Full Truckload (FTL).

What it is

FTL — Full Truckload — is freight that fills an entire trailer for a single shipper. One shipper, one consignee, one trailer. Freight is typically over 10,000 pounds or fills the trailer cube (volume rather than weight). Rates are negotiated as a flat lane price or cents-per-mile depending on the broker and contract structure. Transit is direct point-to-point with no consolidation or terminal handling.

FTL is the standard model for OTR operations and the dominant listing type on major load boards (DAT, Truckstop, 123Loadboard). Pricing follows a mix of contract rates (committed lanes between shippers and carriers) and spot rates (open-market loads on the load boards). Spot-rate volatility is real — rates can move 20%+ within weeks based on freight demand, fuel costs, and capacity availability.

Why it matters for trucking finance

FTL is the dominant model for owner-operators because the math works at single-truck scale: one driver, one trailer, one load. Spot-rate volatility is a real cash-flow risk — rates can compress meaningfully within a quarter. Factoring is essential because FTL broker payment terms (Net 30 to Net 60) create large gaps between completion and pay. Lenders evaluate FTL operators on revenue-per-mile and broker concentration mix — a carrier running 50%+ of revenue through a single broker faces tail-risk discounting.

Related terms

• Less-Than-Truckload (LTL) — Freight model where carriers consolidate multiple shippers' loads into a single trailer; loads are typically 100–10,000 lbs and below truckload.
• Over-the-Road (OTR) — Long-haul trucking covering significant distances, typically multi-state routes with drivers spending days or weeks away from home.
• Deadhead — Empty miles run without revenue freight, typically returning to home base or repositioning for the next load.

Related Dispatched products

• Owner-operator financing
• Invoice factoring for truckers