Truckload shipping is the movement of large amounts of homogeneous
cargo, generally the amount necessary to fill an entire
semi-trailer or
intermodal container. A
truckload carrier is a trucking company that generally contracts an entire trailer-load to a single customer. This is as opposed to a
less-than truckload (LTL) company that generally mixes freight from several customers in each trailer. One advantage Full Truckload (FTL) carriers have over Less than Truckload carriers is that the freight is never handled en route, whereas an LTL shipment will typically be transported on several different trailers.