Partial load trucking: how partial truckloads work and pay

Partial load meaning

A partial load, also called a partial truckload or part load, is freight that takes up only part of a trailer. A common size is somewhere from about 6 to 18 pallets, or a weight too high for LTL pricing to make sense, though there's no fixed definition. The shipper pays for the space and weight they use, rather than the whole truck.

Unlike LTL, a partial truckload usually moves on one truck from pickup to delivery, without going through terminals to be sorted and reloaded. That means less handling and usually faster transit. The truck may carry one or two other partials on the same route, with each shipper paying their share.

When shippers use partial truckload

Shippers use partials when a shipment is large for LTL but doesn't fill a truck. LTL pricing by freight class can get expensive for big, light shipments, and terminal handling raises the risk of damage. A partial avoids both. It's also common for fragile freight, high-value goods and shipments that need to arrive faster than an LTL network can manage.

If you're a shipper deciding between LTL and a partial, estimate your shipment's density and class first with the freight class and density calculator, then get both kinds of quote. Partial truckload companies, brokers and many full truckload carriers all handle partials.

How partial loads pay carriers

For carriers, partials are usually priced per load. Each partial pays less than a full load on the same lane, because the shipper is buying only part of the trailer. The opportunity is to combine them: two or three partials going the same direction can add up to more than one full load would pay, because each shipper pays for its share of the space.

The catch is time. Each partial adds a pickup and a delivery, and each stop takes time to find the dock, check in, load or unload, and get back on the road. Two partials can easily add half a day compared with one full load. Price the time, not just the miles.

In this EXAMPLE, the partials pay $250 more but add 40 miles, two stops and about half a day. Whether that's a good trade depends on what else the truck could do with that half day. The load profitability calculator shows net per hour, which is the fair way to compare.

How to combine partials without losing a day

• +Book the anchor first. Start with the partial that pays best or has the tightest appointment, then look for a second one that fits around it.
• +Check the space. Pallet counts, dimensions, whether pallets stack, and total weight. Two partials that don't fit together are one partial and a problem.
• +Load in delivery order. The first delivery should come off first. Plan where each shipment sits in the trailer.
• +Check the appointments. Each delivery window has to work with the other. A late first delivery can make the second late too.
• +Confirm both brokers allow it. Some brokers or shippers want exclusive use of the trailer. Ask before you add a second partial.
• +Keep paperwork separate. Each partial has its own rate confirmation and bill of lading. Note counts and seals on each.

Partials by equipment

Partials suit some equipment better than others. Box trucks and hotshots live on partials, since their capacity is smaller to begin with and much of their freight is pallet runs, equipment and expedited shipments. Dry vans pick up partials as fill-ins or to build a load home. Flatbeds often combine partial loads of building materials or machinery. Reefers can combine partials too, but only if the products can share a temperature.

On load boards, partials are usually marked P instead of F. Search for both, and price each partial on its own first, with its share of the miles and its own stops. Our guides to load boards and free load boards cover where to find them.

Pricing a partial on its own

Before thinking about combining, price each partial as if it were the only load on the truck. Add the empty miles to its pickup and its loaded miles, multiply by your cost per mile, and add your margin and the time its stops take. If a partial can't clear your floor on its own, a second partial has to make up the difference, and you'll be relying on finding it.

Then look at what the partial leaves in the trailer. A partial that uses a third of the space and a fifth of your legal weight leaves plenty of room for another shipment. One that uses half the space but most of the weight doesn't, because the second load would have to be very light. Weight is often the real limit, especially on vans carrying dense freight.

When you counter on a partial, the reasons are usually time and space: the extra stop, the appointment window, or that the shipment rules out other freight. "It's eight pallets but they don't stack, so it takes half my trailer" is a fair reason for a higher rate.

Partial truckload companies and brokers

Shippers book partials through brokers, through carriers that specialize in partials and volume LTL, and through full truckload carriers with room on a route. For a small carrier, brokers are the main source. Many brokers handle partials alongside full loads, and some focus on them. Ask the brokers you already work with whether they have partials on your lanes; they often do but don't think to offer them.

Tracking and communication on partials

With two or three shippers on one truck, communication matters even more. Each broker wants check calls on their own freight, and a delay at one stop affects the others. Keep each broker updated at their pickup, in transit and before their delivery. Our guide to load tracking covers what brokers expect.