LTL Freight Transit Time Estimates
Understand why LTL freight transit time estimates vary and how to manage shipping expectations. Learn about factors like multiple truck transfers, commercial shipping priorities, and weather impacts.
LTL Freight Transit Time Estimates
Imagine booking a shipment and receiving your estimated transit time to be four business days. The arrival date comes and goes, but your freight doesn’t show up until two days later! It turns out the estimated transit time was off by a day or two; worse is, you were given no warning about the time change by the carrier.
Unfortunately, this is a common issue with LTL freight shipping. Many factors influence your estimated freight transit time and can change at the driver’s discretion. Understanding some of the most common reasons your LTL freight transit time estimates may change will help you keep your supply chain running smoothly while avoiding bloated expectations.
Learn more about LTL freight transit time estimates below.
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Why Do LTL Freight Transit Time Estimates Change?
Multiple Trucks
Your LTL freight shipment will ride in multiple trucks before reaching its destination, which means an even greater chance of a shipment’s transit time being impacted. The truck that initially picks up your freight will take it to the carrier’s closest terminal. Once there, your freight will be unloaded via forklift and loaded onto another truck to take the freight to the next terminal.
This process is repeated until the shipment reaches the destination terminal. Once your freight reaches the destination terminal, it will again be removed by a forklift and loaded onto the delivery truck, making the delivery the following day.
With your LTL freight transferring through multiple terminals and trucks, the likelihood of the package being lost in the scramble is higher than with a Full Truckload (FTL) shipment, which stays in one truck the entire time through. Terminal employees also have set hours to finish their work; any shipments not sorted and loaded into trucks by the end of the working day must be left until the next day.
First-Come-First-Served
Typically, freight is delivered in the morning and picked up in the afternoon. However, what deliveries the driver drops off or picks up will depend on their discretion. A truck driver delivering LTL freight is usually a short-haul driver on an 8-9 hour shift; even long-haul drivers cannot drive beyond a set number of hours. They also have to pick up and deliver multiple shipments during those periods.
Therefore, they usually prioritize shipments with closer addresses, those that are more fragile, or those that have greater time sensitivity. Any shipments left over by the end of the delivery/pickup periods must be left for the next day’s delivery periods.
Unpreventable Delays
A driver’s goal is to clear their trailer by the end of the morning so that it is ready to reload with new shipments for the next day. However, certain factors may prevent a driver from getting all their deliveries out on time, such as:
- Traffic
- Gas/Fuel stops
- Severe weather or other hazardous road conditions
- Issues with loading/unloading other shipments
- No paperwork or receiver/shipper representative to sign off the shipment
- Truck maintenance issues
These factors eat away at a driver’s delivery or pick-up period. If the driver cannot clear their trailer completely, they can only pick up a limited number of shipments in the area, which causes further delays.
Commercial Shippers Have Priority
Suppose you’ve booked a shipment that will be picked up at a residential location and delivered to another residential area. Residential areas (and commercial areas in a limited access location) are more challenging for drivers due to difficulty maneuvering their trucks around the tighter driving and small parking spaces. Residential areas also require additional equipment, like accessorials, to load and unload the freight. Drivers can be intimidated by the challenges and opt to prioritize commercial shippers with loading docks.
There’s also the fact that commercial shippers are a higher priority than residential shippers due to the time-sensitive nature of commercial shipping. Small businesses have tight schedules and require faster shipments. Although it’s easier for drivers to unload and load shipments at a business’s loading dock, there is also paperwork that needs to be reviewed and signed before leaving. This paperwork consumes time, so drivers may not reach residential deliveries until after all the commercial deliveries are finished.
Business Days Do Not Include Weekends
When you get an online quote for shipping freight, the estimated transit time accounts only for the length of the transit. You must add one day for pickup and another for delivery to the quoted transit time.
Let’s say you book a shipment on a Wednesday, and the carrier quotes a 3-day LTL freight transit time. Here’s how that timing might work out:
- Wednesday – The shipment is booked for next-day pick-up.
- Thursday – The shipment picked up in the afternoon and taken to the terminal.
- Friday – Day 1 of transit: freight is unloaded at another terminal and reloaded into a new trailer, which stays for the weekend.
- Saturday and Sunday – Freight does not move on the weekend.
- Monday – Day 2 of transit: freight is taken to another terminal, where it’s unloaded, sorted, and reloaded into a new trailer.
- Tuesday – Day 3 of transit: freight arrives at the delivery terminal and is put onto a final trailer based in the destination’s area.
- Wednesday – Freight delivered to the destination in the morning.
As far as the carrier is concerned, the shipment was in transit for three days. But you thought it would arrive on Friday or Saturday, not the following Wednesday. While it seems like the shipment is five days late, it’s considered on time because the carrier transit time was three days.
That is why it’s essential to add a day for pickup and a day for delivery to the transit time quote. Remember that LTL freight transit time estimates only count business days, which could add to your overall freight transit time.
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What Can Shippers Do To Ensure LTL Freight Transit Time Estimates Are Right?
It can be upsetting when your estimated transit time is delayed. You’re all prepared to receive your shipment, only for it to never arrive. Unease and dread creep up on you as you worry something terrible happened to your shipment. You are not even sure your shipment will arrive at all.
No one wants to feel that anxiety when shipping freight, which is why there are several ways to minimize the impact a change in estimated transit times can make:
- Tracking System: Carriers and brokers always provide a tracking number for your shipment, allowing you to follow it as it moves to its destination. The more advanced the system, the more likely you’ll receive real-live updates. Some places even have mobile tracking! FreightCenter’s tracking system makes it easy: plug in your Shipment ID number into our system to find where your shipment is next. You can also track it on your Account page.
- Expedited Shipping: If you need your shipment to arrive faster than the typical freight shipping transit times allow, then expedited shipping is right for you. This type of shipping is for time-sensitive shipments that need to get to their destinations quickly, in less than two business days. While this service is excellent for fast deliveries and protecting valuable cargo, it’s also highly-priced, not always available for rural or residential areas, and isn’t offered by some carriers. Consider whether expedited shipping is suitable for your shipping needs before booking.
- Communication with Carriers: When you’re unsure how long it’ll take for your shipment to arrive, the best way to get an update is to contact the carrier. They will determine where your shipment is and give a new estimated transit time if needed. You can also ask your freight broker if you’re unsure who to call. Remember to have all your shipment documents on hand when you make contact, as the carrier or broker may need information from those documents to find your shipment.
Secure Your Next LTL Freight Transit Time Estimates with FreightCenter
Don’t wait until the last minute to book your shipment and schedule a pickup day. The freight shipping industry has too many variables, such as the ones described above. Additionally, weather can impact freight transit times. In the case of snowstorms, hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, fires, or other violent weather events, a shipment not arriving on time is nobody’s fault. It’s just part of the freight shipping reality.
Be proactive and book your shipments as early as possible, or at least during the week, with no weekends in between. This ensures that your LTL freight transit time estimates stay consistent and allows drivers enough time to get your freight to its destination.
Getting ready to ship LTL freight? Let us help. Get an instant quote from multiple carriers to save you money and time, or give us a call at (800) 716-7608.
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Frequently Asked Questions about LTL Freight Transit Time Estimates
Q. Why did my LTL Freight Transit Time Estimates change?
Many factors cause an estimated transit time to change. Usually, the driver ran out of time to deliver your freight. They deliver their freight in the mornings and pick up new shipments in the afternoon, meaning that any issues a driver experiences cut down on their delivery/pickup periods.
There’s also the fact that transit times do not include weekends, as freight companies run on business days. If you are given a three-day transit time on a Thursday, your freight will arrive on Wednesday, as Saturday and Sunday are not included.
Other factors include environmental disruptions, your freight being lost in the shuffle between multiple trucks, and drivers prioritizing commercial shippers over residential shippers.
Q. How can I find out my estimated transit time?
When you book your shipment, you’ll receive an estimated pickup or delivery date from your broker or carrier. This date is not guaranteed, so utilize your carrier or broker’s tracking system to get live updates on your shipment’s progress and any disruptions that could alter your transit date.
Q. What happens if my shipment never arrives?
Suppose your shipment does not arrive during the estimated transit timeframe, and you haven’t received a notification from your carrier or broker about a new time. In that case, you need to contact your carrier or broker to determine the location of your shipment. Depending on why your shipment was delayed, you may need to reschedule your pickup/delivery, which may include a rescheduling fee.
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