The classic rule says up to eleven pallets go groupage and from twelve you take a full truck. The rule holds as long as you look only at the rate. Once transit and damage risk enter the calculation, the break-even shifts.
A worked example
Nine pallets, Warsaw to Kyiv. Groupage is about EUR 1,480 over five days; a full truck is EUR 1,950 over three. The difference is EUR 470. If your cargo is worth EUR 60,000, two extra days of tied-up capital plus the handling risk at the hub usually exceed that difference.
When FTL is justified regardless of volume
- Cargo that cannot take handling: glass, precision electronics, machinery on non-standard pallets
- Consignments above EUR 80,000 — theft exposure at the hub
- A strict receiving window that a groupage line-haul cannot guarantee
- A narrow temperature range