What is the difference between FTL and LTL?

A full truckload gives one shipper the whole truck and goes direct from pickup to delivery, usually priced per mile or per lane. Less-than-truckload shares the trailer with other shippers' freight, moves through terminals, and is priced by freight class, weight and lane.

How much weight can a full truckload carry?

In the US the gross vehicle weight limit on the Interstate system is 80,000 lb (36.3 t), including the truck itself. In the EU it is 40 t for a 5- or 6-axle vehicle, or 44 t for a 3-axle tractor carrying containers up to 45 ft in intermodal transport.

How many pallets fit in a 53 ft trailer?

Twenty-six 48 × 40 in pallets loaded with the 40 in side across, or thirty turned with the 48 in side across, in a van about 630 in long and 98.5 in wide inside — on one level, before weight limits.

Term

Full truckload (FTL)

Full truckload (FTL) is shipping where one shipper's freight gets a whole truck, moving directly from pickup to delivery without the terminal stops of less-than-truckload. It suits loads that fill a trailer or reach its weight limit, and in the US is usually priced per mile or per lane rather than by freight class.

Also called FTL, truckload, TL, full truck loadUpdated 12 October 2026

When a load is a truckload

A load becomes a truckload when it fills the trailer's floor, its volume or its weight limit — whichever comes first. Less-than-truckload carriers draw their own line: FedEx Freight's rules tariff treats 20,000 lb or more, or freight filling one "pup" — a short trailer — as a truckload.

Size and weight limits

Limit	United States	European Union
Gross weight	80,000 lb (36.3 t) on the Interstate system, lower where the bridge formula requires	40 t for 5–6 axles; 44 t for a 3-axle tractor with containers up to 45 ft in intermodal transport
Width	102 in (2.59 m)	2.55 m
Length	States must allow at least a 48 ft semitrailer; many allow 53 ft	16.50 m for an articulated vehicle
Height	Set by each state	4.00 m

Inside, one manufacturer's 53 ft dry van measures 52 ft 6 in long, 98.5 in wide and 110 in high (16.0 × 2.50 × 2.79 m); other models differ by an inch or two.

How it is priced

US truckload freight is quoted per mile or as a flat rate per lane. DAT's national averages for March 2026 were USD 2.52 a mile for spot van loads — all-in, with no separate fuel surcharge — and USD 2.72 a mile on contract. ATRI put carriers' own average cost at USD 2.336 a mile in 2025.

Worked example: pallets in a 53 ft van

48 × 40 in pallets, 40 in side across: 2 across (80 in) × ⌊630 ÷ 48⌋ = 2 × 13 = 26 · Turned, 48 in side across: 2 across (96 in) × ⌊630 ÷ 40⌋ = 2 × 15 = 30

Inside length 52 ft 6 in = 630 in; width 98.5 in. Turning the pallets fits 4 more.

On an 800-mile lane at USD 2.72 a mile the truck costs USD 2,176 — USD 83.69 a pallet loaded 26, or USD 72.53 loaded 30. The pallets' orientation is a 13% saving on every load.

The mistake people make

Reading 80,000 lb as payload. It is the gross weight of tractor, trailer and freight together, so the freight a truck can legally carry is that limit minus the weight of the truck itself — and a lighter limit applies wherever the bridge formula or a state's rules say so.

FAQ