Searching for a UPS freight quote usually turns up pages describing a business UPS has not owned since 2021. The parcel network is still there and still quotes online up to a published ceiling, but the trucking company that moved pallets under the UPS name was sold. Knowing which of those you actually need saves an afternoon. SMKlog is independent of UPS and sells no UPS LTL service.
One of them has a published ceiling, and it is lower than most people think.
UPS announced on 25 January 2021 that it had agreed to sell UPS Freight to TFI International for $800 million, with the deal expected to close in the second quarter of that year, per the UPS newsroom announcement read 2026-07-28. The LTL business now trades under a different name and is not part of UPS.
Everything up to the published package limits is still UPS, still quoted online, and still what most small sellers actually need. The confusion comes from old guides that treat a pallet quote and a package quote as two buttons on the same screen.
Its supply chain arm describes freight as shipments larger than 150 pounds and up to 15,000 pounds, and directs shippers to a forwarding platform for air and ocean quotes, per ups.com read 2026-07-28. That is a different service, sold in a different way, from buying an LTL pallet rate.
If the piece fits inside the package limits, quote it as a package and stop. If it does not, you need an LTL carrier, and that is a conversation about class, docks and accessorials rather than a form with a weight box.
UPS publishes its package limits at ups.com, read 2026-07-28: a maximum of 150 lb, a maximum length of 108 in, and 165 in for length and girth combined. We quoted three boxes across that boundary on 2026-07-28 to show the shape of it.
| Box and weight | Destination | Rates returned | Cheapest |
|---|---|---|---|
| 24 x 18 x 18 in, 83 lb | Chicago, IL 60607 | Five | $93.57 UPS Ground, 2-3 business days |
| 32 x 24 x 24 in, 120 lb | Atlanta, GA 30303 | Five | $188.54 UPS Ground, 2-3 business days |
| 30 x 24 x 20 in, 150 lb | Dallas, TX 75201 | None | Commercial freight review, 0.236 cubic metres |
| 30 x 24 x 20 in, 200 lb | Dallas, TX 75201 | None | Commercial freight review |
The middle rows are the interesting ones. At 120 lb the package network was still comfortable and the cheapest ground service came back in two to three business days. At 150 lb in a slightly bigger box, sitting exactly on the published ceiling, our calculator returned no labels and opened a freight review instead, because a shipment at the limit is one reweigh away from being refused or resurcharged. Faster air services were quoted on both of the boxes that priced, at up to a little over twice the ground figure.
When you do move to LTL, the quote you get back is not the invoice you will pay unless you have told the carrier the truth about both ends. These are the omissions that show up later.
A delivery to a house, a school, a building site or a self-storage unit is a different price from a delivery to a warehouse, and the carrier applies that charge whether or not you mentioned it. Old Dominion publishes $7.20 per cwt with a $115.00 minimum and a $580.00 maximum for limited access locations, and XPO publishes $15.25 per cwt with a $170.50 minimum for residential and limited access together.
If nobody has a dock or a forklift, the freight comes off on a tailgate and that is a chargeable service. Old Dominion publishes $4.40 per cwt with a $105.00 minimum for a hydraulic lift gate, and R+L publishes $16.00 per cwt with a $225.00 minimum.
Every pallet is weighed again. XPO publishes $45.50 for a reweigh, on top of any change to the transport charge, and other carriers publish their own version of the same thing.
Receiving docks that require a booked slot turn a delivery into a two-step process, and carriers charge for the call. XPO publishes $25.00 for notification before delivery and $64.25 for an appointment, and Old Dominion publishes $30.00.
For anything inside the package limits, put the packed box into our calculator and you will see several carriers side by side within a minute, including the ground services that usually win. For a pallet or anything past the ceiling, send the details and a person prices it against carriers that actually run LTL.
Quote a package Get a pallet priced by a person How pallet pricing works
Not the LTL trucking business. UPS announced on 25 January 2021 that it had agreed to sell UPS Freight to TFI International for $800 million, expected to close in the second quarter of 2021. UPS still runs the package network and a supply chain arm that arranges forwarding.
UPS publishes a maximum of 150 lb per package, a maximum length of 108 in, and a maximum of 165 in for length and girth combined. Anything beyond that needs a freight service rather than a package label.
On 2026-07-28 a 32 x 24 x 24 in box at 120 lb from Newark, NJ 07102 to Atlanta, GA 30303 returned five rates in our calculator, the cheapest being $188.54 on UPS Ground at two to three business days.
Because it sits exactly on the published package ceiling. On 2026-07-28 a 30 x 24 x 20 in box at 150 lb from Newark, NJ 07102 to Dallas, TX 75201 returned no parcel rates in our calculator and opened a commercial freight review at an estimated 0.236 cubic metres.