LTL- What its is

(New Jersey)

LTL does stand for Less Than Truck Load. Most LTL companies have multiple terminals in multiple states. Local P&D drivers(Pick Up & Del) usually punch the clock and work local. That means day cabs, 28-48 ft dry van trailers some with lift gates.

They usually go out and do deliveries 1st( 8-14 stops) and do pick ups in the afternoon(6-12 stops). You delivery anything and everything( food, machinery, parts, chemicals, clothing, construction material)- some stuff is loose, some is palletized.

You can del 1 carton/drum to stop or 1/2 a trailer. You will be expected to help unload including pallet jacks, hand trucks left gates- but some stops the customer unloads. Days can be 8 hours or 14 hours, changes daily.

Advantages- home daily, usually paid hourly, day cabs, mostly Mon-Fri. Disadvantages- you work handling freight and have to keep up a good pace, mostly city deliveries- lots of backing, tight areas and traffic.

The other LTL job is Line Haul- you run terminal to terminal. Some companies your are home daily and some you sleep out( still day cabs). Most LTL companies will pull doubles so you will need the endorsement. This will just about be all overnight hours- so you have to like to drive all night in good or bad weather.

Most companies pay by the mile( some hourly) but usually at much higher rate then OTR(.55-.65 CPM). Some companies might require you to help load/unload.

Both of these jobs require Haz mat and Tanker endorsements and possibly doubles, clean lick and decent work record. OTR turnover is usually 70-100% where LTL is at around 12% so that tells you people who get the jobs stick with it.