Three systems can move your shipment, and they are priced, handled and protected completely differently. The parcel network takes boxes up to roughly 70 pounds and within set size limits, handled by conveyor and sorted automatically. LTL freight takes palletised or crated loads, handled by forklift, priced by class and density. Specialised crating and freight takes what neither of those will safely accept. Most shipping problems come from putting something into the first system that belonged in the second or third. Here is how to tell which one you are in before the carrier tells you.
The Three Systems at a Glance
| Parcel | LTL Freight | Crated / Specialised | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Typical limit | Around 70 lb, set size limits | Pallet-sized, hundreds to thousands of lb | Effectively unlimited, built to the item |
| How it is handled | Conveyors, chutes, automated sortation | Forklift and pallet jack | Forklift, sometimes rigging |
| How it is priced | Weight and dimensional weight | Freight class, density, distance | Quoted per shipment |
| Protection | Whatever you packed it in | Whatever you packed it in | Engineered around the item |
| Liability | Limited, tariff based | Limited by class and weight | Depends on arrangement |
| Best for | Durable, replaceable goods | Stable, palletisable goods | Fragile, oversized, high value |
The critical point in that table is the protection row. Neither the parcel network nor LTL provides any. Both assume you packed for the handling they apply. The difference between an intact arrival and a claim is decided before the carrier ever sees it.
Signs Your Shipment Has Outgrown the Parcel Network
- It is over the weight limit. Standard parcel services commonly cap around 70 pounds. Confirm current limits with your carrier, since they vary by service.
- It exceeds size limits. Length and girth restrictions frequently bite before weight does, particularly on long or bulky but light items.
- You are paying oversize or additional handling surcharges. These are the carrier telling you your shipment does not fit the automated network. Once they appear regularly, freight is often cheaper.
- It cannot go on a conveyor safely. Parcels are dropped, slid down chutes and sorted mechanically. Anything that cannot survive that is in the wrong system regardless of what it weighs.
- You are double boxing heavily to compensate. If protection is becoming most of your packing cost, a crate on a pallet usually costs less and works better.
- Its value exceeds parcel liability by a wide margin. Declared value coverage has limits and exclusions. For high value goods the risk sits with you regardless of what you declared.
What Changes When You Move to LTL Freight
LTL means your shipment shares a trailer with others, moving between terminals and being handled at each transfer. Two things change immediately.
First, pricing works differently. LTL is priced on freight classification, which reflects density, stowability, handling and liability. Classification is maintained through the NMFTA system. Density is the part you can influence: a tightly built crate on a correctly sized pallet classifies and prices better than a loosely packed, oversized one containing the same goods. This is the freight saving most shippers never examine, and it is covered further in our post on how custom crates save money.
Second, handling changes character. Your shipment is now moved by forklift by operators who have never seen it and have no idea what is inside. That is an argument for a crate rather than against one: fork entry from two sides, a load bearing top because it will be stacked, and clear marking on multiple faces are what make a shipment survivable in that environment. The engineering detail is in our guide to how wood crates are engineered.
Worth knowing as context: the LTL market itself has been reshaping. FedEx completed the spin-off of FedEx Freight on 1 June 2026, establishing its LTL business as an independent public company. Structural changes of that kind tend to bring pricing and service adjustments over time, so if you ship LTL regularly it is worth reviewing rates and classification periodically rather than assuming last year's arrangement still holds.
When You Need Crated or Specialised Freight
A pallet and shrink wrap works for stable, self supporting goods. It stops working when any of these apply:
- The item cannot bear the weight of what will stack on it. Trailers are loaded to the ceiling.
- It has no flat base or no safe lift points. Irregular shapes need a structure built around them before they can be handled at all.
- Surfaces cannot be touched. Finished, painted, polished or glazed surfaces need to bear load through a frame, not against packaging.
- It is crossing a border. Solid wood packaging must be heat treated and stamped under ISPM 15 or it can be held or refused. We apply the stamp in house.
- It is irreplaceable. Liability limits are calculated on weight and class, not on what the item means to you.
- It contains lithium batteries. Regulated as dangerous goods, with rules varying by mode. See lithium battery shipping.
At that point you are into custom crating and freight shipping, and often white glove delivery at the far end if the destination has no dock.
The Cost Comparison Nobody Runs
Shippers usually compare the packaging line item and stop there. The comparison that matters includes four numbers:
- Packaging cost per shipment, divided by how many trips the container will make.
- Freight cost, including surcharges and the effect of dimensions on price in whichever system you are using.
- Expected loss, meaning realistic damage probability multiplied by the full cost of a failure, not just the item's replacement value.
- The cost of the date being missed, which is usually the largest and almost never budgeted.
Run those four and the answer is often counterintuitive. Moving up from parcel to palletised freight frequently reduces total cost on heavy items despite the higher headline rate. Moving up to a crate frequently reduces it again on anything fragile or repeated.
What We Do at Each Level
- Parcel. Corrugated boxes and packing supplies if you are shipping it yourself, and we will tell you if a box genuinely is the right answer.
- Palletised freight. Custom pallets built to the load rather than reused, which affects both stability and classification.
- Crated freight. Custom crates and crate fabrication built to the item, including on site when it cannot be moved first.
- Consolidation and staging. Cross docking and 3PL, plus warehouse storage, so timing and routing are separate decisions.
- Local and international. Same day delivery across the Las Vegas valley, and international shipping with compliance handled in house.
If you are unsure whether you need a freight forwarder or a customs broker, we have a short explainer on the difference.
Not Sure Which System Your Shipment Belongs In?
Send us dimensions, weight, what it is, where it is going and how often you ship it. We will tell you whether it is a parcel, a pallet or a crate, and quote whichever is right. If the answer is a box, we will say so and sell you the box. Call 702-748-4973 or 1-833-801-9084 toll free, email contact@lasvegascrating.com, or request a quote online.