LTL Freight Quote: Nationwide LTL from Ontario, California

Short answer: to get an LTL freight quote from DirectXpress, enter the full pickup and delivery street addresses, the pallet count (or the dimensions of one piece) and the total weight in the quote form, and tick liftgate, appointment or inside placement if either end needs them. Standard lanes price live from our engine with no account setup; lanes that need a human look go to a dispatcher. There is no published rate table: every number is built from your lane and your freight.

What to send for a quote that holds

A quote is only as accurate as the shipment it describes. The form asks for exactly what the price is built from:

• Full pickup and delivery street addresses, not just ZIP codes, so the lane and mileage are real.
• Destination type: warehouse or DC, retail store, business, office or factory, job site, or residential.
• Pallet count, or the piece count and the length, width and height of each piece in inches.
• Total weight in pounds.
• Service level: nationwide LTL, local same-day, final mile, hot shot, milk run or store restock — or "not sure, advise me".
• Accessorials: liftgate at pickup, liftgate at delivery, inside delivery, appointment scheduling.

In the free-text field, add the commodity, inner package count, receiving hours and any appointment rules at the receiver. Those details are what stop a quote turning into a different invoice.

What the number actually prices

An LTL freight quote is not a flat rate per mile. It prices the space your freight takes on a trailer, the lane it travels and what the two ends of the trip require. Our quote engine works from four inputs:

• Pallet count is the pricing unit. If you give the dimensions of one piece instead, the engine converts that footprint into pallet equivalents, so multi-piece shipments should be entered as a pallet count.
• Weight and dimensions decide the truck the shipment needs and, on LTL lanes, its freight class. Our guide to LTL freight class shows how to work out density before you quote.
• Origin and destination set the lane: Southern California moves on our own trucks, longer lanes through vetted partner carriers, on one order record.
• Liftgate, appointment and inside placement are priced into the quote when you tick them, so the number you see already includes them. Accessorial charges, decoded explains what triggers each one.

For the longer version — weight, class, accessorials, distance and market conditions stacked into one price — read what a freight quote actually prices.

LTL, same-day or a full truck: what your quote comes back as

The same form prices several services. Within Southern California the engine prices a same-day or final mile run on our own trucks; for lanes leaving the region it prices nationwide LTL through our partner carrier network. The service level is shown on the quote, and the result can show a shared LTL rate, where your freight rides with other shipments, alongside a dedicated-truck rate, where it travels alone and direct.

LTL prices the share of the trailer your freight uses — driven by pallet count, weight and freight class — plus accessorials at each end. A full truckload prices the whole trailer for the lane regardless of how much you fill. As a rule of thumb, LTL suits shipments of a few pallets; larger loads are worth pricing as a full truckload too. LTL vs. FTL covers where that comparison usually flips.

Who this suits, and who it doesn't

Nationwide LTL from DirectXpress fits palletized and crated freight above parcel weight. Our core band is 150 to 1,500 lb, and we handle heavier multi-pallet loads as well. Typical shipments:

• Stock transfers and interstate moves between warehouses
• Regional warehouse and DC replenishment, and cross-dock legs
• Outbound freight from port and import warehouses
• Overflow from a same-day or final mile program that has outgrown its region

It is the wrong booking in three cases. A shipment that has to arrive today is a same-day run, not an LTL transit window. A lane you ship on the same days every week may price better as a dedicated route or milk run, and we will tell you if it does. And a single light carton is better served by parcel; we ship lighter freight when it travels with the rest of your volume. If you are not sure where your shipment sits, shipping 150–1,500 lb freight walks through the options.

What happens after you accept a quote

1. Quote and book. Book the instant rate online, which opens the customer portal with the quote pre-filled, or hand your shipment to a dispatcher. Live carrier rates are checked by a dispatcher, who confirms the final price and pickup.
2. Match and dispatch. Each order is evaluated on service level, geography, equipment and timing, then assigned to DirectXpress capacity or a qualified partner carrier, whichever serves the lane best.
3. Pick up and track. Pickup confirmation, pallet counts and documentation are captured at origin, and milestone status and ETA are visible through transit, with alerts when something needs a decision.
4. Deliver and settle. Photo proof of delivery and signature are attached to the order, followed by one consolidated invoice. If freight is damaged, our team files the claim and follows it up.

Status milestones, documentation and proof-of-delivery standards apply network-wide, so a partner-carried shipment produces the same record as one we drive ourselves. The workflow is on our technology page, and the partner side on our carrier network page.

Picking up in Ontario, California and across Southern California

DirectXpress is based at 3625 Jurupa St, Ontario, CA 91761 — Ontario, California, in southwestern San Bernardino County and the western Inland Empire, not Ontario, Canada. Our own trucks cover the Inland Empire, Los Angeles County and Orange County, so a local pickup can run on DirectXpress equipment — 26 ft box and straight trucks with liftgates and pallet jacks, and 53 ft trailers for high-volume warehouse transfers — or on a partner carrier; which one handles your shipment is confirmed when it is dispatched. Pickups outside those regions are arranged through the partner network.

Because DirectXpress holds both freight broker and motor carrier authority (MC 1801477, USDOT 4539992), the local pickup, the line haul and the delivery appointment sit on the same file. Freight broker or motor carrier explains why that matters when something goes wrong.

Quoting a lane list or a recurring program

If you ship regularly, one quote at a time undersells the lane. Send a spreadsheet of origins, destinations, weights and frequencies and we price the whole program: a recommended service mix per lane, program pricing across all of them, and dedicated route options where the volume supports one. Lanes that need a human look, multi-lane programs and dedicated route proposals come back from dispatch, typically within one business hour. For a single shipment, start with the instant LTL freight quote; for complex freight, calling dispatch and describing the lane is often faster than the form.