Road Freight is the physical process of transporting cargo by road using motor vehicles. In this case, road is a lane/route between the point of departure and the point of destination. Compared to other types of transport system such as sea and air, the cost of maintaining roads is cheaper.

Road freight is the transport of goods from one location to another (a place of loading and a place of unloading) by means of motor vehicles via a road network. Commercial road freight transport is the transport of goods on a business basis by logistics companies or forwarders. In-company transports organized by the enterprises themselves, for example between different business locations within the context of internal production processes, are thus not classified as commercial freight transport.

In road freight, different trucks are used depending on the goods being transported. In EU member states, for example, road freight regulations only apply to vehicles with an empty weight of more than 3.5 t – which simply means that national specifications do not cover lighter vehicles. However, there are some special provisions: since February 2022, vehicles over 2.5 t are also subject to road freight transport regulations when crossing EU borders. Now these are legal quibbles, and in principle all conceivable motor vehicles are used in road freight transport, from vans to semitrailers. Whether refrigerated vehicles or hazardous goods transports, container semi-trailers or vacuum trucks for liquids – there is a great variety. In Europe, trucks are restricted to a maximum length of 18.75 m in accordance with the relevant EU directive. In some countries, special permits are granted for so-called Longer Heavier Vehicles (LHVs) with lengths of more than 25 m. Logistics experts and official bodies expect such LHVs to reduce CO₂ emissions since they can transport more goods in one trip.

Full Truck Load, Less Than Truckload and Partial Truckload

In road freight, a distinction is made between full and partial truckloads. The established international abbreviations are FTL for Full Truck Load, LTL for Less Than Truckload, and PTL for Partial Truck Load.

LTL and PTL indicate that only a certain truck capacity is booked. The freight costs are thus shared with other companies that operate in the same way. PTL and LTL do not differ significantly. The main distinction is that with PTL, the cargo usually stays on the same truck from departure to the destination point, whereas with LTL, the carrier often heads to several loading and unloading locations. While LTL is the most economical option, it is typically also the slowest.

FTL is when an entire truck is booked. This truck then exclusively delivers the FTL customer’s goods from the starting point to the destination.