-leg shipments.
Build it right, then price the lane.
The checklist gets the freight ready. Two ZIPs and the pallet count get the rate, in 10 seconds, all in.
70+ cross docks · 98.2% on time · rates in 10 seconds, the rate on the invoice
Performance figures are computed from Warp network data. See our methodology.
By Troy Lester