LTL freight + pallet shipping, how do you wire it into Magento checkout?
Packaging orders go pallet, not parcel. ShipperHQ + Magento + freight-carrier API is the standard stack:
- ShipperHQ, the routing engine. Manages carrier accounts, rate tables, source-warehouse selection, dim-weight calculation, residential-vs-commercial detection, lift-gate accessory pricing. ~$75, $500/mo depending on tier.
- FedEx Freight, LTL workhorse for B2B packaging. SOAP/REST API integrates via ShipperHQ. Best transit times east coast.
- XPO Logistics, competitive LTL pricing west coast + Midwest.
- R+L Carriers, regional LTL strong in Southeast + Texas.
- Old Dominion, premium LTL, on-time rate ~99%, higher rates.
- Saia, Yellow (YRC), ABF Freight, round out the carrier mix.
The checkout UX that wins: real LTL rate quotes show inline at the address-entry step, not behind a "call for quote" button. Customer enters ZIP, sees three carrier options ranging $180, $340, picks one, proceeds to payment. ULINE shows pallet pricing inline; if your checkout asks for a phone call to quote freight, you lose the customer.
Flat-rate freight tiers ("free LTL freight on orders $750+") are the conversion play. Show the threshold inline ("Add $87 more to qualify for free freight"). This lifts AOV ~25% on the packaging stores I’ve measured.
Edge cases: residential delivery surcharge (~$95 typical) auto-applied via address-classification API; lift-gate accessory (+$45, $75) as a chargeable checkbox; inside-delivery (+$120) for office orders.