LTL vs FTL Decision
Compare less-than-truckload and full-truckload cost for a specific shipment and find the weight breakeven, including a transit-time override.
Sensitivity to shipment weight
| Scenario | LTL cost | FTL cost | Strategy |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weight -20% | $600 | $1,800 | LTL |
| Weight -10% | $675 | $1,800 | LTL |
| Base case | $750 | $1,800 | LTL |
| Weight +10% | $825 | $1,800 | LTL |
| Weight +20% | $900 | $1,800 | LTL |
Continue Analysis
Based on your results, these related decisions are available.
How this works
LTL (less-than-truckload) pricing scales with shipment weight, subject to a minimum charge, because the shipment shares trailer space with other freight. FTL (full-truckload) is a flat rate for a dedicated trailer regardless of how full it is. As a shipment gets heavier, it eventually costs less to book the whole trailer than to keep paying LTL's per-hundredweight rate. This engine calculates both costs directly from your rates and reports which is cheaper, and by how much.
When a transit-time requirement is supplied, the engine checks whether the cheaper mode still meets it. If only the more expensive mode meets the requirement, that mode is recommended instead, with the override made explicit rather than silently overriding the cost verdict.
Assumptions
- The LTL rate entered is a single blended rate for the shipment, not a multi-class weighted rate
- FTL trucks split a shipment evenly by weight only, with no cube-out (volume) constraint modeling
- Transit-time inputs are point estimates, not distributions
Limitations
- Does not model LTL weight-break discounts (rate tiers that improve at higher weights)
- Does not model cube-out (volume) constraints, only weight
- Does not model damage or claims risk differences between modes
Sources
LTL hundredweight pricing and the LTL/FTL breakeven concept follow Coyle, Novack, Gibson, and Bardi, Transportation: A Supply Chain Perspective (8th edition), cross-checked against the CSCMP glossary.
Worked example
A 3,000-pound shipment at a $25-per-hundredweight LTL rate with a $150 minimum comes to $750. The same shipment booked as a full truckload at a $1,800 flat rate costs more than double, so LTL wins clearly. Scale the same shipment up to 40,000 pounds and the numbers flip: LTL at the same rate comes to $8,800, while a single truckload still costs $1,800, since one truck at that rate can carry up to 45,000 pounds. The crossover for this rate pair falls around 8,000 to 9,000 pounds, which is why "the breakeven" is really a function of the entered rates, not a fixed number.
Common use cases
- Choosing a mode for a specific outbound shipment
- Setting internal rules of thumb for when to book LTL vs FTL
- Evaluating whether consolidating multiple LTL shipments into one truckload pays off
- Checking a carrier or broker quote against the shipment's own breakeven
Frequently asked
- When does LTL beat FTL on cost?
- When freight volume does not come close to filling a full truckload, LTL's pay-for-space-used pricing is usually cheaper than paying for an entire truck's capacity.
- Why does service requirement matter, not just cost?
- LTL shipments typically take longer and see more handling (and damage risk) than a direct FTL move; a service requirement can justify paying more for FTL even when LTL is cheaper on paper.
- Does this account for LTL freight class and NMFC codes?
- No, this compares cost and service at the mode level using your entered freight profile; exact LTL pricing depends on freight class, density, and carrier-specific tariffs beyond this model's scope.
- What if volume is inconsistent week to week?
- Run the comparison at a typical week and at a peak week; the cheaper mode can change with volume, and a hybrid approach is often the real-world answer.