Partial truckload is the freight that is too big for LTL and too small for a truck — and it is the only equipment type where a dispatcher can make a load pay twice. We dispatch partial and volume fleets of four trucks and up, pricing by linear feet and co-loading where the freight and the route allow.
Quick answer: LTL and partial truckload dispatch is load sourcing for a trucking company hauling shipments that fill part of a trailer. Badass Logistics dispatches partial fleets of four or more power units. The desk prices by linear feet rather than by mile, co-loads compatible partials into one truck where routing allows, and pursues accessorials that otherwise go unbilled.
A partial is typically six to eighteen pallets: too much freight to hand to an LTL carrier without the cost climbing past a truckload rate, too little to justify one. The shipper picks partial truckload because it avoids the terminal network — the freight is loaded once and delivered once, with none of the handling that generates LTL damage.
For the fleet, the unit of sale is not the mile, it is the linear foot. A partial that takes fourteen feet of deck leaves forty feet for something else, and the desk that finds that something else has turned one rate into two on the same fuel. That is where partial truckload actually makes money.
Six to eighteen pallets moving direct, without an LTL terminal network.
Single machines and crated assemblies, including freight from our own rigging jobs.
Shipments large enough that an LTL quote stops making sense.
Compatible partials that route together and can share one truck.
The question on a partial is what the freight costs you in deck space and what is left over. A rate quoted per mile on a fourteen-foot shipment either overcharges the customer or gives away the remaining deck.
Two partials that route together on one truck is the single biggest margin lever in this freight. It takes a desk actively looking for the second shipment while the first is still being quoted, and confirming the two are compatible before either is committed.
Density, dimensions and NMFC class decide what a shipment should cost, and a reclass after delivery is money out of a settled load. We confirm dimensions and class up front instead of taking the shipper's number on faith.
Liftgate, residential, inside delivery, limited access and appointment fees are earned work on partial freight, and they go unbilled constantly. They get recorded on the load and billed with the invoice packet.
Every load is negotiated against the lane and the work the freight actually takes. These are the factors the desk argues from — no rate sheet, and no number quoted before we know your fleet:
You keep your operating authority, your insurance and your drivers. You approve every load before it is booked — no forced dispatch. Hiring, maintenance, and your safety and compliance program stay in-house; the desk plugs into your company rather than replacing it.
Badass Logistics is an industrial rigging company first, which is where the freight advantage comes from: our own projects generate loads that need covering, and project freight between sites moves through our licensed broker and carrier partners. Badass holds no operating authority and owns no trucks — your fleet hauls the freight, our desk finds and papers it.
See the full fleet dispatch service, browse dispatch by equipment type, or see how the desk works for 4–10 trucks, 10–25 trucks, 25+ trucks, after-hours coverage.
Van fleets running appointment freight — lane density, drop-and-hook programs, and detention billed as it happens.
Dry Van Dispatch →Class 3–5 gooseneck fleets on expedited freight — where the weight ceiling helps you and where it costs you.
Hotshot Dispatch →Tractor-only fleets pulling shipper and 3PL trailer pools — interchange terms and trailer condition handled up front.
Power Only Dispatch →Yes — LTL and partial truckload dispatch for trucking companies running four or more power units under their own authority. Never single-truck owner-operators. Apply for fleet dispatch →
LTL moves through a terminal network and gets handled several times; partial truckload is loaded once and delivered once on a truck that is carrying other freight alongside it. Our guide on LTL vs FTL freight covers where each one makes sense.
Two or more compatible partials that route together share one truck. It is the biggest margin lever in this freight, and it only happens if the desk is looking for the second shipment while the first is still being quoted.
The carrier usually eats it unless the discrepancy is documented, which is why we confirm dimensions and density before quoting rather than accepting the shipper's class on faith.
Yes — liftgate, residential, inside delivery, limited access and appointment fees are recorded on the load as they happen and billed with the invoice packet.
Tell us your fleet, your equipment and the lanes you want to run. We'll set up an onboarding call and get your trucks covered.