Partial truckload shipping

There’s a gap between “too big for LTL” and “not enough to fill a truck,” and a lot of freight falls right into it. Partial truckload (PTL) is the mode built for that gap: your freight shares a truck with a few other shipments, but unlike LTL it isn’t broken down and re-handled at terminals along the way. It loads, rides, and delivers with far fewer touches — which means faster transit and less damage risk on the kind of mid-sized loads that LTL handles awkwardly and a full truckload over-serves.

RS Group books partial truckloads across a 34,000+ carrier network, matching your freight to a truck already running your lane with room to spare. A real person owns the load from pickup to delivery, and the quote isn’t driven by freight class — so the price you’re quoted is the price you pay.

What is partial truckload shipping?

A partial truckload is a shipment that takes up part of a trailer — typically 6 to 18 pallets, or roughly 5,000 to 27,000 pounds — and shares that trailer with one or two other partial loads. Because each shipment is large, the carrier only needs a few to fill the truck, and the freight rides together from origin region to destination region without the repeated terminal transfers that define LTL. Your pallets are loaded once and stay put.

That single fact — fewer touches — is the heart of PTL. Less handling means less damage, more predictable transit, and a simpler pricing model that doesn’t hinge on getting a freight class exactly right.

Differences between LTL and PTL

LTL and partial truckload both share a trailer, but they work very differently:

	LTL	Partial truckload
Typical size	1 – 10 pallets, 150 – 15,000 lbs	6 – 18 pallets, 5,000 – 27,000 lbs
Handling	Transfers between trucks at terminals	Loaded once, rides direct-ish, minimal touches
Priced by	Freight class, weight, lane, accessorials	Space (linear feet) + weight + lane — no class
Transit	Standard, terminal-dependent	Often faster, fewer stops
Damage risk	Higher (each transfer is a touch)	Lower (fewer touches)

The practical upshot: LTL is right for small loads where shared shipping keeps cost down, but as a load grows past about six pallets or several thousand pounds, PTL is usually cheaper, faster, and gentler — and you skip the freight-class guesswork that drives LTL billing surprises entirely.

When to use partial truckload

PTL is the right call when your freight sits in the middle:

• The load is 6 to 18 pallets (or about 5,000–27,000 lbs) — too big to price well as LTL, not enough to need a whole truck.
• The freight is fragile or high-value and you want to minimize handling, but a full truckload would be paying for empty space.
• You want more predictable transit than standard LTL, without paying for a dedicated truck.
• You’d rather not deal with freight class — PTL prices on the space and weight you use, not an NMFC code.

If the load is smaller than that, LTL wins on cost; if it fills a trailer or needs a guaranteed direct run, a full truckload is the answer. We quote across all three so you can see which fits.

Advantages of partial truckload

• Lower cost than a full truck for mid-sized loads — you pay for the space you use, not a whole trailer.
• Faster and more predictable than LTL — fewer stops and no repeated terminal sorting.
• Gentler on freight — minimal handling means a lower claims rate, which matters for fragile or high-value cargo.
• No freight-class headaches — pricing is based on linear feet and weight, not a class code that can be reweighed and reclassed.
• Flexible capacity — a 34,000+ carrier network means we can find a truck already running your lane with room for your load.

What kind of shipper uses PTL?

Partial truckload suits any shipper moving mid-sized, regular volumes — distributors and manufacturers shipping several pallets at a time, businesses moving fragile or high-value goods that benefit from fewer touches, and shippers whose loads are too large to price competitively as LTL but too small to justify a dedicated truck. E-commerce and retail replenishment, regional distribution, and seasonal volume all fit the PTL profile well.

Factors that affect PTL pricing

Partial truckload pricing is refreshingly straightforward — no freight class, just the things that actually drive a carrier’s cost:

• Space used (linear feet). How much of the trailer your freight occupies, measured in linear feet, is the primary driver.
• Weight. Heavier freight costs more to haul and limits what else can ride on the truck.
• Lane and distance. Origin and destination, total miles, and how busy the lane is all shape the rate.
• Accessorials. Liftgate, residential or limited-access delivery, and special handling add to the base.
• Timing. Tight pickup or delivery windows, and market capacity at the moment you ship, can move the price.

Because there’s no freight class in the equation, the biggest source of LTL billing surprises simply doesn’t exist in PTL. Tell us your pallet count, dimensions, weight, and lane, and a real person prices it against the network — fast.