How to Ship Textiles and Apparel via LTL Freight
Guide to shipping bulk textiles, clothing, and fabric on pallets via LTL freight. Covers freight class, moisture protection, compression tips, and how to palletize garment boxes efficiently.
Quick reference
Recommended packaging
Pack garments in poly bags before boxing. Stack boxes on a standard pallet in an interlocking brick pattern. Use pallet wrap to compress lightly and stabilize. Place a pallet cap or plywood sheet on top. For hanging garments, use tri-wall garment boxes (GOH boxes) on the pallet. Shrink-wrap the entire pallet.
Accessorials you may need
These are the most common accessorial services for textiles & apparel shipments. Declare them at booking time — carriers that discover them on arrival bill more and back-date to the invoice. With Warp, every accessorial below is already included in the per-pallet rate.
Need to price a different combination? Use the accessorial fee calculator to see what accessorials add to any base rate.
Shipping tips for textiles & apparel
- Poly-bag every garment before boxing. This protects against moisture, dirt, and transfer from adjacent freight.
- Compress soft goods when wrapping. Textiles compress well, reducing cube and potentially lowering freight class.
- Use GOH (garment-on-hanger) boxes for hanging items. These stack and palletize better than loose hangers.
- Avoid open-top boxes. LTL terminals are dusty and items can fall out during handling.
Common mistakes to avoid
Mistake 1: Textiles are light and bulky, resulting in high freight class (110-175). The cost per pallet is high relative to the value of the goods. Compress aggressively to lower cube.
Mistake 2: Moisture damage is the biggest risk. A leaking roof or adjacent wet freight can ruin an entire pallet. Poly-bag everything.
Mistake 3: Returned apparel mixed with new inventory on the same pallet creates classification headaches. Ship separately when possible.
Freight class for textiles and apparel
Textiles and apparel are among the lightest freight categories per cubic foot. A pallet of boxed T-shirts might weigh 250 lbs but occupy 80 cubic feet, resulting in a density of about 3 PCF and a freight class of 150-175. This is the opposite of the machinery problem: your freight is too light for its size. The solution is compression. Vacuum-pack or compress soft goods before boxing. Reducing the pallet height from 60 inches to 40 inches can drop the class from 175 to 125, saving 20-30% on the rate.
Moisture and contamination protection
Textiles absorb moisture and odors from adjacent freight. In LTL transit, your pallet shares a trailer with chemicals, produce, and industrial supplies. Poly-bag every garment individually. Seal every box with tape (not just fold the flaps). Shrink-wrap the pallet to create a moisture barrier. If the goods are high-value, place a desiccant packet inside each carton.
Textiles & Apparel shipping FAQ
What freight class is clothing and textiles?
Clothing and textiles typically ship at class 110 to 175 due to low density. Compressed, tightly packed garments are on the lower end. Loosely packed or hanging garments are on the higher end.
How do I reduce shipping costs for apparel?
Compress soft goods before boxing. Reducing pallet height lowers cubic footage, increases density, and drops the freight class. A pallet compressed from 60 inches to 40 inches can save 20-30% on the LTL rate.
How do I ship hanging garments?
Use GOH (garment-on-hanger) boxes designed for freight. These are tri-wall corrugated boxes with an internal hanging bar. They stack and palletize like standard boxes while keeping garments on hangers.
How do I protect textiles from moisture during shipping?
Poly-bag every garment before boxing. Seal boxes with tape. Shrink-wrap the pallet. For high-value goods, add desiccant packets inside cartons. This protects against trailer leaks, condensation, and moisture from adjacent freight.
Ship textiles & apparel with Warp
Warp gives you instant per-pallet rates with no hidden fees. Enter your origin, destination, and pallet details to see transparent pricing across LTL, FTL, box truck, and cargo van. First shipment gets $50 off with code WARP2026.