Residential pickup: how each carrier handles it
What it is
Residential pickup tells the LTL carrier that the pickup is at a home: a house, apartment, condo, farm, estate or a business run from a home. Carriers charge extra for it because homes are harder to serve than businesses with a dock.
- Residential pickup is usually curbside. The driver picks up at the curb, driveway, garage or front door, at ground level. Drivers don't go inside a home unless inside pickup is booked and the carrier offers it at residences.
- Most homes have no dock, so the freight usually has to be lowered onto the truck with a liftgate. On the single-shipment form, selecting Residential also selects Liftgate, and an address recognized as a home gets both selected automatically. The customer can remove Liftgate, but then the driver may arrive with a truck that can't load the freight.
- Liftgates have size and weight limits. Very heavy or long pieces may not fit a liftgate even when one is booked.
- Not every carrier picks up at homes, so fewer carriers are quoted when Residential pickup is selected (see "Not offered" below).
- If the address is a home and Residential pickup isn't selected, the carrier may add the charge afterwards as a rebill.
Where it can be booked
- Single shipments on the dashboard, the public API and bulk quote sheets. Not in multi-ship, not with a 53-foot truck, and not for local shipments (Mothership Carrier doesn't do residential pickups, so local quotes come back empty).
- It is turning on organization by organization. Until it's on for an organization, quotes with residential pickup fail with "Our carrier partners do not pick-up from residential locations."
- It can't be added by editing a booked shipment. Edits don't re-quote or re-book with the carrier.
Overlap with other accessorials
- Liftgate: Forward Air, Saia and Roadrunner put a liftgate on every residential pickup and charge for it whether or not the customer asked. For those, the liftgate charge is in the quote even if the customer removed Liftgate.
- Limited access: a home can also be limited access, for example in a gated community. Carriers differ:
- ABF, TForce and XPO charge only one of the two. Their tariffs say so.
- Central, Roadrunner and Saia charge both.
- For ABF, ODFL, TForce and Forward Air, Mothership sends only Residential pickup to the carrier. ODFL's and Forward Air's tariffs don't say limited access is covered: ODFL's system won't accept both, and Forward Air hasn't confirmed how it bills the pair.
- Inside pickup: some carriers won't go inside a home at all. When both are selected, Mothership doesn't quote those carriers.
By carrier
| Carrier | Residential pickup | With liftgate | With inside pickup | With limited access |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABF (ABFS) | Offered. Homes, apartments, dorms. | Charged separately | Charged separately | Only one applies. Mothership sends residential only (ABF won't accept both). |
| Central Transport (CTII) | Offered. Front door, back door or garage. The driver won't enter the home. | Charged separately | Not offered at homes. Central is not quoted. | Both charged. Central's invoice may label limited access as "delivery" even on a pickup. |
| Custom Companies (CTBV) | Offered. The whole property counts as residential. | Charged separately | Not quoted: Mothership doesn't quote Custom Companies for any inside pickup. | Quoted with no limited access charge, though Custom Companies' pricing program lists one. |
| Forward Air (FWDN) | Offered. Includes signature, an appointment and proof of delivery. | Always added and charged by Forward Air, even if not selected. Charged once. | Charged separately | Mothership sends residential only. Forward Air hasn't confirmed whether it also bills limited access. |
| Old Dominion (ODFL) | Offered. Homes, apartments, farms, estates. | Charged separately | Charged separately | Mothership sends residential only, because ODFL's system won't accept both. ODFL hasn't confirmed how it bills a pickup that is both. |
| Roadrunner (RDFS) | Offered. Curbside only. | Always charged: Roadrunner requires a liftgate on every residential pickup, so Mothership adds it to the quote and the pickup request. | Charged separately, plus the liftgate | Both charged, plus the liftgate |
| Saia (SAIA) | Offered. Curbside only. Saia's pickup request has no accessorial fields, so Mothership writes "RESIDENTIAL PICKUP" in the pickup instructions. Saia guaranteed rates are not offered with residential pickup. | Always added and charged by Saia, even if not selected. Charged once. | Charged separately, plus the liftgate. Saia isn't told about inside pickup when the pickup is booked; only the BOL shows it. | Both charged, plus the liftgate. Saia isn't told about limited access when the pickup is booked; only the BOL shows it. |
| TForce (TFIN) | Offered. Any home, including a home business. If an address could be either, TForce treats it as a home. Ground floor, garage or carport. | Charged separately | Charged separately | Not charged at homes. Mothership sends residential only. |
| XPO (XPOL) | Offered. The whole property counts as residential. | Charged separately | Charged separately | One charge per address. XPO charges residential only. |
Not offered: Daylight (DYLT), Southeastern (SEFL, only with the carrier's prior approval), Frontline / STG (FCSY), GO2, Uber Freight, Arrive, Echo and Mothership Carrier (local and long-haul) don't do residential pickups through Mothership. They are not quoted when Residential pickup is selected.
Container freight stations (CFS)
A CFS is not a home. If both Residential pickup and CFS are selected, check the address.
- Not quoted: TForce is not quoted for that pair.
- Not charged: XPO and Forward Air quote the CFS at no charge with residential. ABF, ODFL, Central and Custom Companies don't pass CFS to the carrier, so the quote matches residential alone.
- Charged: Saia charges the CFS as limited access on top of residential. Roadrunner charges residential, liftgate and CFS.