FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

When should I use a common carrier?
When your item weighs more than 150 lbs., truck transportation is more economical than using a parcel service. Common carriers transport your item on a truck with additional small shipments so that the costs for transportation are shared. If your shipment weighs more than 8,000 lbs, you may need an entire truck (or have a Truckload shipment). Standard procedure for common carriers involves a truck driver backing up to a dock to be loaded by the consignor (shipper), and driving the cargo to the receiving destination to be unloaded by the consignee. Any service that isn't considered "standard procedure" may require additional fees.

Are transit times guaranteed?
Transit times are guaranteed only if noted as such on the carrier options list returned for your quote. All other transit times are reliable, but not guaranteed. Transit times do not include the day of pickup.

What happens if my shipment isn't ready when the driver comes?
Most commonly, the driver will not wait. The driver will be dispatched for the following day, which delays your service. You will be assessed a fee if the carrier charges FR8SHIPPER.COM for the duplicated pickup.

Can I estimate the weight of my shipment?
If an inaccurate weight or class is used and a shipment is reweighed or re-classed by the carrier, those costs will be passed on to you. Reweighing may also delay delivery.

What is the claims process?
Claims are handled directly between the shipper, consignee and the carrier. FR8SHIPPER.COM is not involved in the actual claims process and has no influence in the carrier's claim decision. Claims with the carrier must be filed within 90 days of delivery. The claimant should only file for loss or damage on the product which was shipped. ALWAYS be as concise as possible in noting specific damage on the delivery receipt.

Do I call the carrier after scheduling with FR8SHIPPER.COM?
Please do not call the freight carrier or terminal - this will duplicate the pickup. When you schedule with FR8SHIPPER.COM, we contact the carrier electronically.

What should I do with the Bill of Lading?
All parties involved should have a copy of the Bill of Lading (buyer, seller and carrier). It is imperative that the BOL be given to the truck driver when he makes the pickup. Keep one copy for your records.

How should I package my shipments?
Please package, crate or stack on pallets securely to prevent damage. Secure cartons to the pallet with banding, shrink-wrap, stretch-wrap or breakaway adhesive. Improper packaging may void the carrier's liability for damage. Stack cartons squarely on the skid with no overhang. Be sure the top surface is flat. Labels must be placed on every piece or package.

Can I schedule a shipment and have it picked up on the same day?
Yes, but this service cannot be guaranteed due to our carriers' capacity. Please allow a 4-hour window before your docks close so FR8SHIPPER.COM can get a driver dispatched out to your location within that same day. Please note that carriers normally make pickups in the afternoon and deliver in the morning.

What is a NMFC number?
This is a numeric indicator that specifically identifies each type of product that can be shipped by a LTL carrier. The National Motor Freight Association presets these product classifications quarterly. It is always helpful to have the NMFC number on the Bill of Lading in order to avoid re-classification and accurately identify each product you ship. You can contact FR8SHIPPER.COM at 231-788-2397 to determine the NMFC number for your products.

What if my items are fragile?
When shipping personal or fragile items, it is best to use Blanket Wrap services (also known as Van Line Services). Freight carriers can move personal items but they will only offer 25 cents per pound in insuring your freight. Van Lines specialize in moving personal items and will offer additional insurance to cover your item's value. Common carriers are NOT recommended for shipping costly fragile items.

Do fees apply for residential service?
The carrier defines a business as a location that opens and closes to the general public at set times each day. You may be considered a residence if you are located in a residential zone, even if you open and close at set times. Schools, colleges, and churches located in residential zones may also incur residential fees. If the driver is required to go inside (beyond the front door or loading dock) to pickup or deliver a load instead of remaining on the dock or in his truck, additional fees may be applied. When the shipping or receiving address does not have a loading dock, manual loading or unloading is necessary. A lift-gate is a platform at the back of the truck that can raise and lower a shipment from the ground to the truck. Additional fees apply for this service.

Are your rates guaranteed?
FR8SHIPPER.COM has accounts set up with regional and national carriers based on our ability to give them a large volume of shipments. To ensure that you receive the FR8SHIPPER.COM rate that we have quoted, you must provide the driver with a copy of the FR8SHIPPER.COM  BOL. This lets the carrier know to bill the shipment on the FR8SHIPPER.COM account at the discounts we have negotiated.

What happens if I receive a bill directly from a carrier?
Simply call our customer service department at 231-788-2397 and fax a copy of the bill you received. Our customer service staff will be happy to take care of it and have the charges properly credited. This situation usually occurs when the FR8SHIPPER.COM BOL is not used. To prevent future problems, please make sure that the shipper gives the driver a copy of the automated QW Express BOL for every shipment.

What is dimensional weight?
Dimensional weight is a standard formula used throughout the freight industry that considers a package's density when determining charges. Transportation charges are based on the gross weight of the shipment or the dimensional weight of the shipment; whichever is greater. Simply put, dimensional weight is when the weight of a package is inappropriately less than the actual size of the package. For example, a box filled with inflated balloons.

When do dimensional weight charges apply?
When the actual weight of a package is less than the calculated dimensional weight, carriers charge by the dimensional weight.

What is LTL Freight?

LTL shipments typically weigh between 100 and 10,000 lbs. Less than truckload carriers collect freight from various shippers and consolidate that freight onto enclosed trailers for linehaul to the delivering terminal. Most pickups are made in the afternoon and most deliveries are performed in the morning.

What is Freight Class?

Freight class is a method used by shipping carriers to create rates for shipments. Based primarily on the commodity's value and density, all commodities fall under a predetermined class assignment from the least expensive at Class 50 to the most expensive at Class 500. The National Motor Freight Transportation Authority (NMFTA) manages the recognized freight classes and to date there are 18 total possible classes for commodities. These Freight classifications, sometimes referred to as an item's National Motor Freight Classification (NMFC), are based on several factors of the commodity, such as:

All of these factors contribute to your shipment's total classification. If the shipment is comprised of many commodities, each must be listed along with its classification so the shipment's single classification can be determined. These classifications are generally used to determine the cost per hundredweight, which is how most carriers determine their rates.

With so many classifications and thousands and thousands if items for each classification, determining freight class can be daunting for someone new to the freight world. In addition all freight carriers reserve the right to change a shipment's freight class to the correct class if they determine it was incorrectly classified and can, at their own discretion, charge a customer for the difference on any shipment they can prove was incorrectly classified! And that is where our friendly and knowledgeable staff here at FR8SHIPPER.COM comes in. We'll help you determine your shipment's classification and try to avoid any reclassifications, which can add extra service and accessorial fees.

How does the LTL model work?

Once the driver has filled his trailer or completed his assigned route, he returns to his terminal for unloading. The trailer is unloaded and the individual shipments are then weighed and inspected to verify their conformity to the description contained in the accompanying paperwork. All LTL freight is subject to inspection for this purpose. Next, the freight is loaded onto an outbound trailer which will forward the freight to the delivering terminal.

Transit times for LTL freight are longer than for FTL. LTL transit times are not directly related only to the distance between shipper and consignee.

The main advantage to using an LTL carrier is that a shipment may be transported for a fraction of the cost of hiring an entire truck and trailer for an exclusive shipment.

Also, a number of accessorial services are available from LTL carriers, which are not typically offered by FTL carriers.

• Liftgate service at pickup or delivery,
  
• Residential service at pickup or delivery,
  
• Inside delivery,
  
• Notification prior to delivery,
  
• Freeze protection. 
  These services are usually billed at a predetermined flat fee or for a weight based surcharge calculated as a rate per pound.

Volume Pricing

Volume pricing is available from some carriers for shipments which exceed the size parameters for which they are willing to offer standard Tariff-based LTL pricing. These parameters vary by carrier, and not all carriers are willing to offer volume pricing.

Integrating FTL and LTL carriers for shipper cost savings.

Shippers with enough volume of LTL freight may choose to use a Full Truckload Carrier to move the freight directly to a break-bulk facility of an LTL carrier.

Parcel carrier operations

A parcel carrier traditionally only handles pieces weighing less than approximately 150 US Pounds.

LTL carrier operation

LTL carriers prefer to handle shipments with the least amount of handling units possible. LTL carriers prefer a shipment of 1 pallet containing 100 boxes shrinkwrapped to form one piece than 100 individual pieces. This reduces handling costs and the risk of damage during transit. Typically the rates of LTL carriers per pound is less than the rate of parcel carriers.

Similarities

Both LTL carriers and parcel carriers are similar in the fact that they both use a network of hubs and terminals to deliver freight. Delivery times by both types of service providers are not directly dependent upon the distance between shipper and consignee.

Preparing shipments for LTL carriers

Since freight sent via LTL carriers must be handled several times during transit it must be packaged to protect it from scuffing, crushing, or dropping due to carelessness or inattentiveness by dockworkers. Thus it is normally good practice to load freight onto pallets or package freight into crates. Sturdy cardboard boxes are normally acceptable as well.

Packaging freight in this manner serves several purposes:

Since freight sent via LTL carriers is subject to misrouting or misloading it is a good practice to put the Tracking number on each side of each piece of freight. If the Destination State and Zipcode are affixed to each side as well misloading is less likely to occur. Even though it is not required it is good practice to affix a relatively large label including four letter Carrier Code, Tracking Number, Destination Station, and Destination Zipcode of the shipment.

Factors relating to profit margin

LTL shipping is a thin-margined business, so costs must be minimized. Two of the biggest costs for LTL carriers are fuel and labor. As many LTL carriers have unionized labor, labor costs are relatively fixed, so minimizing fuel usage is a significant goal. This translates to maximizing the utilization of every trailer for every mile driven - ideally, every trailer carrying freight would contain a maximum level of freight by both weight and volume.

Intermodal transportation of LTL freight

Not all LTL shipments travel by truck solely. LTL carriers rely on rail or air to forward some freight toward its destination. LTL carriers are normally able to deal with railroads more effectively than small shippers are able to as LTL carriers typically send a large volume of freight each and every day.

What is shipping insurance?

Shipping insurance is a variation of an ocean marine policy. Basically, it is insurance that covers the value of the packages you are shipping. If you package is lost, stolen, or damaged in transit, shipping insurance will ensure that your package is covered. It does not matter with whom you ship.

Is insurance provided for my shipment?

Yes, the company we use to ship your LTL shipment provides up to $25.00 per pound of coverage for your shipment at no cost to you. For example, if your shipment weighs 1200 pounds, it is automatically covered for up to $30,000.00.

Suppose I need extra coverage. What will it cost?

Extra insurance may be purchased for any amount you need.

How do rates work?

Typically, rates are based on $100 units. For example, if your parcel has a declared value of $500, it contains five $100 units. Since the first $100 of insurance coverage is provided by most carriers at no cost, your shipping insurance would be responsible for four $100 units. If the rate for a particular shipment is $0.20 per $100 unit, your premium for this specific parcel would be only $0.80.

FR8SHIPPER.COM
(231) 788-2397
  4490 E. Laketon Ave
Muskegon, Mi. 49442
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