Most UK shippers book palletised freight the same way every time. Whatever worked last quarter gets repeated, and the decision between a full load and a part load is made by habit rather than by volume.
That habit costs money in both directions. Booking a full trailer for nine pallets means paying for seventeen empty spaces. Booking eighteen pallets as a part load means paying a per-pallet rate on a volume that should have earned a full-vehicle price, and accepting several extra handling points on the way.
This guide sets out how the two options actually differ, where the cost crossover sits, and which one to choose as volumes rise into peak season.
What counts as palletised freight
Palletised freight is any consignment loaded onto a pallet and moved as a single handling unit. In UK road freight transport, that usually means one of two footprints:
- Standard UK pallet: 1200mm x 1000mm
- Euro pallet: 1200mm x 800mm
Height and weight then determine how the pallet is priced. Most carriers work to bands such as quarter, half, light and full pallet, with a maximum height around 2.2m and a weight ceiling of roughly 1,000kg per pallet space. Anything over-height, over-weight or overhanging the pallet edge moves outside standard rates and needs to be quoted separately.
A 13.6m curtainsider, the default vehicle for UK trunking, holds 26 standard UK pallets on the floor or 33 Euro pallets. Gross vehicle weight for an articulated unit is capped at 44 tonnes, which leaves a usable payload of around 24 to 26 tonnes depending on the tractor unit. Those two numbers, 26 spaces and roughly 25 tonnes, set the outer limit of what a single vehicle can carry, and they are the reference points for every decision below.
Full load (FTL) explained
A full truckload means the vehicle is dedicated to your consignment. It collects from your site, runs to the delivery point, and nothing else is loaded alongside it.
You are buying the vehicle, not the space. That has three consequences:
- The price is fixed regardless of fill. Sixteen pallets and 26 pallets cost the same on the same lane.
- There is no depot handling. The freight is loaded once and unloaded once, with no transfer between trailers.
- Transit is direct. Timings are set by the route and driver hours rather than by a network schedule.
FTL is the right answer when the volume justifies it, when the goods are fragile or high value, when the delivery window is tight, or when the consignment cannot be broken up or double-stacked.
Part load (LTL) explained
A part load, also called LTL or groupage, means your pallets share a vehicle with consignments from other shippers. You pay for the space you occupy.
The freight is normally collected on a local vehicle, taken into a depot, consolidated with other freight heading the same way, trunked overnight, then broken down at a second depot for final delivery. That structure is what makes the per-pallet rate low, and it is also what introduces the trade-offs: more handling points, less control over timing, and a transit that follows the network rather than your schedule.
Part load suits regular, resilient, well-packaged freight where a day either side of the ideal delivery date is not a problem.
FTL vs LTL side by side
| Full load (FTL) | Part load (LTL) | |
| Typical volume | 13 to 26 pallets | 1 to 12 pallets |
| Charged on | The vehicle | Pallet spaces used |
| Handling points | 2 (load and unload) | 4 to 6 |
| Transit | Direct, often same day or next day | Network schedule, 1 to 3 days |
| Timed delivery | Straightforward to book | Available at a premium, subject to network |
| Damage exposure | Lowest | Higher, in proportion to handling |
| Best for | Large, urgent, fragile or high-value consignments | Regular, robust, cost-led freight |
Where the cost crossover sits
There is no universal pallet count at which a part load becomes more expensive than a full load. The crossover moves with lane, direction, season and how easily the carrier can backfill the vehicle. As a working method:
1 to 6 pallets. Part load, in almost every case. A dedicated vehicle for this volume is very difficult to justify unless the delivery is time-critical.
7 to 12 pallets. The zone worth quoting both ways. On a long trunk into a region with poor return freight, a full load can come in level with, or below, the part-load rate. On short regional runs it rarely does.
13 to 18 pallets. Get a full-load quote before booking anything. Once you are over half a trailer, the per-pallet rate on a part load is often working against you, and you are still paying for the extra handling.
19 pallets and above. Full load. Carriers struggle to consolidate a consignment of this size anyway, so part-load pricing tends to reflect that.
Two adjustments to apply on top:
- Weight before spaces. Dense freight can reach the 44-tonne limit well before the 26th pallet space. If your average pallet weight is over about 950kg, count weight rather than spaces, and expect the full-load threshold to arrive earlier.
- Stackability. If your pallets are stackable and the carrier can double-deck them, a part load absorbs more volume before the crossover arrives. If they are not, say so at the point of quoting, because a rate priced on stackable freight will be requoted after collection.
What peak volume does to the decision
From October onwards, the calculation changes even if your volumes do not.
Part-load networks fill first. As available space tightens, lead times stretch, timed delivery slots become harder to secure, and rates rise on the lanes under most pressure. Freight that moved reliably in 48 hours during the summer can take three or four days in late November.
Full-load capacity tightens too, but it tightens differently: the constraint is vehicle availability rather than network congestion, so booking ahead solves most of it. If you have predictable peak volumes, forward-booking full loads on your core lanes removes the exposure entirely, and it is usually cheaper than paying spot rates for the same capacity in week 48.
Three practical moves before peak:
- Consolidate orders where the customer will accept it. Two part loads of nine pallets to the same region in the same week are a full load waiting to happen.
- Give carriers as much forward notice as you can. Volume forecasts secure capacity; same-day requests compete for what is left.
- Where the receiving site books goods in by slot, confirm the slot before the vehicle is loaded. A missed slot at a busy RDC can cost a full day, and on a part load it can cost the whole network transit.
A five-question check before you book
- How many pallet spaces, and what do they weigh? Whichever hits its ceiling first decides the vehicle.
- Can the freight be double-stacked? This changes the part-load rate materially.
- How firm is the delivery date? A fixed date or a booking-in slot points towards a full load.
- How well does the freight travel? Every handling point is an opportunity for damage. Four to six of them needs packaging built for it.
- Is this a one-off or a repeating lane? Repeating volume should be priced as a contracted lane, not booked at spot rates every time.
Getting it right consistently
The shippers who spend least on palletised freight are not the ones who always choose the cheaper option. They are the ones who quote both, hold the volume and weight data to make the comparison quickly, and review the split as volumes move through the year.
FLS moves full loads and part loads across the UK and Europe through a carrier network of over 55,000 vehicles, with real-time tracking and load matching on every consignment. If you are reviewing how your palletised volume is split ahead of peak, our UK road freight services team can quote both options on your core lanes and show you where the crossover actually sits.
