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A consolidated delivery refers to shipping multiple LTL shipments in one trailer. This is a much more convenient option compared to shipping multiple LTL shipments in multiple trailers. Consolidated shipments are assembled from smaller LTL shipments at a consolidated warehouse creating an FTL shipment.
Once the consolidated delivery arrives at the distribution center or similar location, each LTL shipment is unloaded from the trailer. Afterward, each LTL shipment is placed on the delivery truck or trailer and delivered to its final destination.
You can learn more about LTL and FTL shipments in our article FTL vs LTL Freight Shipping: What’s the Difference?
A consolidation warehouse is a storage facility that is owned and run by a third party. The consolidation warehouse is fairly similar to other types of warehouses and distribution centers.
What makes a consolidation warehouse different is that it specializes in combining smaller LTL shipments into consolidated shipments. Consolidated warehouses are designed to help accommodate the constantly changing demands of customers in a manner that is quick and efficient.
There are a few different ways that consolidated freight can travel to its destination. Consolidated shipments can travel by air, ground, or sea. Each one has its own unique benefits and drawbacks.
Airfreight consolidation transports multiple shipments onto one aircraft. The combined shipment will have the same master waybill while the individual shipments will have their own unique house bill.
This form of consolidated shipping is faster than both ground and ocean shipping. While consolidating air shipments will bring down costs, this form of consolidated shipping will be the most expensive.
Ocean freight is an excellent option for shipping extremely large goods using containers. Multiple LTL shipments will be able to fit in the containers that are transported by a cargo ship.
Ocean freight consolidation is a much cheaper option than shipping by air. The downside to ocean freight consolidation is transit time. Due to port congestion over the last year, many cargo ships have waited on the coast of ports for months at a time.
The final freight consolidation option is ground freight. This type of freight option delivers freight to places ships can’t dock and where planes can’t land.
The final delivery of just about every type of freight will be made using ground transportation. The downside to shipping by ground is that this form of freight transportation has the most frequent shipping delays.
There are many advantages of freight consolidation that are beneficial to the shipper. Not only does consolidated shipping allow shippers to consolidate multiple truckload LTL shipments, it also makes the shipping process cheaper and smoother.
The most appealing benefit of using consolidated shipping is the cost savings. Without freight consolidation services, a shipper with an LTL shipment will be forced to utilize the space of the entire trailer. That shipper will still have to pay the same amount to use a trailer whether the shipment takes up a full truckload or not.
With consolidated freight services, the shipper doesn’t have to pay for multiple trailers to transport each one of the LTL shipments. Consolidated shipping only requires the shipper to pay for one full trailer that is carrying all of the LTL shipments.
Consolidated shipping typically reduces transit time for shipments. Rather than waiting for numerous smaller shipments to arrive, the shipper only has to wait for one. Even with the current delays in the shipping industry, waiting for one shipment is much better than multiple. This is sometimes referred to as deferred shipping.
Using consolidated shipping also eases the amount of responsibility on the shipper. Instead of having to complete paperwork and track multiple shipments, the shipper only has to worry about managing one shipment.
Consolidated shipping is convenient for the customers because they get their goods. This helps improve the relationship between the customer and the shipper. Since customers want their goods as fast as possible, they’ll keep using a shipper that can transport their goods to them quickly.
Another great advantage of using freight consolidation services is that it helps reduce the risk of damage to the freight. When multiple LTL shipments are being transported using different trailers, then each shipment has to be loaded and unloaded again.
With all of this loading and unloading happening between all of the different trailers, the chances of your freight being damaged from an honest accident are higher. Keeping all the LTL shipments in one trailer reduces the possibility of damage greatly.
Consolidated freight services have many benefits. However, using these services might not be needed depending on the circumstances of the shipper. Therefore, it's best to consider what you need and what you don’t before you choose to make a consolidated freight shipment.
Some things you should consider are:
Consolidated freight is a great option when shipping extremely long packages that exceed 108 inches in length. Packages that weigh over 150 pounds can be part of a consolidated shipment as well.
Another circumstance where it would be a great opportunity to use consolidated freight services is when you're transporting oddly shaped freight. Awkwardly shaped freight could include items like furniture.
If you are transporting multiple shipments that are fragile or require special care, consolidating them is the best option. It's better to have one trailer full of fragile freight than to have multiple shipments of fragile freight that are mixed in with other heavier objects.
Consolidated freight is a good option when shipping a large volume of goods because it will keep costs low. There’s also the added benefit that the goods will be more secure being shipped together than shipping all of them separately.
To demonstrate how useful consolidated freight services are, consider the length and weight limit of the most commonly used dry van trailer. The average length of a dry van trailer is 53 feet and can carry up to 4,500 pounds of weight.
The average amount of space that an LTL shipment takes is about 12 feet. This means about four LTL shipments will take up 48 feet of a dry van trailer which leaves about 5 feet leftover.
The table below shows how many pallets will be able to fit within four LTL shipments within a 54ft dry van trailer based on their dimensions.
| Pallet Dimensions | Pallet Length In Feet | How Many Pallets Can Fit in Each LTL Shipment Stacked Side-By-Side | Total Amount of Pallets in 53ft Trailer With 4 LTL shipments |
| 40”x48” | 3.3ft | 8 pallets | 32 |
| 48”x48” | 4ft | 6 palles | 24 |
| 48”x40” | 4ft | 6 pallets | 24 |
| 42”x42” | 3.5ft | 6 pallets | 30 |
| 36”x36” | 3ft | 8 pallets | 32 |
| 42”x31” | 3.5 | 6 pallets | 30 |
If you need freight consolidation services, R+L Global Logistics has you covered. Among other services, freight consolidation is one that we offer to our many customers.
Specifically, we offer ground freight consolidation services that will help save you money when you need to ship. Another benefit to using R+L Global Logistics is that we will transport just about any type of freight.
Get onto the path of using freight consolidation services by filling out your free quote on our truckload page.
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