FTL / Full Truck Load
A shipment mode where a single consignor books the entire capacity of a truck, ensuring exclusive use from origin to destination without intermediate stops.
Full definition
FTL (Full Truck Load) is a freight mode where one shipper books the entire truck, typically 9-tonne or 16-tonne capacity in India, for a single origin-to-destination haul. The truck is sealed at the loading point and opened only at the delivery point, eliminating handling risk and transit time wasted at intermediate stops. FTL is the default mode for primary sales dispatches from a brand's factory or mother warehouse to a regional depot or large distributor.
In Indian FMCG, a typical FTL shipment from a dairy plant in Mehsana to a depot in Mumbai covers ~500 km and costs Rs 18,000-25,000 for a 16-tonne reefer truck. The cost-per-case advantage over LTL is significant, often 30-40% cheaper per unit, which is why production planning teams try to batch orders into full loads wherever possible.
Modern distribution tracking platforms monitor FTL shipments end-to-end with GPS, generating ETA alerts for the receiving depot so unloading crews and loading bays can be readied in advance, cutting turnaround time from hours to minutes.
Real-world example
Amul dispatches 40 FTL reefer trucks daily from its Anand plant to depots across Gujarat, Maharashtra, and Rajasthan, each carrying 800-1,000 crates of milk and butter.
Where it applies
Applicable industries
This term is relevant across the following SpireStock-supported industries.
How SpireStock handles it
Related SpireStock features
The concepts described above are implemented end-to-end in these product modules.
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