LTL (Less-than-Truckload) rate pricing works differently from TL. Rather than a flat per-mile charge, LTL rates are class-based — the freight cost depends on the shipment’s weight, the distance, and the NMFC freight class of the goods being shipped. Heavier, denser freight falls into lower classes and attracts lower rates; lighter, bulkier freight is assigned higher classes.

In OTM, LTL pricing uses two layers:

• Base Tariff — a rate offering already loaded in OTM that contains the published class-based rate table (rate per hundredweight by freight class and distance). This tariff is typically loaded once and shared across all carriers that use the same tariff basis.
• Carrier Rate Offering — the actual contract with a specific carrier, which defines a discount percentage off the base tariff. OTM looks up the class rate from the base tariff, then applies the discount to calculate the final cost.

LTL lanes are also typically defined at a broader geography than TL. Where TL uses city-to-city lanes, LTL carriers often publish rates by origin city to destination state — reflecting how their regional networks are structured.