Linear feet calculator

A linear foot is one foot of trailer floor length, measured from the front of the trailer to the back. Carriers use it to measure how much of the trailer a shipment takes up, regardless of height.

Work out how many pallets fit side by side across the trailer (usually two for 48” × 40” pallets), divide your pallet count by that to get the number of rows, multiply the rows by the pallet length in inches, and divide by 12.

A 53-foot trailer has about 53 linear feet of floor. With standard 48” × 40” pallets loaded straight, two across, that is roughly 26 floor positions, or 52 pallets if they can be stacked two high.

Yes. If pallets can be safely stacked, two pallets share one floor position, so the shipment uses about half the linear feet. Only stack freight that is packaged to carry the weight.

A shipment that is light but takes up a lot of floor space stops the carrier from loading other freight. Many LTL carriers apply capacity or volume rules on longer shipments, so check your carrier’s tariff before booking.

Usually, yes. A TMS (transportation management system) built for brokers is the core of most freight broker software: it holds the load, carrier, customer and document records. Some vendors sell accounting, carrier vetting or load posting as separate add-ons, so check what is included in the price.