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Ever since the trucking industry was partially deregulated in 1980, interstate LTL common carriers have been offering their customers a broader array of pricing concessions than ever before. Many veteran [...]

Under pressure to lower your transportation costs? Even though you've negotiated some favorable discounts with your less-than-truckload (LTL) carriers and are receiving other pricing concessions, such as Freight, All Kinds [...]

Regional motor carriers are striving for that winning edge. Although national LTL carriers such as Yellow Transportation, Roadway Express and ABF Freight System continue to dominate the less-than-truckload (LTL) field, [...]

Now that they no longer file tariffs, motor carriers are simplifying their pricing. Here what to look for. If you haven't already noticed some changes to your motor carriers' rate-setting [...]

Here's a three-step program for protecting your company from future undercharge problems. Just about everyone I've talked with who has used motor common carrier LTL service over the past decade [...]

Finding a motor carrier to move your freight ... sounds like an easy proposition, doesn't it? But in today's volatile carrier industry, even veteran traffic managers sometimes have a tough [...]

How to collect on concealed-damage claims One of the most aggravating aspects of freight-claims management is the difficulty - if not impossibility - of collecting concealed-damage claims in full. Packages [...]

A key element of carrier pricing has always been weight--designated as 'pounds' in domestic pricing. Yet rarely is this subject ever discussed. On domestic bills of lading (B/Ls), shippers are [...]

For some time now, most for-hire motor carriers have been adding fuel surcharges to their net freight charges, and there seems to be no letup in sight. Generally, truckers have [...]

As you well know, just about every LTL carrier in the country has developed its own individual scale of class rates, and some carriers have more than one. But that [...]

This year's round of LTL motor carrier general rate increases (GRIs) is just about upon us and it looks from here as if many will be very similar to the [...]

Nearly two years ago, I alerted readers to a new bill of lading (B/L) that had just been jointly developed by a group of manufacturers and retailers, including Wal-Mart, Target [...]

For some time now, most of the major less-than-truckload (LTL) carriers have made their standard, non-discounted class rates available through their Web sites. Now some are going a step further [...]

Does your company rely on you to keep it in compliance with for-hire carrier freight classifications, rules, and regulations? If so, you might also be in a position to be [...]

On Feb. 5, as it does every year at about that time, United Parcel Service (UPS), the nation's largest package carrier, implemented its annual general rate increases. This year's rate [...]

No shipper wants to pay more in freight charges than is strictly necessary, but it happens all the time. How can you avoid overpaying? One way to ensure that the [...]

A certain percentage of freight bills issued by for-hire motor carriers and freight forwarders operating in interstate commerce contain errors, although the percentage is relatively small. Some of these bills [...]

You've all seen that section of the Uniform Straight Bill of Lading or the Straight Bill of Lading--Short Form that reads: NOTE (1) Where the rate is dependent on value, [...]

At least four times a year, changes are made in classification descriptions, ratings, shipping rules, and packaging requirements in the trucking industry's National Motor Freight Classification (NMFC), some of which [...]

It wasn't too long ago that most major LTL carriers and regional motor carrier rate bureaus announced a general rate increase (GRI) on or about Jan. 1 each year. But [...]

More and more for-hire carriersaless-than-truckload, package, and truckloadaare setting up services that provide for money-back guarantees if they fail to deliver within a specified period of time. But if you've [...]

Probably the first time you ever scanned the National Motor Freight Classification (NMFC), you noted that every description was assigned one or more of 18 different classification ratings ranging from [...]

Shippers go to great expense to palletize many, if not all, of their shipments. Palletization provides all kinds of benefits to shippers, carriers, and even consignees by facilitating mechanical handling, [...]

Every time you turn around, it seems that another carrier is offering a new expedited service. Expedited transportation represents a rapidly growing and profitable market, and more and more carriers-including [...]

At its quarterly meeting in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., on Feb. 8, the trucking industry's National Classification Committee (NCC) adopted a significant, shipper-favorable change in its longstanding policy regarding multiple scales [...]

A question that is commonly raised by novice and experienced shippers alike concerns bills of lading: Is there a single, standard bill of lading that must be used when shipping [...]

Despite skyrocketing fuel prices, higher labor costs, and expenses tied to the carrier's burgeoning electronic commerce push, United Parcel Service's annual general rate increase, which took effect on Feb. 7, [...]

You don't have to look at many ads for less-than-truckload (LTL) carriers before it becomes clear that many are entering the expedited-shipment market. One of the newest of these niche [...]

As longtime editor of a monthly newsletter called The Furniture Transporter, which focuses on all aspects of packaging, shipping, and delivering new furniture, I recently began running a series of [...]

If you've ever flipped through the National Motor Freight Classification (NMFC), you've probably noticed scores of commodities that are subject to multiple classification ratings (classes) based on density (weight per [...]

Every year at about this time, the nation's regional motor carrier rate bureaus begin docketing proposals for their yearly round of general rate increases (GRIs). That process has already begun. [...]

Since the trucking industry's National Classification Committee (NCC) revised its two bill of lading formats in late 1997 and early 1998, all has been pretty quiet on the bill of [...]

There are literally hundreds upon hundreds of commodities listed in the National Motor Freight Classification (NMFC) whose ratings have remained unchanged for years. Perhaps one of your company's products falls [...]

If you're looking for pricing concessions on heavier-weight LTL shipments-- rates that may be even better than the discounts and/or FAKs ('freight, all kinds' rates) you already enjoy--you may want [...]

If you are shipping items via LTL general-commodity carrier to or from a convention or exhibition center, which many, many shippers do throughout the year, you should check closely to [...]

As reported in this column last month, several individual LTL carriers and practically all regional motor carrier rate bureaus have either implemented early general rate increases (GRIs) or will be [...]

As you no doubt already know, late last December the Surface Transportation Board (STB) announced it was broadening its review of antitrust matters. Specifically, the board said that at the [...]

Vendors should take care to protect goods that are shipped to gift retailers. There should be enough protective packaging, bills of lading should be properly prepared and precautionary labeling of packages should be used. Vendors should obey routing instructions provided by the gift retailer and pricing agreements should also include price discounts where applicable., When you purchase merchandise from your vendors which is to be shipped by forhire trucking companies, they have certain obligations in the areas of protective packaging, documentation, carrier selection and [...]

The claims liability limits for surface carriers' three major classes are given. Small package carriers, such as Roadway Package and United Parcel Service, have a limit of $100 per package with an increase of 35 cents charged for each additional $100 that the package is valued at. The United States Postal Service does not assume liability unless a package is insured. The less-than-truckload motor common carriers, such as Roadway Express and Yellow Freight, are liable for all damages to packages because they are regulated by the Carmack Amendment., Most times when You are shipping or receiving merchandise you don't need to worry about surface carriers' maximum liability limits for loss or damage, because the product's value is generally [...]

The Negotiated Rates Act of 1993 has an exemption that applies to small businesses, specifically retailers with under $3.5 million in yearly sales, from undercharge claim liabilities filed by the auditors of bankrupt trucking company trustees. Two trustee suits have been decided in Jun and Jul 1995 reinforcing this point even when rates have been negotiated but unfiled. The Trucking Industry Regulatory Reform Act of 1994 decreased the undercharge claim statute of limitations from 730 days to 180 days., For the past few years, auditors hired by trustees of bankrupt trucking companies have been flooding the country with undercharge claims, most seeking to deny discounts that former customers received [...]

Coles Express began offering 'small shipment express' service in New England, the Middle Atlantic States and Nova Scotia on Mar 27, 1995. There are two different weights, two different flat charges for specifically sized shipments and good transit times. The first weight is those packages under 251 lbs and the second weight is those packages between 251 lbs and 500 lbs. All shippers and receivers can utilize this service., Move over United Parcel Service (UPS) and Roadway Package System (RPS), there's some new competition coming down the pike for the small shipment express business. Several years ago, UPS inaugurated [...]

Recent changes in federal legislation have reduced the statute of limitations for collection of shipping charges by for-hire motor common carriers. The Negotiated Rates Act of 1993 and the Trucking Industry Regulatory Reform Act of 1994 have decreased the time limit for filing undercharge claims from a maximum of three years down to 180 days. In addition, it is advisable to obtain a written confirmation of a pricing agreement with the motor common carrier., Good news! As a result of federal legislation enacted since early December 1993, your company's exposure to potential undercharge billings from for-hire motor common carriers operating in interstate commerce -- [...]

The Trucking Industry Regulatory Reform Act of 1994, signed into law on Aug 26, 1994, is meant to reduce trucking industry regulation. Under this law, customers cannot be billed for undercharges beyond 180 days of the issuance of the original bill. Also, shippers have only 180 days to contest charges on original bills. Additionally, individual motor carriers will not have to file tariffs with the Interstate Commerce Commission., On Aug. 26, President Clinton signed into law new legislation enacted by Congress titled the 'Trucking Industry Regulatory Reform Act of 1994' -- legislation designed to reduce economic regulation of [...]

With the stroke of his pen, President Clinton eliminated the backbone of LTL pricing. What does it mean for shippers? If you're looking for a copy of the page from [...]

If you ship a truckload shipment at a rate of $1 per mile, it's quite obvious you'll pay twice as much for a 3,000-mile haul as you would for a [...]

On Feb. 7, just over one week earlier than last year, both United Parcel Service (UPS) and Roadway Package System (RPS), the nation's two largest small-package carriers, increased most domestic [...]

When determining freight charges a gift retailer should look at the base rates as well as the discount rates offered. Since the passage of the Motor Carrier Act of 1980, when trucking was deregulated, freight carriers have established their own base rates, many much higher than regional trucking bureau rates. As a result, there may be as much as a 20% difference between the highest and lowest base rate of trucking firms within a specific area., One of the major benefits stemming from so-called trucking deregulation (the Motor Carrier Act of 1980) has been discounting off less-than-truckload (LTL) rates by motor common carriers - the likes [...]

Gift retailers can keep freight costs down by ensuring that each package is the maximum weight allowable while remaining within maximum size limits. United Parcel Service has a maximum weight limit of 70 lbs per package and Roadway Package System has a maximum weight limit of 100 lbs per package. Size limits for both couriers are 130 ins long and wide and 108 ins high. Placing numerous small packages for one destination in a large container or tying the small packages into one shipping size can reduce shipping costs., As major users of ground services offered by United Parcel service (UPS) and Roadway Package System (RPS), gift and decorative accessories retailers are anxious to minimize such costs wherever it [...]

These 10 steps can help minimize your exposure to future claims. After receiving tens of thousands of balance-due bills from auditors for bankrupt motor carriers last year, shippers across the [...]

If you're curious about the Interstate Commerce Commission's regulatory activities in these deregulated times, you now have a source to learn more about them. Earlier this year, the ICC released [...]