Freight shipping questions, answered

LTL stands for "less than truckload." It is freight shipping for loads that are too big for parcel carriers but do not fill an entire trailer — typically 1 to 6 pallets or roughly 150 to 15,000 pounds. Instead of paying for a whole truck, your shipment shares trailer space with other shippers’ freight, and you only pay for the portion you use. Carriers move LTL freight through a hub-and-spoke network of terminals, consolidating and re-sorting shipments along the way. That sharing is what makes LTL far cheaper than booking a full truckload for a partial load.

• LTL shipping with FreightCake
• Compare LTL rates

Use LTL (less than truckload) when your freight is roughly 1 to 6 pallets or under about 12 to 15 linear feet of trailer space — you share the trailer and pay only for the space you use. Use FTL (full truckload) when you have enough freight to fill a trailer, when your freight is fragile or high-value and you want it to ride alone with no extra handling, or when you need a direct point-to-point transit with no terminal stops. As a rule of thumb, once a shipment passes 6 to 12 pallets it is often cheaper and faster to book a full truckload, because LTL pricing climbs steeply with weight and space.

• Truckload shipping
• LTL shipping

Freight class is a standardized number from 50 to 500 that categorizes commodities for LTL pricing. There are 18 classes; lower classes (like 50) are dense, durable, and cheap to ship, while higher classes (like 400 or 500) are light, bulky, or fragile and cost more. Class is set by the National Motor Freight Classification (NMFC) based on four factors: density (pounds per cubic foot), stowability, handling, and liability. For many commodities, density alone drives the class — the denser your freight, the lower the class and the lower the rate. Getting the class right matters because an incorrect class is the number-one cause of reclassification fees on your invoice.

• Freight class calculator
• Automated freight classification
• How is freight class determined?

NMFC stands for the National Motor Freight Classification, a standardized catalog maintained by the NMFTA that assigns every commodity an item number and a freight class. Carriers use the NMFC code to price your LTL shipment consistently, no matter who is hauling it. It matters because the NMFC item number is what a carrier checks when they inspect your freight — if the code or class on your bill of lading does not match what shows up on the dock, you get reclassified and re-rated, often at a higher price. Putting the correct NMFC number on your BOL up front protects you from surprise reclass charges.

• Smart classification

A Bill of Lading (BOL) is the core shipping document for a freight shipment. It serves three roles at once: a receipt that the carrier picked up your freight, a contract of carriage spelling out the terms, and a document of title for the goods. The BOL lists the shipper and consignee, pickup and delivery addresses, a description of the freight with weight and freight class, the NMFC number, any accessorials, and special instructions. The carrier and driver rely on the BOL to handle and bill the shipment correctly, so accurate weights, dimensions, and class on the BOL prevent both delivery problems and invoice adjustments.

• Free BOL generator
• BOL management

A PRO number (progressive rotating order number) is the unique tracking number a carrier assigns to your LTL shipment. It is how the carrier identifies your freight throughout its network and how you track the shipment from pickup to delivery. The PRO number is printed on the bill of lading and the shipping label, usually as a barcode. Whenever you call a carrier about a shipment, file a claim, or check status online, the PRO number is the reference they will ask for. With FreightCake, the PRO number is captured automatically at booking so you can track every shipment without digging through carrier portals.

• Shipment tracking

Third party billing means the freight charges are paid by someone other than the shipper or the consignee — a third party named on the bill of lading. It is common when a broker, a buyer, or a head office pays the freight on behalf of the party physically shipping or receiving the goods. The BOL marks the shipment as "third party" and lists the billing party’s name and address. This differs from "prepaid" (shipper pays) and "collect" (receiver pays). Getting the billing terms right on the BOL avoids the freight invoice landing on the wrong account.

A liftgate is a hydraulic platform on the back of a truck that raises and lowers freight between the trailer bed and the ground. You need liftgate service whenever the pickup or delivery location has no loading dock and no forklift — most residential addresses, many small businesses, construction sites, and storefronts. Without a dock or forklift, the driver cannot get a heavy pallet off the truck, so the liftgate does the lifting. Liftgate is an accessorial charge, so you should request it at the time of quoting; adding it after the fact, or having the driver discover it is needed on arrival, leads to extra fees or a failed delivery.

Curbside (or threshold) delivery means the carrier brings your freight to the curb, driveway, or just inside the first doorway, and the responsibility for moving it further is yours. Inside delivery means the carrier moves the freight beyond the entrance into the building — a lobby, a specific room, or up a flight of stairs depending on what you arrange. Standard LTL delivery is curbside. Inside delivery is an accessorial that costs extra and should be requested at quote time, because it requires more of the driver’s time and sometimes a second person. Spelling out exactly where the freight should end up prevents disputes on the dock.

A residential delivery surcharge is an accessorial fee carriers add when a pickup or delivery is at a residential address rather than a commercial one with a loading dock. Homes take longer to service, often need a liftgate and an appointment, and sit on routes that are less efficient for a freight driver, so carriers price that in. The surcharge applies even to home businesses, so if you are shipping to or from a residence, declare it when you quote. Failing to flag a residential address up front is a common reason a freight invoice comes back higher than the original quote.

A reweigh happens when a carrier puts your shipment on a certified scale and finds the actual weight differs from what you declared; a reclass happens when an inspection finds the freight class or NMFC code is wrong. Either one triggers a re-rate, and the adjusted (usually higher) charge shows up on your invoice. To dispute it, request the carrier’s supporting evidence — the certified scale ticket, inspection photos, or dimensions captured by their dimensioner. If your original weight and class were accurate and documented, you can challenge the adjustment with your own scale tickets and packing details. The best defense is declaring accurate weight, dimensions, and class on the BOL in the first place.

• Reduce reclass with smart classification

Detention is a fee charged when a driver is held at a pickup or delivery location longer than the free time allotted for loading or unloading — typically around two hours for LTL. If your dock keeps the driver waiting beyond that window, the carrier bills detention for the lost time. Demurrage is the closely related charge for holding railcars or ocean containers beyond their free days at a terminal or port. Both are "waiting" fees: the equipment and driver are tied up and unavailable to earn elsewhere. Keeping a quick, ready-to-load dock and accurate appointment times is the most reliable way to avoid them.

Start with a sturdy pallet sized to your freight, then stack boxes squarely with the heaviest on the bottom and nothing overhanging the edges. Distribute weight evenly and keep the load stable and as cube-shaped as possible. Shrink-wrap the entire load tightly to the pallet with several passes, banding or strapping it for extra security on heavy or tall stacks. Keep the finished height reasonable so it stays upright in a shared trailer. Label every handling unit clearly and attach the BOL. Good palletization protects your goods, prevents shifting that causes damage claims, and avoids the awkward dimensions that drive up freight class.

Each LTL carrier prices from its own base rate tables, its own discount agreements, and the specific lanes where it runs strong. A carrier with a terminal near your origin and destination can move your freight efficiently and will often quote lower than one routing it the long way through distant hubs. Fuel surcharges, accessorial pricing, and minimum charges also vary carrier to carrier. That is exactly why rate shopping matters: the same shipment can vary by hundreds of dollars depending on who hauls it. FreightCake quotes every connected carrier in parallel and surfaces the cheapest service that still meets your delivery promise.

• Rate shopping
• See pricing

A fuel surcharge is a variable fee carriers add on top of the base freight rate to cover the fluctuating cost of diesel. Rather than rewriting their base tariffs every time fuel prices move, carriers publish a fuel surcharge that adjusts — usually weekly — against a published diesel price index such as the U.S. EIA national average. When diesel rises, the surcharge rises; when it falls, so does the surcharge. It is expressed as a percentage of the linehaul charge or a per-mile amount, and it is a normal, expected line item on virtually every freight invoice. Quotes from FreightCake fold the current fuel surcharge into the rate you see.

A quote is a price for one specific shipment right now, based on the lane, weight, class, and accessorials you entered — it is good for a limited window and can change if the shipment details change. A contract rate is a negotiated pricing agreement between a shipper (or broker) and a carrier that applies to many shipments over time, usually with set discounts off the carrier’s base tariff on agreed lanes. Contract rates reward volume and consistency. With FreightCake you can quote with built-in FreightCake rates or plug in your own negotiated carrier accounts and quote both, then book whichever wins.

• Pricing

A freight quote is an estimate based on the details you provide. If the carrier finds the actual shipment differs — heavier on a certified reweigh, a different freight class on inspection, larger dimensions, or an accessorial that was needed but not requested (like a liftgate or a residential or inside delivery) — they re-rate the shipment and the invoice comes back different from the quote. Less often, a fuel surcharge timing difference plays a part. The fix is accuracy up front: declare true weight, real dimensions, the correct class, and every accessorial when you quote, and the invoice will match.

• What is reweigh / reclass?

Parcel carriers bill on the greater of a package’s actual weight or its dimensional (DIM) weight, which prices in the space a light-but-bulky box takes on the truck. You calculate DIM weight by multiplying length by width by height in inches and dividing by a carrier’s DIM divisor — commonly 139 for domestic UPS and FedEx. If the DIM weight exceeds the scale weight, you pay the DIM weight. That is why right-sizing your boxes and cutting empty void space directly lowers parcel cost. For low-density goods, comparing parcel against LTL is often worthwhile.

• Parcel shipping
• What is dimensional weight?

Density is weight per cubic foot, and it is the single biggest driver of freight class for most commodities. To calculate it, multiply length by width by height in inches to get cubic inches, divide by 1,728 to convert to cubic feet, then divide the shipment’s total weight by that cubic footage. The result is pounds per cubic foot. Higher density (heavy for its size) generally means a lower freight class and a lower rate; lower density (light and bulky) means a higher class. Measuring the real palletized dimensions — including the pallet and any overhang — gives you the density that carriers will actually use.

• Density calculator
• Automated classification

Accessorials are charges for services beyond standard dock-to-dock pickup and delivery. Common ones include liftgate service, residential pickup or delivery, inside delivery, delivery appointments, limited-access locations (schools, farms, military bases), notification before delivery, and detention for driver wait time. Each adds cost because it adds time, equipment, or handling. The key to accurate pricing is declaring every accessorial you will need at quote time — most surprise invoice increases come from an accessorial that was required on the dock but never requested in the quote.

• Accessorial cost estimator

No. FreightCake is free to access, and quoting and comparing rates costs nothing — you only pay when you actually ship. There is no monthly platform fee to start, and FreightCake’s pricing is built into the rates you quote and book, so the price you see is the price you can book. That lets you rate-shop every connected carrier as often as you like, compare LTL and parcel side by side, and only commit when a shipment is ready to move.

• See full pricing

Once you book a shipment, the carrier needs a pickup request that includes the pickup address, the ready time and dock close time, the number of handling units, total weight, and any accessorials such as a liftgate. The carrier confirms a pickup window — usually the same day if you book before their cutoff, otherwise the next business day. With FreightCake, the pickup request is dispatched to the carrier automatically the moment you book, the BOL drafts itself, and the carrier confirms the pickup — so you do not have to call anyone or re-key details into a carrier portal.

• LTL shipping

The essential document is the Bill of Lading (BOL), printed and ready for the driver to sign. It must show accurate shipper and consignee details, the freight description with weight and class, the NMFC number, accessorials, and any special instructions. For most LTL shipments the BOL plus shipping labels on each handling unit are all you need. Certain freight requires extras — hazardous materials need proper hazmat shipping papers and labeling, and some international or specialized shipments need a packing list or customs paperwork. FreightCake generates a compliant BOL and labels automatically when you book.

• BOL management

An appointment delivery means the carrier contacts the receiver to schedule a specific date and often a time window before delivering, rather than just showing up during the day. It is common — sometimes required — for residences, retail and grocery receivers with strict dock hours, and any location that needs to plan labor to unload. Requesting a delivery appointment is an accessorial, so declare it at quote time. It reduces failed deliveries and redelivery fees, because the receiver is expecting the freight and ready to take it.

If the carrier arrives and cannot complete the delivery — no one is there, the dock is closed, or the receiver cannot take the freight — they record a failed delivery attempt and return the shipment to their terminal. You will typically be charged a redelivery fee to schedule a second attempt, and if the freight sits at the terminal beyond the free storage period, storage fees can accrue. Booking a delivery appointment and confirming the receiver’s hours up front is the simplest way to avoid redelivery and storage charges.

OS&D stands for Over, Short, and Damaged — it is the exception report noted at the time of delivery when something is wrong: extra pieces arrived (over), pieces are missing (short), or freight is visibly damaged. OS&D is the documentation step. A claim is the formal request for financial compensation you file afterward to recover the value of lost or damaged goods. In practice, OS&D notes on the delivery receipt become the evidence that supports your claim, which is why noting damage and shortages on the BOL before you sign is critical.

• How do I file a freight claim?

Usually yes, if you act before the carrier picks up. Minor corrections — special instructions, an accessorial, a contact phone number — are often easy to update. Bigger changes like weight, class, or addresses may require re-rating the shipment or re-issuing the BOL, since they change the price. Cancellations are typically free before pickup but may incur a fee once a driver has been dispatched or has already collected the freight. Make changes as early as possible, and always update the BOL so the driver and the invoice reflect reality.

Yes. Every LTL shipment has a PRO number that the carrier uses to update status as your freight moves through their terminal network — picked up, in transit, out for delivery, and delivered. The challenge is that each carrier exposes tracking in its own portal with its own status language, so following shipments across several carriers means logging into several systems. FreightCake consolidates tracking from every connected carrier onto one timeline, so you see picked-up, in-transit, out-for-delivery, and proof-of-delivery milestones for all your shipments in one place.

• Shipment tracking

A proof of delivery (POD) is the signed delivery receipt confirming the consignee received the freight, including the date, time, who signed, and any exceptions noted at delivery such as damage or a short count. It is the document that closes out a shipment and the key evidence if you later need to file a claim. Always make sure the receiver inspects the freight and writes any visible damage or missing pieces on the POD before signing — a clean signature with no notes makes a later damage claim much harder to win.

• OS&D vs claim

LTL transit time depends on distance and the carrier’s terminal network, but standard service generally runs about 1 to 5 business days within the contiguous U.S. — roughly a day per 500 miles is a rough guide, plus time for terminal handling at each end. Regional carriers can be faster on lanes where they are strong. Standard LTL transit is not guaranteed, so if you have a hard deadline, book a guaranteed or expedited service for a premium. FreightCake shows each carrier’s estimated transit time next to its rate so you can weigh speed against cost.

• Compare carriers

Guaranteed delivery is a premium LTL service where the carrier commits to deliver by a specific day, and sometimes a specific time of day (for example, by 5 p.m. or by noon). If the carrier misses the guarantee, you may be entitled to a refund of the guarantee charge or the freight charges, per their terms. It costs more than standard LTL because the carrier prioritizes the freight. Choose it when a deadline genuinely matters; for flexible shipments, standard service is more economical.

Always. The moment you sign the delivery receipt without noting a problem, you are telling the carrier the freight arrived in good condition, and that makes recovering for damage much harder. Before signing, count the handling units against the BOL and inspect the packaging for crushing, punctures, water damage, or signs of tampering. If anything looks wrong, note it specifically on the delivery receipt before signing, take photos, and keep the packaging. Even if damage might be concealed, writing "possible concealed damage, subject to inspection" preserves your right to claim.

• What is concealed damage?

Tracking across carriers is painful by default because every carrier has its own portal, login, and status vocabulary, so visibility into a mixed fleet of shipments means hopping between systems and manually reconciling statuses. A multi-carrier platform solves this by ingesting tracking from each carrier through their APIs and normalizing it into one consistent timeline. FreightCake does exactly that — every shipment, every carrier, one dashboard, with consistent milestones and proactive flags when something is running late or hits an exception.

• Unified tracking

To file a freight claim you submit a written demand to the carrier for the value of goods lost or damaged in transit, backed by documentation. You will need the BOL, the delivery receipt noting the exception (OS&D), the original invoice showing the value of the goods, photos of the damage, and a repair or replacement cost. Note any visible damage on the delivery receipt before signing, then file promptly. The carrier acknowledges the claim, investigates, and either pays, declines, or makes a settlement offer. Keep the damaged freight and packaging until the claim resolves, because the carrier has the right to inspect it.

• OS&D vs claim

The Carmack Amendment is the federal law governing carrier liability for loss or damage to goods in interstate freight shipments. It generally holds the carrier liable for the actual loss or damage to your freight while it is in their care, and it standardizes the claims process across carriers. There are important limits: carriers can lawfully cap their liability (for example, by freight class or per pound), and you must follow the filing rules and deadlines to recover. Carmack is why your BOL terms and declared value matter — they shape exactly how much you can recover if something goes wrong.

Under the standard terms that govern most interstate LTL shipments, you have a minimum of 9 months from the delivery date to file a written claim with the carrier. If the carrier denies the claim, you generally have at least 2 years and 1 day from the date of that denial to file a lawsuit. Those are the regulatory floors; individual carrier tariffs can grant more time but not less. The practical advice is to file as soon as you discover loss or damage — fresh documentation and a noted delivery receipt make claims far easier to win than ones filed months later.

Concealed damage is damage to the goods inside a shipment that was not visible from the outside at delivery, so it was not noted on the delivery receipt and is discovered only after the packaging is opened. It is the hardest type of claim to win, because a clean, signed delivery receipt suggests the freight arrived intact. To preserve a concealed-damage claim, stop unpacking, keep all the packaging exactly as received, photograph everything, and report it to the carrier immediately — most carriers require notice within a short window (often around 5 days) of delivery. Whenever you suspect rough handling, note "possible concealed damage" on the receipt at delivery.

• Inspect before signing

A carrier liability limit is the maximum amount a carrier will pay for loss or damage, set in their tariff and often tied to the freight class or a dollar-per-pound figure rather than the full retail value of your goods. For high-value or fragile freight, the standard limit can be far less than what the goods are actually worth. When the gap matters, you can declare a higher value (sometimes for an added charge) or buy separate shipping insurance to cover the difference. Checking the liability limit before you ship is the only way to know whether a worst-case loss would leave you exposed.

It depends on the value of your goods relative to the carrier’s liability limit. Default carrier liability is capped and tied to freight class, so for low-value, durable freight it may be enough. For high-value, fragile, or hard-to-replace goods, separate freight (cargo) insurance covers the actual value and pays out without the liability-limit haircut, regardless of fault in many cases. Weigh the premium against your downside: if a total loss would be painful, insurance is usually worth it. Either way, accurate declared value and good packaging reduce both your risk and your premiums.

USPS is usually cheapest for small, lightweight packages and offers strong residential and PO Box coverage, making it ideal for items under a few pounds. UPS and FedEx tend to win on heavier packages, faster guaranteed ground and express service, and reliable tracking and business delivery. As a rough rule: ship light and small with USPS, ship heavier or time-sensitive with UPS or FedEx, and always compare — the cheapest carrier shifts with weight, zone, and dimensions. A rate-shopping tool that quotes all three for each package consistently beats committing to one carrier for everything.

• Parcel shipping
• Rate shopping

Dimensional weight (DIM weight) is a pricing method that charges for the space a package occupies, not just how much it weighs. Carriers multiply length by width by height in inches and divide by a DIM divisor — commonly 139 for domestic UPS and FedEx, and 166 for many USPS services — then bill the greater of that DIM weight or the actual scale weight. The point is to stop light, bulky boxes from taking up valuable truck space at a featherweight price. To control DIM costs, use the smallest box that fits and remove excess void fill.

• DIM weight and parcel pricing

Not necessarily. While printing a label at home is the most common path, all three major carriers support printer-free options. USPS offers Label Broker and QR-code labels you can have scanned and printed at a Post Office, UPS provides a Mobile Barcode that UPS Stores and many drop-off points can print for you, and FedEx offers a similar QR-code label printed at FedEx Office and participating locations. You generate the label digitally, receive a QR code or barcode, and a staffed location prints and applies it. So a missing printer is not a barrier to shipping.

A shipping zone is a number that represents the distance between the origin and destination of a parcel, and it is one of the main inputs to the price. Carriers group distances into zones — typically Zone 1 for local up through Zone 8 or 9 for the farthest cross-country and offshore destinations — measured from the origin facility. The farther the package travels, the higher the zone and the higher the cost for a given weight. Because zone is distance-based, shipping from a location closer to your customers, or from multiple fulfillment points, lowers the average zone and the cost.

Ship parcel when items are small enough to go as individual boxes — generally each package under about 150 pounds and within the carrier’s size limits — and you do not need a pallet. Parcel is fast, cheap for small loads, and delivers to the door. Switch to LTL when you have multiple boxes that are cheaper to consolidate onto a pallet, when items are heavy or oversized, or when DIM weight makes bulky parcels expensive. A good rule of thumb: once you are shipping several boxes to one destination, quote both parcel and LTL and let the cheaper option win.

• Compare parcel and LTL

Address validation checks a destination against carrier and postal databases before you ship, confirming it exists, is formatted correctly, and flagging whether it is residential or commercial. It matters because a bad or ambiguous address causes failed deliveries, address-correction surcharges, and returns — all of which cost money and time. Validating up front also ensures the residential-versus-commercial flag is right, which affects the rate. Good shipping software validates every address at label creation so problems surface before a package is on a truck instead of after.

FreightCake is free to access — there is no monthly platform fee to start. You pay when you ship, and FreightCake’s pricing is built into the rates you quote and book, so the price you see is the price you can book. You can also bring your own negotiated carrier accounts; customers using their own carrier credentials may have separate platform or usage pricing depending on setup and volume. Either way, quoting, comparing, and managing shipments costs nothing up front, so you can evaluate the platform with zero commitment.

• See full pricing

When you book a shipment, the charges are based on the rate you accepted at quote time. If the carrier later re-rates the shipment — because of a reweigh, a reclass, or an accessorial used but not quoted — the adjustment flows through to your invoice, which is why accurate shipment details up front keep your bill predictable. FreightCake consolidates your shipping activity so you can see charges by shipment, by lane, and by carrier rather than reconciling separate carrier invoices by hand. For specifics on billing cadence and payment terms for your account, reach out to the team.

• Why did my quote change?
• Contact us

Yes. FreightCake provides a full REST API so you can quote, book, track, and manage shipments directly from your own systems — an ERP, a WMS, an e-commerce backend, or a custom app. There are webhooks for shipment events so your systems react to status changes in real time, plus a sandbox mode for building and testing before you go live. If you would rather not build, prebuilt integrations connect common platforms. The API reference and developer docs walk through authentication, endpoints, and examples.

• Integrations
• API reference

FreightCake connects major parcel and LTL carriers through one interface, including USPS, UPS, and FedEx for parcel, and FedEx Freight, R+L Carriers, TForce Freight, Oak Harbor, ODFL, and AAA Cooper for LTL, with more added over time. You can quote every connected carrier in parallel and book the one that wins on price and transit. You can also plug in your own negotiated carrier accounts to quote your contract rates alongside FreightCake’s, so you always see the full picture before booking.

• Rate shopping
• Integrations

Yes. FreightCake offers a sandbox (test) mode alongside live mode, so developers can build and validate an integration without creating real shipments or incurring charges. You can exercise the quoting, booking, tracking, and webhook flows end to end against test data, then switch to live mode when you are ready to ship for real. This mirrors the dual-mode workflow developers expect and keeps testing safely separated from production activity.

• Developer docs