A cross-dock is a terminal where inbound shipments are unloaded, sorted and reloaded directly onto outbound vehicles, with little or no storage in between; it is the consolidation point that makes less than truckload (LTL) and groupage networks work.
Fewer handling events generally mean fewer damage claims: a large shipment dataset measured about 1.24 percent damage on a traditional multi-touch LTL network, against 0.81 percent on a two-touch cross-dock model, as covered in FTL vs LTL: Choosing a Road Freight Mode. Each cross-dock a shipment passes through typically adds 12 to 24 hours to transit time.
