Linear Feet Calculator
Enter pallet count and footprint to see how many fit side by side, how many rows deep the shipment loads, and how many linear feet of trailer it occupies.
2 pallets fit across a 96" trailer, so 6 pallets load in 3 rows of 48" — 12.0 linear feet of trailer.
Why carriers count length, not volume
A 53-foot trailer is loaded from the nose backwards. Once a shipment occupies a stretch of that length, the space above it is rarely sellable — you cannot generally stack another customer's pallets on someone else's freight. So the meaningful unit of trailer capacity is not cubic feet but running feet, and carriers price accordingly.
The arithmetic turns on how many pallets sit side by side. A standard trailer is about 96 inches wide inside, which fits two 48 × 40 pallets loaded with their 40-inch face across. Those two pallets share the same 48 inches of trailer length, which is why the second pallet in a row is effectively free in linear-foot terms and the third one is not.
Worked example
Standard 48 × 40 pallets in a 96-inch-wide trailer.
Two pallets fit across (2 per row), so 2 pallets are 1 row of 48 inches = 4 linear feet.
A third pallet starts a second row: 3 pallets = 2 rows = 8 linear feet. The step from 2 to 3 pallets doubles the trailer length consumed.
Ten pallets = 5 rows = 20 linear feet, which is past the point where many carriers apply a linear-foot rule.
Orientation matters
Turn those same two pallets so the 48-inch side runs across the trailer and only 2 fits per row, so the pair now needs 1 rows and 3 linear feet instead of 4. Same freight, twice the trailer length, purely from how it is turned on the dock.
Keep going
- Linear feet depends on how many pallets you end up with; the pallet calculator works out how many pallets a case count actually builds. Pallet Calculator
- Carriers apply linear-foot rules to bulky, low-density freight; the class calculator shows whether a shipment is in that low-density territory. Freight Class Calculator
Frequently Asked Questions
What are linear feet in LTL shipping?
Linear feet measure how much trailer length a shipment occupies, rather than how much it weighs or how much total volume it has. Because a trailer is loaded front to back, length is the resource a carrier actually sells, and shipments that consume a lot of it for little weight are priced against it.
How do I calculate linear feet?
Work out how many pallets fit side by side across the trailer, divide the pallet count by that number and round up to get the number of rows, then multiply the rows by the pallet length in inches and divide by 12. Two standard 48 × 40 pallets loaded with their 40-inch side across a 96-inch trailer sit side by side and together occupy just 4 linear feet.
What is a linear foot rule?
Many LTL carriers apply a surcharge, or reclassify a shipment as a volume or truckload move, once it exceeds a threshold of trailer length — commonly somewhere between 8 and 12 linear feet, though the exact trigger and its consequences are carrier-specific. Check your carrier's published rules tariff for the threshold that applies to you.
Does pallet orientation change linear feet?
Yes, significantly. A 48 × 40 pallet turned so its 48-inch side runs across the trailer takes more width, which can drop how many fit side by side and therefore increase the rows and the linear feet. Loading pallets with the shorter dimension across the trailer usually minimises length consumed.
Why does my light shipment cost like a heavy one?
Because it is being priced on the space it blocks rather than its weight. Ten pallets of something light still occupy the same trailer length as ten pallets of something dense, and that length is unavailable for other freight for the whole trip.
This calculator assumes pallets are not stacked and are loaded straight rather than pinwheeled. Stackable freight and specific loading patterns can reduce the linear feet a carrier assesses.
Related Calculators
- Pallet Calculator — Loading & Trailer Space
- Freight Class Calculator — Freight Classification
- Freight Density Calculator — Freight Classification
- CBM Calculator — Dimensions & Weight