What a full truckload costs on a closeout load

What does a full truckload cost?

A full truckload is priced per trip. The lane and its direction, the season, the equipment, the number of stops, how tight the timing is, fuel, and any detention set the price. Rates move week to week, so treat any quote as good for that day only, and compare quotes for the same date and equipment. Your cost per pallet falls as the trailer fills.

That last point is the heart of truckload buying. You pay for the same trailer with 12 pallets on it or with 26. A closeout buyer who fills the trailer spreads that cost thinner than one who sends it half empty.

What drives the price of a truckload?

Lane and direction

Truckload pricing is local and directional. Trucks deliver into some cities and then struggle to find a load back out. Carriers price that empty return into the trip. The same carrier may quote the reverse direction for much less. A load picked up in a region where trucks are hunting for freight can be cheaper to move than the distance suggests.

Season and timing

Truckload capacity is shared with every other industry. When produce ships, or retailers stock up before holidays, the same trucks are in demand. Rates can also jump around holidays, at the end of a month or quarter, and after bad weather, when trucks are out of position. A flexible pickup window lets a carrier fit you around other work and usually gets a better price.

Stops and detention

A straight run from one dock to one dock is the cheapest truckload there is. Each extra stop adds a charge and time. Ask for the stop-off charge on the quote, not after the load is booked. Detention starts when the driver waits beyond the free time. The free time and the hourly rate are written in the carrier's rate confirmation, so read both before you sign. On closeout pickups, detention usually comes from a load that was not staged.

Partial truckload and volume LTL

Between ordinary LTL and a full trailer sits a middle ground.

• Volume LTL is quoted by LTL carriers for larger shipments, often several pallets up to a good share of a trailer. It may still pass through terminals.
• Partial truckload shares a trailer with another shipper's freight, usually with fewer or no terminal handlings. Pricing is based on the space and weight you use.

Both suit closeout buyers who take more than a few pallets but well short of a full trailer, depending on lane and weight. They also suit buyers combining two smaller deals from different sellers. For the per-pallet LTL side, see what it costs to ship a pallet LTL.

Worked example: cost per pallet and per unit

Illustration only. Costs are letters, not market prices; get the real trip price from quotes on your lane.

Say a truckload from the seller's dock to yours costs F all-in, including fuel, and each pallet holds u units.

Full trailer. 26 standard pallets single-stacked on a 53-ft dry van.

• Freight per pallet: F ÷ 26.
• Units in all: 26 × u.
• Freight per unit: F ÷ (26 × u).

Partly full. You only buy 18 pallets, same lane, same trip price.

• Freight per pallet: F ÷ 18.
• Units in all: 18 × u.
• Freight per unit: F ÷ (18 × u).

Divide the second per-unit figure by the first and F and u cancel out: 26 ÷ 18 = about 1.44. Whatever the trip costs, the units on the partly full trailer each carry about 44% more freight.

Add a stop and a wait. You split the 26 pallets with another buyer on the route, adding one stop charge S, and the load was not staged, so you pay H hours of detention at D per hour. Your new trip cost is F + S + (H × D). Split it by pallets or by agreement, then divide by units again.

The lesson is plain: the same truck costs about 44% more per unit when 18 of its 26 pallet spaces are used. A cheaper purchase price on a smaller load can disappear in freight. Run this arithmetic on every closeout truckload before you offer, and put the result into your landed cost.

Weight can stop you before space does

Twenty-six pallets of paper towels will fill a van long before they reach any weight limit. Twenty-six pallets of liquid detergent or hardware may not fit legally. US federal gross vehicle weight on the Interstate is 80,000 lb for the whole rig. The tractor, trailer and fuel count against that limit, so the payload left for your goods depends on the truck. Ask the carrier. If you are buying heavy goods, ask for pallet weights before you book. How many pallets fit in a trailer or container explains cube-out versus weigh-out.

When does FTL beat LTL?

Book a full truckload when one or more of these is true:

1. The LTL total gets close. Add up LTL quotes for all your pallets, with accessorials and fuel. If that total is near the truckload price, the truckload wins on handling alone.
2. The goods are fragile or valuable. A truckload goes direct, sealed, with no terminal transfers.
3. The load must arrive together. Split LTL shipments can arrive on different days.
4. The receiver is busy. One appointment is easier than several LTL deliveries.
5. You want a sealed trailer. A seal number on the bill of lading gives you a clean check at delivery.

Stay with LTL or a partial when you have only a few pallets, the lane is expensive for truckload, or you can collect from a carrier terminal yourself.

Mistakes to avoid

• Booking before the load is ready. If pallets are not staged, the driver waits and you pay. Confirm with the seller first. How to pick up a closeout load has the full checklist.
• Ignoring weight. A trailer "with room left" can still be legally full.
• Comparing quotes on different terms. One includes fuel and one stop; another excludes fuel and charges for the dock appointment. Line them up all-in.
• Choosing reefer by habit. Most closeout goods ride fine in a dry van. Only temperature-sensitive goods need refrigeration.
• Forgetting the unload. A floor-loaded truck of loose cartons can take hours to unload. Line up labor, or detention starts at your door too.
• Handing a pickup number to an unchecked carrier. Verify authority and insurance first; see freight broker or own carrier.

Putting it together

Truckload pricing rewards buyers who fill trailers, plan pickups, and keep drivers moving. Build your offer from landed cost: purchase price plus trip cost spread across the units you actually receive. The freight and logistics guide covers pickup terms and receiving, and the closeout truckloads page shows how loads of this size are listed on Skyline Dealz Marketplace. Approved members receive alerts for truckloads that match what they buy; to see them, request access.