As part of our haulier services in Northampton we’re happy to accommodate both full load and part load truck transport services.
What’s the difference between full-load and part-load transport?
Shipping costs can be costly for businesses that transport goods between two places. It is important to choose the best haulage loads option for your business in order to reduce costs and maximize profits.
Full Load
Full load road haulage, also known as full truckload or full container loads (FCL), is a shipment that takes up all the space in a container. This could include a full shipping container on a sea freight ship, all of the storage space on a road freight truck or rail freight train, or even a whole shipping container on an air freight plane.
Instead of being determined by the weight of larger quantities of goods, the cost of the vehicle and its storage space will be fixed.
This is the best option for large consignments. However, it’s also the most practical for moving fragile items, goods that need a fixed temperature or hazardous materials that cannot mix with other substances.
Full Truck Load (FTL) services are ideal if you need to transport high-value, high-risk goods or heavy loads over long distances. FTL can also be used for small shipments.
Although it will be more expensive to hire an entire truck than just a portion, full load haulage gives you the opportunity to have your shipment transported in a fully equipped vehicle. It can travel from A to B quickly without stopping for any other deliveries. This makes it easier to transport your goods.
For Full Truck Load, we offer the following services:
- Single drop
- Multi drop
- One off jobs
- Regular contracted drops
How to calculate a truck full load
Freight shipment loads are typically calculated in cubic metres (CBM) and the same process would be used to calculate a part load. Simply measure the length, width, and height of the load and multiply them to convert it into CBM.
Part Load Transport
Partial truck load shipping (also known as partial load or less than truckload (LTL)), is a shipment that does not use all of the truck space for transport.
Freight forwarders need to find ways to make the most of every space, as not all loads will fit into the transport method they are using. Consolidating multiple parts of a load into one container or truck is a common way to do this. Clients will save money and use all the space with part load delivery.
Multiple loads can be combined into one vehicle to save money for both haulage companies as well as businesses that use them. Instead of paying for the whole vehicle, you only pay the volume of your portion load. This is often measured in cubic metres.
Part loads are often deemed too complicated by hauliers who charge the standard rate even though the vehicle is half full. It’s easier to negotiate a fair price when haulage companies such as Northampton Road Haulage offer to combine part loads.
Part load routes are more difficult to plan than full loads, as they cannot take a direct route. For international shipments, deliveries will be made within 72 hours (between the UK and Europe) and delivered the next day within the UK.
Is part load haulage cheaper?
If a company or client has paid for a full shipment that fills an entire container or other method of transport, the shipping cost will be the same as the full container load. The cost of a shipment will vary depending on the volume of the cargo.
Part loads are cheaper because they only take up space in the container. Full loads do have many benefits though. The charge for full load will not be based on the weight of the load, but the entire container or vehicle. You’ll be able to transport it faster if you don’t have any other load.
If your consignments don’t exceed the capacity of a full truckload, part load haulage is always cheaper. If your shipments are sufficiently large, however, the full load service may be more cost-effective, even though it is more expensive than a partial load.
We strive to offer a seamless service to our clients, encouraging transparency and reliability. Many businesses are subject to unfair contracts from less-reputable companies who charge them more space than they actually need.
Is part load haulage safe?
Part load haulage can be as safe as full load haulage if you use a reliable company like Northampton Road Haulage. However, full load services are preferred by many people because they can be sure that their loads won’t get mixed up, even if their truck only contains their goods.
Modern technology makes it very unlikely that partial loads will be misplaced. Consignments can be tracked with pinpoint accuracy.