Why can’t LTL freight be on 5 Tons instead of trailers

Discussion in 'Canadian Truckers Forum' started by Perry ikwan, Sep 30, 2022.

  1. Perry ikwan

    Perry ikwan Bobtail Member

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    I’m not so much into the LTL market. Don’t have lots of knowledge. Can someone please elaborate on why trailers are needed for city LTL delivereys ? Why can’t they send straight trucks ? Or 24 ft pup trailers ? I see transX bison and big carriers trying to back a 53 ft with a long wheelbase truck into a spot for 2 skids ! a lot of thease carriers need 5 tons or pups unless a 53 trailers are needed for this kind of work. And it’s not like they do a peddle run with multiple skids in the trailers. Trucking should be all about FTL that’s it ! None of this LTL crap. This sounds like courier stuff now.
     
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  3. MartinFromBC

    MartinFromBC Road Train Member

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    Here, and in many places the do just send a deck truck.
    It's not that they can't, but for some reason they choose not to.
     
  4. Tb0n3

    Tb0n3 Road Train Member

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    Moving and storing a trailer is cheaper than moving and storing a whole truck. Once those trailers are loaded they can just drop them at a dock and do more work with another trailer without tying up a vehicle. That's my guess at least.

    They should probably use pups, but not every company operates them.
     
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  5. Magoo1968

    Magoo1968 Road Train Member

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    CF3352ED-73CB-4F28-A87F-07D2AD938F6B.jpeg Because sometimes they have more than one drop this is a typical trip for me starting point is Winnipeg
     
  6. AModelCat

    AModelCat Road Train Member

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    Just about everything we ship locally goes out on an F550 or smaller. Only stuff going long distance goes in a large truck.
     
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  7. MartinFromBC

    MartinFromBC Road Train Member

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    Same here in town, guy has a 12 foot deck F550 and runs around delivering.
    He has a good gig going there.
     
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  8. MartinFromBC

    MartinFromBC Road Train Member

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    Same here in town, guy has a 12 foot deck F550 and runs around delivering.
    He has a good gig going there.
     
  9. Phantom Trucker

    Phantom Trucker Medium Load Member

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    Each carrier has their own reasons for doing what they do operationally. The big ones you’ve mentioned have a lot of owner operators doing city work so you’re likely noticing trucks that aren’t owned by the company and/or spec’d ideally for city work.

    With regards to using 53 foot trailers in the city, sometimes the reason is efficiency. That 53 foot trailer may have brought a full load into the city and once it was emptied out they put it straight to work again doing LTL pick ups. (The big trailer was needed for the fore-haul not necessarily the back haul).

    It could otherwise be done for capacity reasons. Smaller trucks / trailers have less capacity and that can complicate things; in terms productivity and meeting timelines. (If that truck has to run back to the cross dock to reload/empty out a few times a day. -Not every shipper has just one or two skids).


    LTL certainly has its place. To say that “trucking should all be full loads” is ignorant. Trucking is a service. It follows the needs of the
    customer. Sometimes they don’t need large quantities because they don’t have the space or maybe the product expires too soon.
     
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  10. LtlAnonymous

    LtlAnonymous Road Train Member

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    Simple economics.

    Because sometimes you need to send a single piece 3,000 miles. If you get a straight truck to take it, you pay for that entire truck and trip. If you put it into an LTL truck, you share the price with the other shippers.
     
  11. roundhouse

    roundhouse Road Train Member

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    I’ve see big name LTL Carriers in my residential neighborhood with a cabover 20 foot box truck with a lift gate making deliveries .
    I’ve also seen idiots in hoods with seven foot sleepers and 53 for trailers trying to deliver stuff in residential neighborhoods

    usually even the construction materials for remodel houses is with a day cab and a 40 foot trailer .
     
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