Too big for LTL. Too small for a full truck.

A partial truckload is a shipment that takes part of a trailer on a truckload carrier, shares that trailer with another shipper's freight, and travels from pickup to delivery without being sorted through LTL terminals. A typical partial runs 6 to 18 pallets and roughly 5,000 to 25,000 lb (typical figures; the exact limits depend on the carrier and trailer).

It sits in the gap between the two standard modes. Less-than-truckload carriers are built for a few pallets: they pick up, cross-dock at a terminal, run linehaul to another terminal, and deliver, with your freight moved by forklift at each step. Full truckload gives you the whole trailer, priced by the truck. A partial borrows the truckload model and splits the space. The carrier plans the deck so both loads fit, sequences the stops and runs the route. Your pallets are normally loaded once and unloaded once, which is the whole point for freight that does not travel well.

Partials suit shippers whose orders are too large for LTL to handle cheaply and too small to justify paying for 53 feet of trailer. The classic case is a manufacturer or distributor shipping 10 to 14 pallets to a regional customer every week or two. In LTL, a shipment that size triggers volume pricing, reweighs and reclassification fees, and it rides through two or more terminals. As a full truckload, it leaves half the trailer empty and you pay for it anyway.

Retail replenishment orders, store fixtures, packaged building products and machinery components fall into this range constantly. So does freight that is fragile, top-heavy or high value, where every extra forklift touch is a chance for damage. If you ship for retail and consumer goods or manufacturing and your orders vary in size week to week, partials give you a middle option instead of forcing every order into one of two modes.

The right mode depends mainly on how much trailer you fill, how much handling your freight can take, and whether you need the whole truck. The table compares the three on the points that change the price and the risk. Use it as a first sort, then price the two closest options on your actual shipment.

Once you are past about six pallets, a partial is often cheaper than LTL. Near the top of the range, check a full truckload quote too, because the remaining space may cost little more than the partial.

Volume LTL is the third quote you may see. It is an LTL carrier's special price for a large shipment, and the freight may still cross its terminals. Compare it on handling and transit, not price alone.

Linear feet measure how much of the trailer's length your freight uses, and that is the main unit a partial is priced on. A 53 ft trailer is 636 in long. Standard 48 x 40 in pallets, the most common US size under the GMA standard (opens in a new tab), load two across the 8 ft 2 in inside width of a typical dry van.

Loaded straight, with the 48 in side along the trailer, each row of two pallets uses 48 in. Twelve pallets is six rows: 6 x 48 = 288 in, and 288 / 12 = 24 linear feet. Turned, with the 40 in side along the trailer, each row uses 40 in. Eighteen pallets turned is nine rows: 9 x 40 = 360 in, or 30 linear feet. For comparison, the full trailer holds 636 / 48 = 13 rows, or 26 pallets straight, and 636 / 40 = 15 rows, or 30 pallets turned. Run your own numbers in the pallet planner before you ask for a rate, and say whether your pallets can stack.

A partial rides on the same equipment as any truckload, so the same legal limits apply to the combined load, not just your share. The federal gross vehicle limit on the Interstate system is 80,000 lb (opens in a new tab), with 20,000 lb on a single axle and 34,000 lb on a tandem. Trailer width is capped at 102 in on the National Network, and height is set by each state, per FHWA (opens in a new tab).

Weight placement matters more on a shared trailer. If your 20,000 lb of steel parts sits at the nose and another shipper's light cartons fill the tail, the axle weights can be out of balance even when the gross is legal. That is why the carrier needs your real weight and footprint, not an estimate. The trailer guide lists typical dimensions for every trailer type.

The best partial freight is palletized, sits in the 6 to 18 pallet range, and gains something from not being handled in terminals. Fragile goods are the obvious example: glass, finished furniture, electronics on pallets, displays and fixtures that crack when a forklift catches a corner. Freight that LTL carriers tend to reclassify also benefits, because a partial is priced on space and weight, so there is no class to dispute after delivery.

Other good fits include packaged building materials such as bagged products, boxed flooring and trim, which suit building materials shippers sending job-site quantities. Machine components and spare parts that are oddly shaped but light work too, as long as the footprint is measured honestly. Multi-stop orders, where a few pallets drop at each of two or three nearby customers, can be planned as a single partial route. Freight that is a poor fit includes anything needing the whole trailer sealed for security, or loads so heavy that 8 pallets already approach the van's payload.

A partial follows the same basic path as a truckload, with one extra step: matching your freight with a compatible load. The sequence below is what a well-run partial looks like from quote to proof of delivery.

1. You send pallet count, dimensions, weight, stackability, the lane and your pickup window.
2. The broker prices the linear feet and weight and looks for a carrier with space or a matching load on the lane.
3. The carrier confirms the plan: which load goes on first, where each sits, and the stop order.
4. Rate confirmation is issued with pickup and delivery appointments, accessorials such as liftgate, and the agreed footprint.
5. The driver loads your pallets, checks the count against the bill of lading, and seals or secures the section.
6. The truck makes its pickups and deliveries in the planned order.
7. Proof of delivery comes back with any exceptions noted.

The key difference from LTL is step 6. Your freight stays on one trailer the whole way, and the only extra stops are the other shipper's.

A partial rate reflects the share of the truck you use and how easily the carrier can fill the rest. The biggest single factor is linear feet: more length, more cost. Weight is second, because a dense load can use up the payload long before it uses up the floor. Stackability changes both, since stacked pallets take half the length.

The lane matters in the usual ways: distance, direction and how much freight leaves the destination area afterward. A partial adds one factor full truckloads do not have, which is whether a matching load exists. On busy lanes such as Chicago to Atlanta, carriers find complementary freight more easily than on thin rural lanes. Flexibility helps the carrier build the combined load, so a two-day pickup window often prices better than a fixed hour. Extra stops, liftgate service, appointment delivery, and residential or limited-access addresses each add work. Freight that cannot share a trailer with certain products, such as food next to chemicals, narrows the match and can raise the rate.

A partial quote is only as good as the measurements behind it, because the carrier is planning around your exact footprint. Send these details and the quote will hold when the truck arrives.

• Pickup and delivery city, state and ZIP, and whether either is a business with a dock or needs a liftgate.
• Pickup date or window, and any delivery appointment.
• Pallet count and the size of each pallet, including overhang.
• Total weight and weight per pallet if they differ.
• Whether the pallets can stack, and how high.
• Commodity description, and anything it cannot ride next to.
• Number of stops if the order splits.
• Equipment: dry van, or reefer if the product needs temperature control.

If you are comparing against LTL, run the shipment through the freight class calculator as well. Density is weight divided by cubic feet, and under the current NMFC rules (opens in a new tab) it now sets the class for many commodities.

We price partials on the space and weight you use, not on class, and we look for a truckload carrier that can take your freight without routing it through terminals. That is the core of the service: pay for the space you use, and keep your pallets on one trailer from pickup to delivery.

We handle volume LTL shipments, fragile freight that does not survive terminals well, shared truckload and multi-stop partials. Liftgate service is available on request, and we book appointment deliveries when the receiver requires them. You send the lane, the freight and the date, and we come back with a price and a truck. The rate comes from a person who has looked at your shipment, not from a formula, and one person stays on the load from booking to delivery. Every carrier we use is checked against FMCSA records before it is booked. If your partial is close to a full truckload, we will tell you and price both.

Most partial problems come from a footprint that does not match what was quoted. If you quote 10 pallets and load 12, or quote stackable and ship pallets with crushable tops, the carrier's plan for the shared trailer breaks. The fix is simple: measure as tendered, overhang included, and update the order before pickup if anything changes.

Weight surprises cause the next most common trouble. A partial quoted at 8,000 lb that scales at 14,000 lb can push the combined load over payload or out of axle balance, and the driver may refuse it. Weigh a sample pallet if you are unsure.

Timing is the third. Because the truck makes another shipper's stop, your delivery depends on that stop running on time. Ask which stop comes first and build a little slack into appointment windows. Finally, check the lane finder for realistic transit, and remember that a partial is truckload pace plus stops, not a dedicated run.