Partial Truckload (PTL)
Partial Truckload (PTL)
The DAT Load Board makes your life easier by streamlining the searching and posting process for partial truck loads.
Partial truck loads can be a great way to fill a freight niche and boost your fleet’s profitability. But navigating partial truckload logistics alone with today’s supply chain shocks can be tricky.
With DAT, you’re not alone. Carriers can instantly connect to the best partial truck load opportunities through the DAT Load Board, build their network, and spur sustained growth with DAT’s array of difference-making tools.
- DAT is the go-to source for partial truck loads
- DAT makes it easy to find partial loads quickly
- Expand your network and your business with DAT
DAT is the go-to source for partial truck loads
With the most powerful digital freight marketplace in North America at your fingertips, it’s no wonder partial truckload carriers trust DAT to catalyze results.
DAT makes it easy to find partial loads quickly
Save time and earn more on each partial load freight shipment using DAT’s load board.
Expand your network and your business with DAT
Build your partial truck load business with confidence and gain a leg up on the competition with DAT’s industry-leading tools.
DAT’s advanced solutions and market insights automatically direct partial truckload carriers to the most in-demand markets. Partial truckload carriers leverage DAT’s Tri-Haul feature to efficiently plan the best-paying freight routes. Secure the best deals and maximize your bargaining power with qualified brokers by leveraging DAT’s real-time data on average rates for more than 68,000 lanes.
A partial truck load typically involves large shipments — cargo that might not require the full capacity of a truckload trailer, but remains larger in terms of dimensions than traditional LTL (less than truckload).
With low competition and low downside, partial truckloads can become a profitable source of business for many carriers. A freight class is not needed in order to obtain a rate for partial truckload shipping. Since partial truckloads require minimal handling of cargo carriers can benefit from the smoother and faster freight journeys that characterize partial truckloads.
Partial truckloads fall somewhere between LTL freight and full truckloads on the freight spectrum. Partial truckloads typically have dimensions of 5,000 pounds or 6-plus pallets.
Carriers often refer to partial load freight shipments as “volume LTL” because partial load shipping functions similarly to LTL shipments — albeit at smaller volumes than typical LTL shipments.
With more and more partial truckload shippers posting new jobs across North America, carriers tap into DAT One to capitalize on this growing freight market. Partial load freight shipping offers the following benefits for partial truckload shippers and carriers:
One vehicle: Transit times are typically faster for partial truckload shipments than LTL jobs. With partial truckload shipping, cargo is usually hauled on a single truck for the duration of the job. Across partial truckload logistics, unlike LTL, cargo only needs to be loaded and unloaded once.
Reduced risk: With less handling involved for partial truckload shipments, less risk of carriers damaging valuable goods. Partial truckload shipping is unsurprisingly popular for hauling fragile cargo that might be susceptible to damage, particularly during the loading and unloading phases
Less administrative costs: Since no freight class is necessary with partial freight loads, you can bypass the added fees you’d normally find with freight reclassification.
Partial truckloads and partial truckload shipments fill a sweet spot in the industry. If your fleet regularly takes on any of the following types of cargo, it may be time to start considering expanding your partial truck business:
- LTL Shipments that weigh more than 5,000 pounds.
- 10,000 pounds, full truckload shipments. These loads may be less costly than LTL but remain more expensive than partial truckloads.
- Shipments of 10 or more pallets using a full truckload, without utilizing all of its cargo space.
- Light truck loads that still take up space, rendering LTL too expensive.
- Interlined LTL truckloads, which often increase costs and transit times.
The best way to win new partial truckload shipments is through a quality load board. But not any load board will do. Choosing the right load board for your fleet may seem like a matter of fine margins.
In truth, an investment in a load board is an investment in your business that should ultimately boil down to securing maximum bang for your buck.
With more than 400 million loads posted annually across more than 70 freight varieties, the DAT Load Board has emerged as the most popular load board for carriers and shippers specializing in partial truckloads. DAT saves fleet managers time and money by streamlining the load-finding process. Simply select “partials” on DAT’s load board and post your truck for partial loads!
Carriers sometimes rely on partial truckloads to generate revenue during particularly slow seasons since there’s less competition. Shippers naturally offer lower rates on partial truckloads. While lower rates might drive away some carriers, this playing field equally leaves untapped opportunities for carriers who know where to look.
DAT analyzes more than $60 billion in transactions, empowering partial truckload carriers to leverage DAT’s advanced market insights, capitalize on current spot market trends in real time, and negotiate optimized contract rates.
With DAT’s cutting-edge planning tools and transportation data at your fingertips, you can often find two partial truckloads going in the same direction — earning far more than you would for a full truckload within the same lane.