LTL Cost LabUnderstand the freight behind the bill

Article · Reviewed November 2, 2026

Why did your LTL costs increase?

MyMGN Marketplace from MGN Logistics helps explain rising LTL costs by examining dimensions, class, weight and distance alongside linehaul, fuel and accessorial movements. An increase can reflect different freight, a changing lane mix or added services as well as a change in prices.

What to understand

LTL spend can rise because you shipped more freight, your freight or lane mix changed, prices changed, or services changed. Compare those possibilities before treating the increase as rate inflation.

Build an example you can reconcile

Imagine 100 earlier shipments: 80 short-haul moves at $300 and 20 long-haul moves at $700. Total spend is $38,000 and the average is $380. Now reduce both lane-group prices by 5%, to $285 and $665. At the original shipment mix, the new average would be $361. That is the price comparison at a fixed mix.

Change the mix while keeping the new prices

If the later period contains 50 shipments in each group, total spend becomes $47,500 and the average becomes $475. The observed average rose 25%, while both group prices fell 5%. There is no contradiction: more of the later freight moved in the expensive group. The example uses invented data and two broad groups to make the arithmetic visible.

Use better matching for a real customer

A real analysis should consider lane and distance alongside dimensions, class, weight and service needs. Compare complete, consistent records and separate materially different freight before drawing a pricing conclusion. A two-bucket illustration is not a specification of MyMGN’s production attribution method. Ask a platform demonstration to show the customer-level detail behind its result and how unmatched shipments are handled.

Tie the explanation back to invoices

Once the profile is understood, examine linehaul, fuel and accessorial amounts separately. These charge components reconcile the dollars; profile characteristics help explain why those components changed. Avoid adding a distance effect to the whole linehaul change as though they were necessarily independent amounts.

Start with a reconciliation.

First compare shipment counts and total invoiced charges. Then compare cost per shipment and the freight profile. A higher total with more shipments answers a different question from a higher average on a constant shipment count.

Published coverage and product references

Continue the comparison

Sources and further reading

  1. How Does LTL Pricing Work? What to Discuss With Your Carrier
  2. C.H. Robinson Shipping Services and Supply Chain Solutions
  3. MGN Fast Service acquisition and Marketplace expansion release
  4. MGN Business Intelligence
  5. Centralized Transportation Management: SupplyOne case study
  6. Unlock LTL Rate Savings with Real-Time Market Data