LTL Freight FAQ

LanePilot is an all-in-one freight and warehouse platform for small to mid-sized LTL shippers running 10 to 250 loads per month. Its north star is recovery on both sides of your dock: it automatically audits your freight invoices, catches the billing errors carriers slip in, and generates the dispute letters you file to get that money back on freight you ship, while on freight you receive it catches short, damaged, and non-compliant shipments and produces the vendor chargeback and OS&D claim. Around that it runs your freight end to end. You compare live carrier rates, book and confirm shipments, track them, benchmark your contracts against the market, build carrier scorecards, and manage your inbound receiving, warehouse, and inventory. One platform, no enterprise rollout.

LanePilot is built for freight managers, transportation managers, and logistics directors at manufacturers, distributors, and growing e-commerce operations that ship 10 to 250 LTL loads per month. It gives a lean team the full toolkit of an enterprise system, rate comparison, booking and confirmation, invoice recovery, carrier scorecards, and warehouse and inventory management, without the consultants, the IT project, or the six-figure price tag.

Yes, and it is a WMS too. LanePilot is an all-in-one LTL freight and warehouse platform built for small to mid-sized shippers, with recovery included on both sides of your dock. It is your system of record for quoting, booking, confirming, tracking, and managing every load, and on the warehouse side it runs inbound receiving, bin locations, and inventory, automatically auditing every invoice on freight you ship and catching short, damaged, and non-compliant freight on the way in for a vendor chargeback. What sets it apart from a legacy TMS is two things: there is no IT project, no consultant, and no six-figure cost, and it actively puts money back in your pocket by catching the billing errors carriers slip into your outbound invoices. Most shippers are up and running the same day.

A freight broker negotiates and books freight on your behalf, often earning a margin on the transaction. LanePilot is a software platform. It gives you the rate data, the audit tools, and the dispute documents you need to manage freight yourself, on better terms. LanePilot never touches your freight and never earns a margin on your shipments.

No. LanePilot is designed to make your existing carrier relationships more valuable, not replace them. When you have accurate lane-specific performance data and invoice audit results, your carrier conversations are based on facts instead of gut feel. That's better for everyone.

LanePilot is headquartered in Erie, Pennsylvania, at the intersection of major freight corridors connecting the Great Lakes region, the Northeast, and the Midwest.

You upload your carrier invoice and LanePilot compares it against your original quote and your negotiated contract rates. Any discrepancy gets flagged automatically, whether that's a duplicate charge, a fuel surcharge error, an unapplied discount, or an accessorial fee you never approved.

LanePilot flags unauthorized accessorial charges, fuel surcharge overcharges, reweigh fees that weren't part of the original quote, unapplied contract discounts, duplicate invoices, and reclassification charges. Each flagged item shows the specific line item, the amount in question, and whether it's unauthorized or needs verification before disputing.

Accessorial charges are fees carriers add on top of the base freight rate. Things like liftgate service, residential delivery, inside pickup, or detention time. They're legitimate when they reflect actual services, but they're also one of the most common sources of billing errors. LanePilot flags any accessorial charge that wasn't on your original quote or that exceeds your contracted rates.

An LTL freight invoice typically includes a PRO number, origin and destination, freight class, weight, base linehaul charge, fuel surcharge, and any accessorial charges. The total should match what was quoted. When it doesn't, the difference is usually in the accessorial charges, the fuel surcharge calculation, or a reclassification of your freight class. LanePilot breaks down each line item and flags the ones that don't match your quote or contract.

Fuel surcharges on LTL freight are calculated as a percentage of the linehaul charge and adjust weekly based on fuel indexes. If the surcharge on your invoice is higher than expected, it could be that the carrier applied the wrong fuel index, calculated it against the wrong base rate, or applied a surcharge table that doesn't match your contract. LanePilot compares your invoiced fuel surcharge against your contracted rate and flags any variance.

A reweigh charge appears when a carrier weighs your shipment at their terminal and gets a different number than what you declared on the Bill of Lading. If the carrier's weight is higher, they'll invoice for the additional weight. Reweigh charges are one of the most commonly disputed items in LTL freight. LanePilot flags reweigh charges that weren't on your original quote so you can decide whether to verify or dispute.

49 U.S. Code section 13710 sets a 180-day window from receipt of the invoice for a shipper to contest a bill. Confirm the current deadline and how it applies to your situation before you rely on it. LanePilot flags billing errors as soon as you upload the invoice so you have maximum time to act.

A duplicate invoice is when a carrier bills you twice for the same shipment. It happens more often than most shippers expect, particularly with high shipment volumes where invoices are processed in batches. LanePilot flags potential duplicates during the audit process.

Dispute letter generation is included on every plan, with a monthly allowance that starts at 2 a month on Free and is unlimited on Professional+ and above. When LanePilot flags an overcharge, you generate a formatted dispute letter in one click. The letter sets out the specific invoice line items, the rate you were originally quoted, and the difference, and asks the carrier for the basis of the charge. You print it and file it directly with the carrier yourself, either through their billing portal or by email. LanePilot is a software tool, not a broker, and does not file on your behalf.

Start by identifying the specific charges that are incorrect. Then send a formal written dispute to the carrier's billing department referencing the PRO number, the invoiced amount, the amount you believe is correct, and the reason for the dispute. LanePilot generates the dispute letter for you and provides the carrier's billing contact details so you can file directly.

Document the discrepancy first. Gather your original quote, the carrier invoice, and your Bill of Lading. Then file a written dispute with the carrier's billing department, clearly stating the overcharged amount and the rate that should have applied. 49 U.S. Code section 13710 governs how carriers handle these disputes; confirm how it applies to your claim before you send the letter. LanePilot generates this letter for you automatically when it detects a discrepancy.

A reclassification dispute happens when a carrier changes your freight class after pickup, usually because they believe your shipment was classified incorrectly on the Bill of Lading. A higher freight class means a higher rate. LanePilot flags reclassification charges during invoice audit, and if you believe the reclassification was wrong, you can dispute it by providing documentation showing the correct NMFC code for your commodity. This is one of the most common and winnable disputes in LTL freight.

To dispute an accessorial charge, you need to show that the service either wasn't performed, wasn't requested, or wasn't included in your quote or contract. Your dispute letter should reference the original quote showing the charge was not included and request a credit for the full amount. LanePilot identifies unauthorized accessorial charges during invoice audit and includes them automatically in the generated dispute letter.

Most carriers acknowledge freight disputes within 30 days and resolve them within 60 to 120 days. Under federal regulation, carriers are required to resolve disputes within 120 days of acknowledgment. Simple accessorial charge disputes typically resolve faster than reclassification or weight disputes.

49 U.S. Code section 13710 sets a 180-day dispute window from receipt of a freight invoice. Confirm the current deadline and how it applies to your situation before you rely on it. LanePilot flags billing errors as soon as invoices are uploaded, giving you the maximum window to act.

You connect your own carrier accounts, and LanePilot pulls your negotiated rates into every quote. Direct connections to carriers like XPO, Estes, ABF Freight, Old Dominion, and Saia are supported, with more added continuously. Upload your carrier contracts and your negotiated rates apply, not just published tariff rates.

You describe your shipment and LanePilot queries the carrier accounts you have connected, using your own credentials and your own negotiated pricing. It ranks the results by price, transit time, and lane-specific carrier performance, and returns them in under 60 seconds. LanePilot does not resell carrier pricing or provide rates of its own, so what you see is your rates from your carriers. If you've uploaded your carrier contracts, your negotiated rates are applied automatically.

Rate benchmarking means comparing your contracted carrier rates against what the market is charging for the same lane and freight class. LanePilot benchmarks your contract rates against the Cass Freight Index, lane by lane. If your negotiated rate is consistently above market, that's the data you need for your next carrier negotiation.

Compare what you are paying against what your own carriers quote on the same lanes you actually ship. LanePilot does this automatically: it re-quotes your lanes through your connected carrier accounts and shows you, lane by lane, where one carrier is consistently pricing above the others you already have. It compares your carriers against each other, not against a market-wide rate feed, so nothing here depends on data from outside your own accounts.

A contract rate is a negotiated rate you've agreed to with a specific carrier for a defined period, usually tied to your freight volume and lanes. A spot rate is the price available in the open market on any given day with no prior commitment. Spot rates fluctuate with market conditions. Contract rates provide price stability but can fall out of alignment with the market over time. LanePilot works from the carrier accounts you connect, so whichever of the two your carriers return for a lane is what you see, side by side with your other carriers on that same lane. It does not pull spot pricing from a market feed.

A rate alert lets you set a target price on a specific lane. LanePilot re-checks your carriers several times every business day and emails you when one hits your threshold. This is useful when you have a recurring lane where rates fluctuate and you want to book opportunistically when pricing drops.

LanePilot connects directly to your carriers' rate engines so you can pull live quotes from your connected carrier accounts without calling a broker or logging into multiple carrier portals. Describe your shipment, get ranked results in under 60 seconds. Your negotiated rates apply automatically if you've uploaded your carrier contracts.

Yes. After you compare rates, you book the carrier you choose right inside LanePilot, and it generates the Bill of Lading from that booking. Live pickup tendering sends the pickup request to the carrier and returns a confirmation number automatically, carrier by carrier, on Professional tier and above. That is live today for ArcBest, XPO, FedEx Freight, Estes, and Old Dominion. For any other carrier, or on Free and Shipper, you use the generated BOL to schedule the pickup with the carrier yourself. You are booking on your own connected carrier accounts, so it is your freight at your negotiated rates. LanePilot never takes a margin on the shipment.

It is a full TMS. You quote, book, generate the Bill of Lading, track the shipment, audit the invoice, and file a dispute if there is an overcharge, all in one place. You can also run your inbound receiving, warehouse layout, and inventory in the same system. Rate comparison is the front door, not the whole house.

Yes. When you book, LanePilot builds the BOL from your shipment details and the rate you selected. LanePilot also tenders the pickup live, carrier by carrier, sending the pickup request and returning a confirmation number without a separate carrier portal. That is live today for ArcBest, XPO, FedEx Freight, Estes, and Old Dominion on Professional tier and above. For any other carrier, or on Free and Shipper, you use the BOL to schedule the pickup with the carrier yourself.

Booking and BOL generation work the same way for every carrier: when you confirm a booking, LanePilot builds the BOL from the pickup date and dock times you set. Live pickup tendering sends that request to the carrier automatically and returns a confirmation number, carrier by carrier, on Professional tier and above. That is live today for ArcBest, XPO, FedEx Freight, Estes, and Old Dominion. For any other carrier, or on Free and Shipper, you use the generated BOL to schedule the pickup with the carrier yourself.

Your own. You connect your carrier accounts, and every booking runs on your account at your negotiated rates, billed prepaid to you. LanePilot is the software that turns booking into one click. It is never the broker and never sits in the payment flow between you and your carrier.

A carrier scorecard is a performance summary for a specific carrier on your specific lanes. It tracks metrics like on-time delivery rate, invoice accuracy, claims rate, and transit time consistency. LanePilot builds carrier scorecards from your actual shipment history, not industry averages. The scorecard gets more accurate the more you ship through LanePilot.

Evaluate carriers on the lanes you actually ship, not on their national averages. The metrics that matter most are on-time delivery rate, invoice accuracy, claims rate, and transit time consistency. LanePilot tracks all of these automatically from your shipment data and builds a scorecard for each carrier on each of your lanes.

LanePilot scores every carrier on seven metrics, on each of your lanes, and updates them with every shipment you run: on-time delivery, invoice accuracy, claims rate, pickup reliability, communication, accessorial accuracy, and transit time.

On-time performance above 95% is strong for LTL freight, 90 to 95% is acceptable, and below 90% on a regular lane is a meaningful performance concern. Regional carriers often outperform national carriers on their core lanes. LanePilot tracks your carriers' actual on-time rates on your specific lanes, which is more useful than industry-wide averages.

LanePilot pulls data from every quote, booking, and invoice you run through the platform. Over time it builds a lane-specific performance record for each carrier you use. The scorecard weights seven performance metrics and updates automatically with each new shipment. The longer you use LanePilot, the more accurate your scorecards become.

Yes. LanePilot includes a WMS, in one system alongside the freight side, for shippers who also run their own receiving and inventory. Nothing separate to install: in the same platform you use for freight rates and invoice audits, you can map your warehouse, give every rack and shelf a digital bin location, receive inbound shipments against purchase orders, run cycle counts, and manage stock. Warehouse and receiving features are LanePilot Warehouse, a standalone product you can add to any freight plan, including Free. There is no permanent free tier: a 37-day free trial runs the full product with no card required, then you choose Warehouse Essentials at $79/mo or LanePilot Warehouse at $119/mo. See the pricing page for details.

Yes. LanePilot renders your warehouse layout as an interactive 3D view you can rotate and explore with your mouse. Zones, rack rows, mezzanine offices, and individual shelf positions all appear in three dimensions, and the built-in find-it search lights up the exact location of any item. You design the layout in a simple 2D editor, then switch to the 3D view to see the whole building come to life.

Yes. LanePilot tracks inventory by bin location, supports cycle counts and stock adjustments with an approval step, and ties receiving to purchase orders so what arrives on the dock is checked against what you actually ordered. Because it lives in the same platform as your freight tools, your inbound operation and your outbound shipping share one source of truth.

A bin location is a unique digital address for every storage position in your warehouse, down to the individual shelf. LanePilot assigns a bin code to each rack position on your warehouse map, so receiving, put-away, cycle counts, and inventory all reference the same locations. When someone needs to find an item, the find-it search points them to the exact bin.

No. That is the point of LanePilot's all-in-one design. The same platform that compares your LTL rates and audits your freight invoices also handles your inbound receiving, warehouse layout, and inventory. One login and one system, from the rate quote to the shelf.

No, because LanePilot is the system. It gives you what an enterprise TMS would, rate comparison, booking and confirmation, invoice recovery, shipment tracking, carrier scorecards, and warehouse and inventory management, without the rollout, the consultant, or the IT project. There's no separate TMS to buy or connect. You can start comparing rates and auditing invoices the same day you sign up.

Most LanePilot users are up and running within a few minutes. Sign up, connect your carrier accounts, and you can start pulling live rate comparisons immediately. Invoice audit is available as soon as you upload your first invoice, and uploading your carrier contracts (optional) adds contract benchmarking.

Not yet. LanePilot opens to everyone on August 31, 2026. Until then, you can try LanePilot's free invoice audit with no account and no credit card: send your carrier invoice and your original quote and get an audit back.

Your contract rates are your competitive advantage. LanePilot encrypts them and shares them with no one: not your carriers, not your competitors.

You connect your own carrier accounts using the logins or API keys your carriers already gave you. Your credentials are encrypted, used only to fetch your rates and documents, and never shared or used on any other account. Once connected, LanePilot pulls your live negotiated rates straight from each carrier into every quote. There is no EDI project and no IT team required. Uploading your carrier contracts is a separate, optional step that powers contract benchmarking and lets LanePilot check invoices against your agreed rates.

LanePilot offers tiered pricing, from a free plan up through Command. Visit the pricing page for current plan details.