Short answer
FTL, or full truckload, means one shipper’s freight gets a dedicated truck and trailer. The trailer is loaded at pickup, often sealed, and driven to the receiver without terminal transfers. Shippers choose FTL when freight fills most of a trailer, is heavy, or shouldn’t be rehandled. Pricing is per load or per mile, under contract or spot rates.
How a truckload moves through a brokerage
- The shipper sends a load tender with stops, dates, equipment, and weight.
- The broker accepts, then finds a carrier on its own network or a load board.
- The broker and carrier agree on price and terms in a rate confirmation, and the carrier signs it.
- The driver picks up, signs the BOL, and records the seal number.
- The broker tracks the truck through tracking or check calls until delivery.
- The receiver signs the POD, and the broker bills the shipper and pays the carrier.
The price comes from either a contract rate agreed ahead of time or a spot rate set for that one load.
Size and weight limits
Federal size and weight rules in 23 CFR Part 658 set the outer bounds for most truckloads on the National Network:
- 80,000 lbs gross vehicle weight on the Interstate System
- 20,000 lbs on a single axle and 34,000 lbs on a tandem axle, subject to the bridge formula
- 102 inches of width
- States must allow semitrailers of at least 48 feet, and 53-foot trailers are common in practice
The legal freight weight is the gross limit minus the tractor and trailer’s own weight. Example: if the tractor and empty trailer weigh 35,000 lbs together, the load can’t exceed about 45,000 lbs, and axle placement can lower that.
FTL, partial, and LTL compared
| FTL | Partial truckload | LTL | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trailer | Dedicated | Shared with one or a few other loads | Shared across a terminal network |
| Handling | Loaded once | Usually loaded once | Transferred at terminals |
| Pricing | Per load or per mile | Space and weight used | Class, weight, and lane |
| Freight class | Not needed | Usually not needed | Needed |
| Best fit | Heavy or full trailers, time-sensitive freight | Mid-size freight that doesn’t fit LTL rules | A few pallets |
Example: the math on one load
Example, with illustrative numbers. A shipper pays $1,900 for a 600-mile dry van load. The broker books a carrier at $1,600.
- Broker gross margin: $300, or 15.8% of revenue
- Carrier rate per loaded mile: $1,600 / 600 = $2.67
- If the truck drives 90 empty miles to reach pickup, the carrier’s rate across all 690 miles is $2.32
Those empty deadhead miles are why carriers push back on loads that start far from where their trucks sit.
Common FTL mistakes
- Quoting a heavy load without checking axle weights or the equipment’s tare.
- Vague pickup times. “8 to 3 FCFS” and “8:00 appointment” are different loads to a carrier.
- Rate cons that leave out detention, TONU, or layover terms, which turns every delay into a negotiation.
- No seal number on the BOL for a sealed load.
- Booking a carrier before its authority and insurance are checked.
How FreightVero handles it
The FreightVero broker TMS is built around this truckload flow, and these parts are live. A load can carry any number of stops, each with an appointment or a window. A carrier can’t be dispatched until the latest rate con version is signed and uploaded. Live tracking through Load Market shows an ETA from the truck’s last position, checked against the carrier’s appointment, and tracking that goes quiet for 45 minutes gets flagged.