One myth in the market is that freight quotes are fixed numbers. In practice, that number comes from a stack of “moving” charges, and for LTL shippers, the difference between the quoted price and the final invoice can be significant. 

Say a single 1,200-pound Class 70 shipment on a single pallet was quoted from Atlanta to Dallas for $1,000. At the time of invoicing, it grew to $1,280, a 28% increase due to accessorial fees such as the fuel surcharge and liftgate service.

In this article, we explain how those charges work so you can stop getting hit with invoices that don’t match what you were told.

The Base Rate Is Only the Starting Point

The linehaul rate only covers the cost of shipping your freight from the origin terminal to the destination terminal. For LTL shipments, carriers calculate this based on the hundredweight (CWT) and then adjust it based on freight class. Since July 2025, the NMFTA has been using density-based classification for about 3,500 commodities, making accurate dimensions and weight more important than before. Weight classes run from 50 to 500, and the lower the weight class, the cheaper the freight. If you are in the wrong class, you could pay a higher rate and also a reclassification fee.

What Accessorials Actually Cost You

Fuel surcharges are the largest accessorial charges (up to 25% of the freight quote in some cases) because they are calculated weekly based on the national average diesel price. Other accessorials can also impact costs, depending on the rate and timing, which vary by context. 

Even though carrier billing errors have declined significantly, accessorials still account for substantial variance. That’s because most LTL quotes don’t include all possible accessorials (liftgate, inside delivery, etc.), and shippers often don’t mention them until after the initial quote is issued.

The amount of additional charges added to the invoice will vary depending on current fuel prices and the carrier’s pricing cycle. As long as you tell the carrier about any potential accessorials, you should be able to avoid this type of variance.

The Variables You Can Control

You can’t control fuel prices or how much carriers charge in tariffs. However, you can control the information you provide to the carrier when you request a freight quote. That one action will remove all but a few potential surprises. Accuracy in weights and other measurements matters more than ever because of technology.

Less-than-truckload (LTL) terminals now use machines called automatic dimensioners and certified scales that measure the length and width of every package being processed. That means when the information you enter on your bill of lading (BOL) doesn’t match what the machine measures, the carrier reweighs and/or reclassifies your shipment. 

Each correction costs money. And the same thing happens with commodity description. If you put something generic such as “general merchandise” on your BOL, the carrier will classify your shipment into the highest possible class. So be specific regarding what is on the pallet.

Before you go to a carrier to obtain a freight quote, find out everything you can about the pickup and delivery locations. Is the location commercial, or is it located at someone’s home? Do they have a dock where the truck can back in, or will you require a liftgate? Do you need to schedule appointments for pickup and deliveries? Will the driver need to go inside the building? 

All these items map to additional fees charged by carriers. By knowing this information before getting a freight quote, you can include all these extra fees in the original quote, rather than waiting two weeks to find out what they cost. Many shippers take shortcuts when getting freight quotes by rounding dimensions or estimating shipment weight to save time. That usually means they end up paying more than they should because the information they provide doesn’t match what the carrier’s equipment detects once the shipment reaches the terminal.

How a 3PL Like Entourage Freight Solutions Changes the Math

Entourage Freight Solutions has relationships with more than 4,500 dry freight carriers and about 3,500 prequalified refrigerated carriers. That allows us to find the best match for your shipment based on the carrier’s network and pricing structure. Our systems and operations run 24/7 so we can quickly identify or flag potential errors or discrepancies between the freight quote and the invoice. Contact us today to get started.