The Freight Doctor

One good question I like to give people to ask about with whom they should choose as a their freightbroker or 3pl company is, “Do you use major freight carriers?” If the company you are working with uses major trucking lines, such as Yellow, Saia, Con-Way, Estes, ABF to name but a few, then you should be comfortable working with the freight broker or 3pl. This is because these trucking companies are huge operations with great tracking systems of your freight when in transit and chances are, even in this down economy, they’re not going anywhere anytime soon. Also, if the logistics company has accounts with these trucking companies or similar sized trucking outfits, they probably move a lot of freight with them. How does this help you? Well, if they move a lot of freight, then they’ve probably been able to negotiate and justify to these large trucking companies for amazingly cheap shipping rates. They’ve probably also negotiated having an FAK which means better rates for you. You, as Joe Customer, will not be able to come in off the street and demand the best rates with little to no volume and no track record. If the freight broker or 3pl has been around for awhile they’ve done all the hard work in getting freight rates down so all you have to do is swoop in and take advantage of their great rates. It’s just up to you to shop around and find the best freight quote!

Something a little distressing has been brought to my attention recently. The appearance of a new charge on the freight bill:
The Freight Reweight Charge. When did this happen? In all my years in the freight buniness, I’ve never heard of a reweigh charge on a bill before. Evidently, this fee can range anywhere from $20-$50 depending on the freight carriers that have begun to implement this fee.
The reweigh fee on the freight bill has only recently been popping up with a few of the more bold freight carriers. I just can’t see how these freight carriers can justify this new fee. Generally when a freight reweigh is called for, it’s to correct the weight because the freight carrier believes that the shipment is heaveir than the customer stated. I haven’t ever heard of a trucking company calling for a reweigh because they felt that the shipment was estimated as being lighter than the customer stated. That said, when a reweigh is called for you can expect to be charged more on your freight bill even before paying any reweigh fee.
Now again, as I’ve said in the past, shame on the customer who ball parks the weight or dims of their shipment because of ignorance or trying to round down their shipment’s weight in the hopes of getting a better price. You’re not usualy going to get one over on these guys and you’re just asking for trouble down the line when a revised freight chage shows up in the mail, however, this isn’t grounds to double charge customers. Especially because this new re-weigh charge was never part of a freight bill until very recently.
I say to anyone who sees this new fee on their freight bill to contact their agent or broker immediately to dispute this new fee as the freight carrier will get their money from the reweigh itself. At very least demand a certified document that explains the freight reweigh for your approval.