Truck

Trucking moves freight with smaller average shipment size than rail. More than half of the shipments by truck are less than 10,000 pounds or LTL volume. The inherent advantages of trucking are its door-to-door [DTD] service, involving no loading or unloading between origin and destination as is often true of rail and air modes; its frequency and availability of service and its DTD speed and convenience.

Truck and rail services show some distinct differences, even though they compete for many of the same product shipments. First, in addition to the common and private legal classification of carriers, trucking offers services as contract carrier as well. Contract carriers do not hire themselves out to service all shippers as do common carriers. Shippers enter into a contractual agreement to obtain service that better meets their particular needs and requirements without incurring the capital expense and administrative problems associated with private ownership of a trucking fleet.

Second, trucks can be judged less capable of handling all types of freight than rail, mainly due to highway safety restrictions that limit the dimensions and weight of shipments. Most shipments must be shorter than the popular 40 to 53 foot trailer [unless a double or triple bottom] and less than 8 feet wide and 8 feet tall to ensure road clearance. Specially designed equipment can accept loads in different dimensions than these.

Third, trucking offers reasonably fast and dependable delivery for LTL shipments. The trucker needs to fill only one trailer before moving the shipment, whereas a railroad must be concerned with making up a train length of 50 cars or more. On balance, trucking has a service advantage in the small shipment market.