Truck Load Plan Excel Template (LKW-Ladeplan)

A truck load plan – German: LKW-Ladeplan – defines before loading which shipment goes to which position in the cargo area – aligned with the route's stop sequence, the weight distribution, and the available loading metres. Decide at the ramp instead, and you double-handle cargo or find your own goods blocking the way at the second stop. This free Excel template plans the load position by position; the PDF serves as a loading sheet for ramp and driver.

Planning the loading order: last loaded, first unloaded

The ground rule for routes with several stops is LIFO – last in, first out: the last stop's goods go all the way forward against the bulkhead, the first stop's goods at the rear. That way, at every unloading point only what is delivered there gets moved. The template takes the stop sequence from the route plan and reverses it into the loading order – stop 5 is loaded first, stop 1 last.

Weight distribution and axle load

A full cargo area is not yet a legally loaded truck – the weight must also be distributed correctly:

• Heavy goods low and centred over or between the axles, light goods above or towards the edges
• Watch the axle loads: too much weight at the rear unloads the steering axle, too much behind the rear axle can even overload it – the permissible axle loads are in the registration document
• Check the payload: total the cargo weight against the vehicle's permissible payload – the Excel template sums the weights per position automatically; the payload calculator finds the right vehicle class
• Stow tightly: avoid gaps so the load cannot shift – the details are governed by load securing

Calculating loading metres

Loading metres (ldm) are the standard measure of load-bed occupancy: length × width of the cargo ÷ 2.40 m load-bed width. The key values:

Load carrier	Dimensions	Loading metres
Euro pallet (lengthwise, 2 side by side)	1.20 × 0.80 m	0.4 ldm
Euro pallet (crosswise)	0.80 × 1.20 m	0.4 ldm
Industrial pallet	1.20 × 1.00 m	0.5 ldm
Mesh box pallet	1.24 × 0.84 m	0.42 ldm

A standard semi-trailer offers around 13.6 loading metres, a 7.5-tonner about 6 depending on the body. The Excel template calculates the loading metres per position and shows how much cargo space the route occupies – before the first box is in the vehicle.

Where Excel reaches its limits

For fixed routes with known shipments, the Excel load plan is quick to maintain. Add short-notice orders, changing vehicles, and several routes per day, and replanning becomes busywork: every change in the stop sequence upends the loading order, and the plan is outdated by the time the driver prints it. In Maxmove TMS dispatch, orders, vehicles, and routes are connected – when the route changes, the order changes with it, and the driver sees the current state in the app instead of on a printout.