FTL vs LTL vs Partial: How Each One Actually Gets Quoted

Updated 2026-08-10

FTL (full truckload) is freight that takes a whole trailer and moves point to point. LTL (less-than-truckload) is smaller freight that shares a trailer with other shippers’ freight and moves through terminals. Partial — also called volume LTL — sits between them: too big to price as LTL, not big enough to buy the whole trailer, moving direct without terminal handling.

The distinction that matters at a quote desk is not size. It is that the three are priced by three different systems, off three different sets of inputs.

What each one is priced on

The inputs you need before you can quote

This is the part that decides whether your reply is a quote or the start of an email thread. If a field is missing, you are guessing, and the correction arrives as a rebill.

Full truckload — you need:

• Origin and destination, with actual pickup and delivery dates
• Equipment type and length (dry van, reefer, flatbed; 53’ vs 48’)
• Total weight, and commodity
• Reefer only: temperature setting, continuous or cycle, pre-cool requirement
• Flatbed only: dimensions, tarping, permits, oversize
• Appointment or FCFS windows at both ends, and any detention exposure at the receiver
• Accessorials: extra stops, driver assist, lumper at the dock

LTL — you need everything above, plus:

• Piece count and packaging type (pallets, crates, loose)
• Dimensions of each handling unit, in inches
• Weight per handling unit
• Freight class or the NMFC item, or enough data to derive density
• Stackable or not
• Accessorials on both ends: liftgate, residential, inside delivery, limited access, appointment, notify

Partial — full truckload list, plus:

• Linear feet consumed, or pallet positions
• Stackable or not
• Whether it can share a trailer with any commodity (food-grade, hazmat, odor)

Most LTL rebills trace back to three fields: dimensions, weight, and class. All three are collectable in the first reply if you ask for them by name.

Freight class: the density math, and what changed in 2025

For LTL, class is the pricing input, and density is now the main thing that sets it. On July 19, 2025, the classifications in NMFTA’s Docket 2025-1 transitioned from commodity-based to density-based, with a 13-subprovision density scale replacing the previous 11-tier structure, and classes 50 and 55 added to the density scale. The revisions did not stop there. NMFTA’s Docket 2026-1, issued February 6, 2026, carried the next round of proposals; its amendments were published in a supplement “scheduled to be issued on April 24, 2026, with an effective date of May 23, 2026” (NMFTA, Docket 2026-1, p. ii). So those changes are already in force, not pending — if you are working from a class you looked up before that date, look it up again. NMFTA has also published its own guidance for carriers on the transition (NMFTA).

The practical effect: for a large share of commodities, if you know the density you are most of the way to the class — so the density calculation is now a quote-desk skill, not a rating-department one.

How to compute density:

1. Cubic inches   = length (in) × width (in) × height (in)   [per handling unit]
2. Cubic feet     = cubic inches ÷ 1,728
3. Total cubic ft = cubic feet per unit × number of units
4. Density (pcf)  = total weight (lb) ÷ total cubic feet

Measure the shipping dimensions — the pallet, including overhang and the pallet itself, at its tallest point. Not the box on top of it.

Worked example. Four pallets, each 48 × 40 × 50 inches, 2,400 lb total.

One caution we would rather state than skip: the density-to-class break table is published in the NMFC itself, which is a licensed NMFTA publication. We are not reproducing break points we cannot verify against the primary document — get them from the NMFC or from your carrier’s rating tool, and re-check them after each docket, because they have moved.

When to stop quoting LTL and quote it as a partial

There is no universal cutoff — every LTL carrier’s tariff has its own cubic-capacity and linear-foot rules, and those rules are where surprise charges live. The signals that a shipment has outgrown LTL rating:

• It occupies more than a handful of linear feet of trailer
• It is tall, light, and not stackable — the profile that gets caught by cubic-capacity rules
• The LTL quote is climbing toward what a partial or a short truckload would cost
• Handling damage would be expensive, and the freight would be handled at several terminals

When those line up, price it as space on a trailer instead of as class-rated freight, and check it against the truckload alternative. ATRI’s per-mile operating cost of $2.336 in 2025 (ATRI) is a useful floor check: if the LTL number is drifting above what a whole truck costs to run over that distance, the mode is wrong.

FAQ

What is the actual difference between LTL and partial? Handling and pricing logic. LTL freight is rated off class and moves through terminals, getting handled several times. A partial is priced on the space it occupies and normally moves direct on one trailer. For fragile or awkward freight the handling difference matters more than the price difference.

How do I calculate freight class? Start with density: total weight divided by total cubic feet, using shipping dimensions. Since Docket 2025-1 took effect on July 19, 2025, density is the primary determinant for a large share of commodities. Convert density to class using the NMFC’s break table or your carrier’s rating tool — it is licensed material, and it has changed recently, so do not rely on a table you memorized.

What happens if I quote the wrong class? The carrier inspects, reclassifies, and rebills — usually after delivery, usually to the broker, usually at a rate nobody agreed to. That is why dimensions and weight per handling unit belong in the first email, not the third.

Does FTL need a freight class? No. Truckload is priced on the trailer and the miles. Class exists to rate freight that shares a trailer.

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