LTL pricing & strategyA carrier’s perspective. A clearer way forward.
Ellie MaeConsulting

Sound pricing.
Built on experience.

Let’s talk

The business of LTL

Better pricing.
Stronger
business.

Every shipment has a price.
Understanding its economics changes everything.

Practical guidance for LTL carriers on pricing, profitability, and the decisions that connect the two. Grounded in Todd Polen’s decades of experience inside the industry.

Start a conversation
The guiding idea

Price with discipline. Understand the freight. Build for the long term.

01 / Areas of expertise

Clarity where it counts.

I.

Pricing strategy
& discipline

Look beyond the discount. Bring structure to rate decisions, customer negotiations, and the balance between winning freight and earning a sustainable return.

Rate structures · Yield · Negotiation

II.

Freight economics
& profitability

Understand what the freight asks of your network. Connect shipment characteristics, density, handling, and service requirements to the price you put on the business.

Cost to serve · Density · Network fit

III.

Better data.
Better decisions.

Get the details right at the start. Examine the information behind the quote, reduce avoidable billing surprises, and make complex pricing easier to understand.

Quote accuracy · Tariffs · Transparency

02 / Meet Todd Polen

The view from
inside the industry.

Deep experience.
Plainspoken perspective.

LTL pricing is its own discipline. Todd Polen has spent his career working through its complexities.

His background includes 36 years at Old Dominion Freight Line, including leadership as Vice President of Pricing Services. In September 2026, Todd announced plans to bring that experience to Ellie Mae Consulting.

His published work explores a consistent set of questions: How can a quote more closely reflect the freight? What makes a customer relationship work over time? And how can better information make pricing simpler for everyone involved?

Ellie Mae Consulting brings that carrier-side perspective to conversations about pricing strategy, freight economics, and commercial decision-making.

Connect with Todd on LinkedIn

03 / Perspectives

Thinking beyond the rate.

Todd’s observations on pricing, people, and the business of LTL.

All 66 perspectives
Perspective 2026

Retirement

October 1st is my last day at ODFL. 36 years here, filled with fond memories of all the wonderful folks I have met in my time here. It has been a great ride to see ODFL grow and become the best carrier in…

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Perspective 2022

The real cost of appointments.

Back in the “old days,” you would peddle off your deliveries in the morning and make pickups in the afternoon. Those days are long gone thanks to the cumbersome and clerically intensive process required by…

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04 / Recommendations

Recommendations I stand behind.

Pricing software for LTL carriers and 3PLs. It connects shipment history, agreement calibration, and profitability analysis to help teams make informed pricing decisions.

Explore TruckMath

The neutral LTL pricing-to-routing layer for carriers, shippers, and LSPs. Lateral is building the table for LTL deals to be made and managed.

Explore Lateral

Let’s get down to business

What’s your
pricing challenge?

A fresh perspective starts with a conversation. Get in touch with Todd to discuss what’s on your desk.

Todd@elliemaeconsulting.com LTL pricing. Practical perspective. Ellie Mae Consulting.