LTL Linear Foot Rule: When Carriers Price by Trailer Space

Most LTL (less-than-truckload) shipments are priced on two things: freight class and weight. The carrier puts several shippers’ freight on one trailer, and the class, based mainly on density along with handling, stowability and liability, drives the rate. But each carrier also publishes a rules tariff (its published terms and accessorial rules), and that document contains provisions that switch the basis from class and weight to floor space. That’s what people mean by the LTL linear foot rule. Once your freight takes up enough trailer length, the carrier applies a capacity load minimum (a minimum charge for freight that takes up a large share of the trailer) or a space-based rate instead of, or in comparison with, the normal class rate.

The reason is simple. LTL depends on sharing the trailer. A light shipment that spreads across a lot of floor leaves the carrier less room to sell to anyone else, so the tariff makes up for it with space-based pricing.

How to measure linear feet#

Linear feet are the length of trailer floor your shipment occupies, measured front to back. Width and height don’t come into it, and it isn’t an area or a volume. If your freight blocks a stretch of floor, that stretch counts, whether one pallet sits in it or two.

A dry van’s interior is nominally about 98.5 in wide; that’s the figure our calculators use, and some manufacturers’ models run 100–101 in. Standard 48 × 40 in pallets loaded lengthwise (48 in side along the trailer) sit two across: 80 in of pallet with about 18.5 in to spare, which isn’t enough for a third (that would need 120 in). Turned 90°, two pallets take 96 in and leave only about 2.5 in.

So each row of standard pallets uses:

• 48 in = 4.0 linear feet when loaded lengthwise
• 40 in ≈ 3.33 linear feet when turned 90°

A single pallet in a row takes up the same floor length as two.

For any size of freight, work it out in three steps:

1. Pieces per row = trailer width ÷ the piece’s width across the trailer, rounded down
2. Rows = quantity ÷ (pieces per row × number of tiers), rounded up
3. Linear feet = rows × the piece’s length along the trailer (in) ÷ 12

The linear feet calculator runs these steps for you. It works out each item line separately (different lines don’t share a row) and keeps each item in the orientation you enter, without rotating it. There’s no height input, so check for yourself that stacked freight fits.

Here’s what that gives for standard pallets, single-stacked and loaded lengthwise in a 98.5 in wide trailer:

A 53-foot trailer is 53 ft (636 in) long on the outside, but you don’t get 53 ft of floor. Our calculators use 630 in, or 52.5 ft, of usable interior length, so 26 pallets at 52 ft leave about 6 in.

Where the rule lives and when it applies#

There’s no single industry-wide linear foot rule. Each carrier writes its own, and the item names vary. ODFL, Saia, R+L and Estes (Item 390) file it as a “capacity load” item: a shipment big enough to take away the carrier’s ability to fill the rest of the trailer. Estes adds a separate linear foot item (Item 391), and Magnum files its version as a linear foot provision in Item 390.

Here’s what we found in the rules tariffs we checked in September 2026:

Tariffs get revised, so treat this as a snapshot and check the current version before you rely on a number.

Across these six carriers, the point where class pricing gives way to a capacity load or linear foot charge falls between 15 and 21 linear feet. You’ll see 10 feet quoted in some articles, but none of the tariffs we checked uses it as the trigger.

Some carriers also define what counts as LTL in the first place, and that’s a different kind of limit. R+L defines LTL as under 16,000 lb and 16 linear feet or less, the same line as its capacity load rule. Line Drive defines LTL as 10,000 lb or less and 12 linear feet or less, lower than its 20 ft and 30 ft assumed-weight steps. Go past either Line Drive limit and the shipment isn’t re-rated: it moves to a spot quote.

The charge itself doesn’t follow one formula either. The tariffs use three approaches:

• Capacity load minimum charge: R+L, ODFL and Saia compare the normal charge with a minimum, often set per mile.
• Linear foot × mileage rate: Magnum and Estes price the footage directly.
• Fixed assumed weight: Line Drive rates the shipment as if it weighed 10,000 lb or 20,000 lb.

You’ll often read that carriers rate a shipment at 1,000 lb per linear foot. None of these six tariffs does, so don’t build a quote on it.

The idea isn’t unique to LTL. Air freight charges bulky, light cargo by dimensional (volumetric) weight, and ocean LCL bills per cubic meter or per 1,000 kg, whichever is greater. In each case the carrier is charging for space the cargo takes away from other paying freight.

Two related rules that can apply below the threshold

A linear foot threshold isn’t the only space-based item in a rules tariff. Two others can hit a shipment well below it.

Cubic capacity rules look at volume and density, not floor length:

• ODFL Item 610-1: 750 ft³ or more at under 6 lb/ft³ (or 350–750 ft³ at under 3 lb/ft³) is billed as ft³ × 6 lb at class 125 rates.
• Saia Item 111: 750 ft³ or more at under 6 lb/ft³ (or 350–749 ft³ at under 4 lb/ft³) is billed as ft³ × 6 lb at class 100 rates.
• Estes Item 615: anything over 350 ft³ is subject to a minimum charge based on 6 lb/ft³ at class 125.

Estes Item 615 has a few extra conditions. If the bill of lading or packaging says nothing can be stacked on top, Estes calculates the cube as if each piece were 84 in tall. Shipments moving on volume or truckload rates, or under a per-vehicle minimum charge, are excluded. And several shipments from the same shipper to the same consignee on the same day, with the same payer, count as one shipment when the rule is checked.

Overlength charges (fees for a single piece longer than the carrier’s limit) start at 8 ft (96 in) at ODFL, Saia, Estes and Magnum, then step up by length band. The charge applies to the whole shipment containing the long piece.

Worked example: eight light, tall pallets#

Suppose you’re shipping eight standard 48 × 40 in pallets, each 60 in tall and weighing 350 lb, for 2,800 lb in total.

Density and class. Each pallet is 48 × 40 × 60 = 115,200 in³, or 66.67 ft³ (÷ 1,728). Eight of them come to 533.33 ft³.

2,800 lb ÷ 533.33 ft³ = 5.25 lb/ft³

That falls in the 4-to-under-6 band, so the shipment rates at class 175. The freight density calculator gives the same result.

Linear feet. Loaded lengthwise, two per row, single-stacked, eight pallets make 4 rows:

4 rows × 48 in = 192 in = 16.0 linear feet

Against the carriers above:

• Over the line: Line Drive (12 ft LTL limit) and Magnum (15 ft)
• Not over: R+L (its rule needs more than 16 ft), ODFL and Estes (20 ft), Saia (21 ft)

Cubic capacity. At 533.33 ft³, the shipment is under the 750 ft³ mark and its density is above 3 and 4 lb/ft³, so neither ODFL Item 610-1 nor Saia Item 111 applies. Estes Item 615 does, because it’s over 350 ft³. Estes would check the normal class 175 charge against a minimum based on 533.33 × 6 = 3,200 lb at class 125. Which one you’re billed depends on how those two rates compare.

Can you stack them? No. Two pallets at 60 in make 120 in, taller than the 110 in nominal interior height our calculators use (Utility lists 110½–111 in for its 53-foot vans). This freight can’t go two high.

What does reduce the footage:

• Turn the pallets 90°: 4 rows × 40 in = 160 in ≈ 13.3 linear feet. That’s under Magnum’s 15 ft but still over Line Drive’s 12 ft.
• Split the load into two shipments of four pallets: each is 2 rows, or 8.0 linear feet. Ship them on different days (see the combining rules below).
• Double-stack only if the stacked height fits: with shorter pallets that could go two high within the interior height, eight pallets would take 2 rows, or 8.0 linear feet.

How to get under the threshold#

Stack where the freight allows it

Stacking two high doubles what each floor position holds, so it can cut the row count by up to half. It isn’t always exactly half because rows round up: six pallets take 3 rows single-stacked and 2 rows double-stacked.

Whether freight is stackable depends on its strength, its packaging and the carrier’s conditions, and the combined height has to fit under the trailer’s interior height. Mark freight as non-stackable and some tariffs price it on that basis: Magnum calculates linear feet as if the whole shipment were floor loaded (every piece on the trailer floor, nothing stacked), and Estes calculates cube for its cubic capacity rule as if each piece were 84 in tall.

Turn the pallets 90°

Pinwheeling standard pallets (turning them 90° so the 48 in side runs across the trailer) shortens each row from 4 ft to about 3.33 ft. A full 53-foot load of 26 pallets drops from 52 ft to 13 rows × 40 in = 520 in, about 43.3 ft, which is 8.7 ft less. Turned, a 53-foot trailer holds up to 30 pallets single-stacked.

Before you plan on it, check which side the forklift can enter from and whether the carrier will load that way. The trailer load calculator shows lengthwise and turned patterns side by side.

Split the shipment, on different days

Two smaller shipments can each stay under a threshold that one large shipment would cross. But carriers have combining rules: ODFL Item 366, Saia Item 360-70 and Estes Item 615 (Application 3) all let the carrier treat several shipments from the same shipper to the same consignee on the same day as one (at Estes, when it applies the cubic capacity rule). If you split, ship on different days.

Declare dimensions accurately

Carriers can reweigh and inspect freight. Under ODFL Item 367, when bill of lading details look incomplete or wrong, the carrier can reweigh, inspect and recalculate density. A reclassification (reclass) costs $25 per shipment, on top of re-rating the freight charges, fuel surcharge and accessorial charges, and a $25 fee also applies when reweighing adds 20 lb or more. Once the carrier has measured your freight after pickup, you have little room to argue, so get the dimensions right on the bill of lading.

Get a volume quote before you book

If your load plan comes close to or over a threshold, get a volume LTL or partial truckload (bigger than LTL, smaller than a full truck) quote before booking and compare it with the standard LTL price. No footage figure tells you in advance which will be cheaper.

For a rough sense of where the modes split, Estes describes volume LTL as 5,000 lb or more taking up at least 8 linear feet (another section of the same page says 5,000–15,000 lb or 8 ft or more), and suggests truckload for 30,000 lb or more and at least 48 linear feet. That’s guidance, not a tariff rule.

Checklist before you book#

1. Work out linear feet from the actual load plan, not from the pallet count alone. Orientation and stacking change the answer.
2. Read four items in the carrier’s rules tariff: capacity load, linear foot, low-density (cubic capacity) and overlength.
3. Know which threshold you’re up against. In the tariffs we checked, the switch to space-based pricing happens at 15 ft, over 16 ft, 20 ft or 21 ft, depending on the carrier. Line Drive’s 12 ft is a different kind of limit: above it, the shipment isn’t LTL anymore and needs a spot quote.
4. Try stacking and turning before accepting the footage, and confirm the height fits and the carrier accepts it.
5. Get a volume LTL or partial truckload quote in advance if you’re close to or over the line.