Quick answer

Can I send a few pallets without paying for a whole truck?

Yes. Shared freight takes one to six pallets, or cartons by weight, ambient only, on a vehicle already heading the same way, next business day or later. It is priced per pallet beside the whole-vehicle option, so you can see which one is cheaper for your load before you book.

How does shared freight work?

Tell us the lane and the freight. If a shared run fits, it is priced beside your own-vehicle options and recommended when it is the cheaper way. Pallets and cartons, ambient only, next business day or later.

Good for

One to six pallets, or cartons by weight
Next business day metro, 2 to 3 days interstate
Forklift or dock at both ends, or a tail lift priced in

Not shared

Dangerous goods, chilled or frozen freight
Same-day or timed deliveries
Oversize or over-mass items

Quote shared freight Quote a whole vehicle

When is shared freight cheaper than a dedicated truck?

Shared freight, which the industry calls LTL or less than truckload, puts your pallets on a trailer that is already running the lane. You pay for the space you take instead of the whole vehicle. The trade off is that the trailer makes other stops, so it is slower than a direct run and the timing is a window rather than an hour.

The crossover sits at roughly half a trailer. Below that, paying per pallet beats paying for a truck that leaves half empty. Above it, the per pallet rate stops being a bargain and a dedicated vehicle wins. We quote both every time so you can see where your freight falls instead of guessing.

How is a pallet measured for shared freight?

One position is a standard 1165 by 1165 Australian pallet up to 1.4 metres high. Taller than that and it may count as two, because nothing can go on top of it. Freight is charged on whichever runs out first, the floor space or the weight, so a pallet of liquids or paper is charged on weight long before the trailer is full. The quote states which one applied.

Overhang matters more than people expect. A pallet with product hanging past the edge cannot be loaded next to another one, so it takes two positions and is priced that way. Wrap to the footprint and you pay for one.

What slows a shared freight run down?

No forklift at either end is the big one. The freight then needs a tail lift and the driver unloading by hand, which adds time to a run that has other stops booked after yours. Residential and tight access sites do the same. Tell us at quote time and it is priced in and scheduled for, rather than discovered by a driver who then cannot deliver.

Weekend and after hours access is the other one. Shared runs move on business days, so freight that can only be received on a Saturday needs a dedicated vehicle.

Which lanes run shared freight?

The two busiest are Sydney to Melbourne and Sydney to Brisbane. Both have their own page with the zones at each end and what moves the price. Any other lane in the country is quoted the same way.

Moving pallets you also need to buy or clear? 360 supplies and collects pallets, so the freight and the pallets can go on one quote.