Most freight terms make sense once someone explains them without the jargon. So here’s Flatbed LTL in plain English.
LTL, but on an open deck
LTL stands for less-than-truckload — you’re not filling a whole trailer, so you share it and split the cost. Traditional LTL runs on dry vans and a network of terminals. Flatbed LTL applies the same share-the-trailer idea to open-deck freight: steel, machinery, equipment, lumber, generators — anything that needs a flatbed but doesn’t fill all 48 feet.
You pay for the space you use
That’s the whole point. Instead of paying a full-flatbed rate to move a load that takes up a third of the deck, you’re quoted for the footprint your freight occupies. The rest of the deck goes to other partial loads heading the same way.
When Flatbed LTL is the right call
- Your freight is too big or heavy for standard dry-van LTL
- It doesn’t fill a full flatbed (so paying for one is wasteful)
- It’s odd-shaped, tall, or long and needs open-deck securement
- You keep getting hit with LTL accessorial charges (here’s why that happens)
When it isn’t
If you’ve got enough freight to fill a flatbed, you want full flatbed/FTL — which our parent company, Comet National Shipping, handles too. And if your freight is small and palletized, standard LTL or LTL Volume may be cheaper.
The right mode depends on the load. Tell us what you’re shipping and we’ll point you to the most economical one — even when that’s not us.