The Freight Doctor

As a continuing part on my series explaining accessorial charges, today I’ll go into Residential Pickup and Delivery Charges.

The reason for Residential Delivery and / or Pickup Charges for non commercial locations is due to the fact that there are a number of factors that impede a prompt delivery or pickup to the location. The reasons can vary from there being no loading docks or forklifts, the streets may be narrower and harder to negotiate in and out of for the truck driver and as general rule of thumb it’s simply just more difficult to pick up and drop off shipments in non commercial environments. Typically you can also expect a liftgate charge attached because there isn’t a loading dock for the driver to back into as discussed in my previous post.

You can expect fees for residential charges to range anywhere from about $50-$100 tacked onto your total freight quote or bill.

Once you’ve received your freight quote, you may see what are referred to as Accessorial Charges that are additional fees listed on the freight quote. In an effort to clarify your freight quote I will begin a series of posts that will explain what each of these fees mean and how they effect your delivery or pick up.

The Liftgate Charge is a fairly common accessorial fee. What is a liftgate? A liftgate is a hydraulic  accessorial device used to lower the pallet to from the end of the truck to the ground level.

Typically this is used for items leaving from or going to residential locations or those locations where there is no loading dock or there is no forklift available.

If you do not opt for a liftgate, the driver is only responsible for taking your shipment to the end of the truck and you must take care of gettig the pallet off of the truck.

You can expect to be charged anywhere from $50-$125 for the liftgate fee depending on your freight rate structure. If the liftgate accessorial charge is any higher than this, you shoud consider attempting to negotiate for a lower liftgate charge.

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

First off, what are ACCESSORIAL CHARGES? Accessorial charges (also called assessorial charges) are charges made for performing freight services beyond normal pickup and delivery such as inside delivery, waiting time, fuel surcharges and storage charges etc….
Here are a few of the charges and ways to avoid getting charged for them.

DETENTION: A penalty charge against shippers or consignees for delaying carrier’s equipment beyond allowed time. Demurrage applies to cargo; detention applies to equipment. Most logistic carriers allow anywhere from 12 - 24 hours of free time for loading and unloading. After this expiration charges from $50 - $100 for each 24-hour period takes effect. (After 30 days in detention they may increase the per diem as well).

SOLUTION: Planning and Coordination. Make the calls first to see if first, your client is ready to receive the shipment and/or your Logistics Transportation is ready to ship when you are. If you are the customer, be sure that there is always open communication between you, the logistics team / freight forwarder and the companies with whom you are working. Be sure to read the fine print and find out if there are also extra charges for palletized loads and floor loads.

LOADING & UNLOADING: Carrier assists at customer request only, under 25lbs per carton. Driver may not use or be responsible for any dock equipment. Carriers charge prices from $55 - $75 per-hour (mostly subject to a 2-hour minimum.) for loading and unloading.

SOLUTION: Your logistics managers should have a discount with the trucking company moving your product. Some of these discounts can be as low as $15-$25 per load (including both loading and unloading). These prices are guaranteed during negotiations with the trucking company before the shipments are set up to distribute.

RESIDENTIAL DELIVERY: If you do not have a commercial location that actually opens and closes at set times each day within a commercially zoned area, you will be considered a residence and extra fees will apply for pickup and delivery.

SOLUTION #1: These rates are almost the amount of shipping whiteglove (”Whiteglove” is the cost for pick-up, delievery, and any set-up required.) Knowing this, be sure that if your company relies on pickups and delieveries on Sundays and Holidays, you have worked out a deal in your rates & contracts for these shipments. They can be lowered if that is your entire logistical business, but know that the freight companies work on a skeleton crew during these hours and because of union rules and regulations, they are also working on a time and-a- half pay scale, and those wages come from YOUR shipment.

SOLUTION #2: Here’s where it gets tricky. Some people like to work from home, which is great, except when you have things shipped out or delievered to you. Notice that it does say “commercially zoned area”. If you do have a commercial place of business (or you can arrange to setup at a commerical place of business) where you can ship out and receive that would be your best bet to save money.

LIFT-GATE: When the shipping or receiving address does not have a loading dock, manual loading or unloading is necessary. A liftgate is a platform at the back of certain trucks that can raise and lower a shipment from the ground to the truck. Additional fees apply for this service.

SOLUTION: This is similar to the loading and unloading solution (Your logistics managers should have a discount with the trucking company moving your product. Some of these discounts can be as low as $15-$25 per load (including both loading and unloading). These prices are guaranteed during negotiations with the trucking company before the shipments are set up to distribute.) Also, a short-cut to this can also be, if you are working in or near a place that either has it’s own lift or you have people at your company that can assist in loading/unloading the product, you can save money on that too. There are also some freight companies that have smaller bobtails that can be better to use for these shipments.

More on Accessorial Charges later this week. Until then, I’ll see you on the docks!

-The Freight Doctor
http://www.thefreightdoctor.com