Resources.

LTL stands for less-than-truckload. It is the freight category that sits between a courier package and a full truckload.

A courier handles envelopes and small boxes that fit in a sedan or a cargo van. A full truckload is when you have enough freight to fill a 53-foot trailer end-to-end and pay for the whole truck.

LTL is everything in between: pallets, crates, large machinery, building materials, hospitality supplies, anything that needs a forklift or a liftgate but does not fill a trailer. The typical LTL shipment is 1 to 6 pallets, somewhere between 150 lb and 15,000 lb.

You only pay for the space your freight takes up on the truck, not for the whole trailer. That is what makes LTL the right answer when you have too much for a courier and not enough for a dedicated truck.

Motor Cargo Express is a same-day LTL carrier serving Phoenix, the Phoenix-Tucson corridor, and statewide Arizona. If your shipment fits the description above, you are in the right place. Get a quote or call (602) 909-0954.

If you have never shipped freight before, the language can be confusing. People use "delivery," "courier," "shipping," and "freight" interchangeably. Google does too. The distinction matters because picking the wrong category means picking the wrong vendor.

Choose a courier service if

• Your item fits in a sedan or cargo van
• It weighs less than 100 lb
• One person can carry it
• You need same-day handoff, often within hours

Examples: legal documents, medical samples, retail merchandise the size of a shoebox, restaurant supplies that fit in a backpack. Courier services in Phoenix include companies like On Demand Courier, Reliable Couriers, Phoenix Same Day Delivery, and the on-demand apps (Uber, Postmates, Lyft package delivery).

Choose a freight carrier (like us) if

• Your shipment is on a pallet, in a crate, or strapped to a skid
• It needs a forklift to load or a liftgate to unload
• It weighs more than ~150 lb
• You have between 1 pallet and a partial truck of cargo
• You need it picked up at one business and delivered to another

Examples: hospitality supplies (dishware, linens, kitchen equipment), construction materials, manufacturing inventory, large equipment, machinery, anything palletized.

A simple test

What Motor Cargo Express does

We are a same-day LTL freight carrier. We do pallet freight in Phoenix, the Phoenix-Tucson corridor, and statewide Arizona. We do not do courier work: no envelopes, no documents, no small packages. If you have a pallet that needs to move today, get a quote or call (602) 909-0954.