The Freight Doctor

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.

When you’re in the process of obtaining freight quotes from freight brokers and 3PLs one thing to ask for is the
FAK of your commodity. It’s important to find out for two reasons:

The first reason is so for your own information should you ship the same or similar item out in the future.

The second and more important reason is to find out who is willing to give you this information. Any freight broker who is hesitant to give you the FAK is someone trying to hide information from you. The FAK is not priviledged information and you have the right to know what FAK your load is being classified at. This way, if you get multiple freight quotes, you can correct any company that is rating you at a higher FAK so you can bring your freight rate down to an accurate level and save yourself from being over charged.

So to sum up, ask for the FAK when shopping for the best freight quote.

Looking for The Best Freight Quotes Online?
Check Out The FREIGHT QUOTE SHOOTOUT Here!

In an effort to help you find the best freight quote last week, I decided to pick 4 freight companies online and have them give a freight quote for the same item. Some companies I used their online instant freight quote. Others I phoned in an spoke with an agent.  Here were the parameters I used:

Boxed item rated as FAK Class 125 at 250 lbs.

Origin: San Diego, CA 92101 Commercial Location with Forklift and/or dock

Destination: Atlanta, GA 30303 Residential Location with Liftgate

I discarded any quote that didn’t offer freight insurance or was covered for less than $5/ lb.

Here are the numbers:

FreightShippingDirect.com - $313.88

FreightShippingCenter.com - $433.90

FreightCenter.com - $460.34

Freight101.com - $468.12

Having worked in the trucking industry for many years now I have seen just about everything the shipping and freight industry has to offer — the good and the bad.

Back in the day (as my grandkids say) all LTL (less than truckload) carrier rates were based on published tariffs and no discounts were applied. What the teamsters wanted to charge that year is what you paid - government regulation protected the carriers from competition and the teamsters union was able to control the industry through master agreements with all the major freight transport companies.

In 1979, that all changed thanks to Jimmy Carter and the Deregulation Bill, that protective shield of regulation was stripped away and a lot of the bigger carriers began dropping like flies. Ringsby, Truck Lines, Denver-Chicago, Leeway, ICX, Transcon, ONC, Delta Truck Lines and McLean were some of the bigger names that fell in post-deregulation America. With the frontiers now open, a lot of smaller, regionalcarriers began movie towards the West Coast and the North East and the compeition kicked in to high gear. Some companies began to offer insane discount levels of 45%-50%…now, they were also increasing their rates by similar levels.

This caused the development of FAK (freight all kinds) pricing. The term FAK means a mixture of different product types delivered in a combined load to a single or limited number of destinations. Instead of figuring out the classification and rate for each product, carriers determine an average rated which is applied to the entire shipment. This makes this easier for everyone involved and makes creating a bill of lading or freight bill much more simple. Interestingly enough, the development of FAK priving coincided with a decrease in the number of headaches I had every day.

As a product of the old school of freight shipping, I think the 1960s and 1970s were the best years to work in transportation because management and union employees were forced to work more ethically together…and, unfortunately, that’s not something you find very often in companies nowadays.

Ok, I think I’ve rambled on enough for today.

Do you review your Freight Bill and compare it to your original Freight Quote?

If not, why aren’t you? Besides the fact that it’s just a good habit, there are a lot of things you can learn from reviewing your freight bills but more importantly, you may start to catch discrepencies that you should bring up with the trucking company or freight broker that you’re dealing with.

If you discover discrepancies between the freight quote and the actual freight bill, You always want to find out what happened. Discrepancies happen for any number of reasons but the main reason to bring it up is that you can learn more about how things work and you send a message to the trucking company that you’re watching everything.

 What are some of the reasons that your freight bill varies from your original freight quote?

·        Liftgate – Did the trucking company add on a liftgate after the fact? If the load required a residential pick up or delivery, sorry buddy, there’s no way around it unless somebody in the neighborhood has a forklift. However, if this was a business to business delivery and there were loading docks or terminal pickup and/or delivery, there should have been no need for the liftgate.

·        Fuel Surcharge – With soaring gas prices the fuel surcharge goes up every week. If you sit on a quote, be prepared to see pricing go up the longer you wait to book the load.

·        Re-Weigh – “Uh, it’s bigger than a bread box” You guessed at the dimensions and the weight and the trucking company had to re weigh the item. I go over this on my previous post about Re Weighs.  

·        Misclassification or reclassification – This is the big one. You want to know your FAK Classification for the item you’re shipping out. There are 3PL (Third Party Logistics) Companies that will list the FAK on the freight quote. It’s always a handy piece of information to have, because sometimes trucking companies will re classify or misclassify the item(s) you’re shipping.

      Let’s use a common item for an example here. Take for instance a Wooden Chest in the NMFC (National Motor Freight Classification) book.

            The NMFC lists a Wooden Chest as item #80900

1. Sub 1  SU (set up) is listed as FAK Class 125
2. Sub 2  KD (knocked down) is listed as FAK Class 85

      Even though it’s the same item, the means by which it’s shipped will effect the class      and price of the bill. Be sure to know the exact dimensions and weight and how it was packaged because the trucking company may have not accurately Classified it. It could be either honest human error or someone decided to take liberties with reclassifying your shipment. That’s why it’s always good to work with a 3PL, Freight Broker or freight carrier that lists the FAK on the freight quote so you can compare it to the freight bill. Usually, as a customer, the freight bill is the only place you’ll be able to catch if a re-class has taken place.

So what happens now? Well the first thing you want to do is ask that your bill be explained and if the answer is not satisfactory, then request that the freight bill be recalculated and get your rep to help make those corrections on your behalf with the trucking company or freiht carrier. What separates the good Third Party Logistics companies and the bad ones are that the good 3PL companies are the ones that will help you with making these adjustments.

What does FAK stand for? FAK stands for Freight All Kinds. FAKs are determined by the NMFC or National Motor Freight Classification, which publishes a book annually, that lists every type of commodity that can be shipped. FAK or Freight All Kinds are arrived at in part by the weight, density, volume and material of the item.

Each commodity falls into a different class of FAK. The smaller and more dense the commodity is, the lower the FAK. The bigger and more airy it is, the higher the FAK is. For instance, smaller solid heavy metal plates and parts are rated at FAK Class 50 being that they’re small, dense and very heavy. Soft items such as pillows on the other hand may fall into FAK Class 300 or 400 because they’re big, and take up a lot of space in the truck and are light weight. That said, the best rates will always be for heavier items that take up less space on the truck.

Learn what the actual FAK of your commodities are. Watch out for any company that rates your FAK higher than it actually is. If anything, try to get a lower FAK than its actual class. Visit the NMFC and purchase the NMFC book HERE

In an industry where fuel surcharges are skyrocketing, the freight companies that are trying to offset the price increases by lowering your FAKs below their actual class for you are the companies you want to be doing business with. Your actual class and FAK will be based upon your volume of freight.

Here is a listing of all the FAK Classifications:
· 50
· 55
· 60
· 65
· 70
· 77.5
· 85
· 92.5
· 100
· 110
· 125
· 150
· 175
· 200
· 250
· 300
· 400
· 500

Looking for The Best Freight Quotes Online?
Check Out The FREIGHT QUOTE SHOOTOUT Here!

When requesting a quote, remember to have as much information as possible. Giving ballpark figures will only add time, as adjustments will have to be made. Here are some tips so you can get as accurate a quote as possible:

• Have exact measurements and total weight: Don’t guesstimate. There is no such thing as a standard pallet size, so have the measurements for that as well if it’s going to be traveling that way. Freight Companies use inches not feet, so be ready with that information as well. If there is any doubt by the freight carrier from what you have told the freight booker, they will reweigh and measure the item and if it doesn’t match up then they’ll have to charge you the difference.
• Have your Origin and Destination Locations with Zip Codes: There may be a closer terminal than if the person guesses by using the main terminal in the city it’s going to.
• Know your commodity: Be ready to give details about what type of product the item you will be shipping is. If you know the Class that this item falls under from previous freight quotes or shipments, even better!
• Be sure to know the type of locations of the origin and destination your load is going to: Is it commercial? Is it going to a school, hospital or military facility? Do any of the locations have a dock drop or if it’s residential will there need to be a lift gate used because the item is heavy? This is very important, as it will determine if any fees need to be added or waived.
• Do you have any quotes or a rate structure with an existing freight company? It’s always good to mention to whomever’s quoting you that you have already been quoted prices they need to meet or beat. They want your business and if they have the room to give bigger discounts to earn you as an account, they’ll do it. Please note, if the freight quotes you are giving are too low, they may require you to fax proof in order to justify being competitive with your other freight quotes or existing freight rates and discounts.
• How soon does your load need to be booked? Generally if you can get your information to the person booking the load before noon at the origin location they can have it picked up same day in the afternoon. There are also expedited rates if you need the load to arrive at its destination sooner than the normal travel time.
• Do either the Origin or Destination locations need to be alerted by the freight carrier that they are en route to either location? In most instances, the dispatcher out of the terminal closest to either location will call 24-48 hours prior to pickup or delivery so as to set up a window of time with the appropriate party. However, in some cases, a person at either or both locations needs to be called to let the driver in or open up the facility or to be home. Let the person giving you the freight quote know so that they can add this into the quote.

 Call during the morning and early afternoon: It’s always best to call earlier if at all possible. This is because all the freight carrier’s offices operate during regular business hours. If you’ve called too late in the day and the person giving you a quote needs to speak with someone at the freight carrier they use, it will push everything over into the next day.