What are the largest national LTL carriers?

Craven,
I am in the trucking business,so m,maybe I can help.Yellow is the nations largest LTL carrier,but they may not suit your needs.
Exactly what are you trying to ship?
All the LTL carriers have hub terminals that sort freight before they ship it,so it may take longer to get freight to its destination that way.
UPS also is a large LTL carrier,as is Fed-Ex.
If I can be of more help,let me know via e-mail.Once I recover from my woundas,I will be going back to driving,so I may be able to provide more assistance then.

Mysteryman,

I am shipping Exam Gloves in cases of about 18" long 10" wide and 10" high. The cases weigh about 20 lbs each and are class 85 gloves.

I have been talking to Yellow and others and each have their own advantage.

I just want to see if I missed anything.

I already use UPS and FedEX for small loads (e.g. I'm having 20 cases of samples shipped out today) but for larger loads I'd need an LTL carrier.

Because I do not yet have distributed warehousing I need a major carrier that can deliver to all the US mainland.

Are there any other big guys out there that I have not contacted?

I have contacted: Yellowfreight, Roadway, Con-Way, Old Dominion and ABS as well as other regional players.

Craven, Rather than trying to hunt and pick by yourself, why don't you try the following link. http://www.freightquote.com/tour/default.asp?wci=starttour&aid=10929&cid=

c.i.

ci,

There are thousands of LTL carriers and I am only interested in the top 10. I have done plenty of online research and am looking for advice from people and not directories as directories of this variety do not contain any useful information for me.

I spoke to a logistics consultant today and he was quite helpful.

Sorry I didnt get back to you sooner.You might want to check out Central Freight or Saia motor freight also.
I dont know where you live,or the volume of freight you want to ship (one pallet,one case,weekly shipments,etc) or where you want to ship to/from,but IMHO Yellow is the best nationwide LTL carrier,and Saia is the best regional LTL carrier. I hope that helps some.

I'm shipping all over the US.

I found out that I can get better rates by using a trucking broker and using "scabs".

So those big haulers are out.

"better rate"? Are you factoring in the cost to you if one of your shipments does not arrive? Or the cost to your business if A carrier is not bonded? If you use a broker,you are also paying the brokers fee,and you have no control over your freight.Now,I am NOT a fan of the unions,but unless you want to use a TL carrier,you should use Yellow,or Central or Saia,or one of the established major carriers.
All I can say is you get what you pay for,Cheaper up front does not mean cheaper in the long run.
I have given you my suggestions,and I am in the business.Do as you think best.

Well, I thought it best to go for Yellow or conway but bossman says our customers deserve scabs.

Not much I can do. This is for a "special case" deal. Over 90% of our stuff is delivered by Sysco.

If you want non union LTL carriers,then I still say go with Saia Motor Freight,or you can use R&L,they arte out of Ohio,but they run all 48 states.

What does R&L stand for? It would really help me when I search for them.

I dont know.That is the logo on the side of their trailers.

LOL, no problem. I'll figure it out. I will be talking to a few brokers tomorrow.

Thanks for the help BTW.

Not all brokers are bad!
I am a transportation broker and I pride myself on low rates AND service. Did you know that even if you go to a carrier direct, they often broker your freight out anyway? They can't handle all they are given at times. Also, we dispatch our own trucks, we dont just give a carrier a shipment and that's it, we monitor it, track it, etc. It's very intense and technologically driven. We do truckloads based on backhaul rates, so there are cost savings despite a broker's "fee". Let me know if I can be of any service further. Thanks Guys!

I'll give you a call right now.

LTL Carriers
I'm an LTL and TL broker. I work for freightquote. I'm not sure what kind of pricing you're getting now, but I believe I can do better. Here's the bottom line, in the world of LTL what determines your rates are "tarriffs" A tarriff is determined by volume of shipments. Because we do roughly anywhere between 2500 and 3000 shipments a day with about 40 different carriers we get some huge discounts which we pass along to our customers.

I'm not sure if you checked out our site already, but even if you have, I can do a lot better than the prices that you may be getting off the site, because I can increase the discount.

We are also a free tool where you can get instantaneous quotes (not the tiresome auction type websites) schedule shipments and track them all from one place with all our carriers. There is not one best carrier. Every carrier has a hub in a different part of the US and as a result have a strong presence in that area, which means they can do loads cheaper than other carriers can in that area.

Which is where Freightquote comes in, since we have a network of about 40 carriers who give us huge discounts, im talking 65-70% you're always going to find good service so that you're freight doesn't get damaged and the lowest possible prices where these carriers compete for your shipments rather than you haggling with them.

Give me a call at 800 323 5441 ext 1713 name: J King

This is actually good for anyone interested in getting some quotes and seeing how our operation has changed and improved not only operational efficiency (because there is no need to do any paperwork, no BOL's when using our site, its all dispatched electronically)

We also improve on time deliveries

Re: What are the largest national LTL carriers?
Craven, I can tell you that BAX Global is the largest heavyweight carrier in the United States. The reputation they have is for air freight, but they have a ground service that could fit your needs. And coverage wouldn't be a problem, either, they have offices everywhere.