Get-The-Most-Accurate-Freight-Quote-For-Your-Shipments
June 14, 2008 by: Ted Grummons (Logistics Manager, CompCore LTD)
It has probably happened to you. You get a great freight rate to move your LTL load, then receive a nasty surprise when you receive your freight bill. The nasty surprises are typically the result of reweighs, freight reclassifications (for LTL), and additional accessorial charges.
While true that carrier bills often do exceed quoted rates (an average of 4-8% of carrier bills state overcharges), many times the blame for the surprise does not rest with the carrier. Rather, the blame lies with the information given to the carrier or freight broker at the time of freight quoting. For example, many shippers do not have scales, so they estimate the weight. Most folks don't have experience as weight guessers, so they are often wrong. Whether 500 or 1000 lbs., its not moving when you push it, and there is no way to tell what it really weighs just by looking at it. As a result, there is an unexpected reweigh charge on the freight bill.
Another problem is freight reclassifications. Many items (e.g. plastic goods) are "dimension weighted", which means the dimensions of the item along with the weight affect the freight class assigned. Customers often guess at what the ultimate dimensions of the shipping unit will be, and often fail to include the pallet or other packaging in the equations. This can result in the item having a lower dimentional weight and a higher class. If the information the customer provides to the shipping agent has the dimensions incorrect, the freight class assigned will be lower. But when the carrier terminal manager looks at the freight, they'll see the mistake and upclass the shipment. This can result in substantial upcharges.
The bottom line for freight shippers is to make sure you give your freight broker, shipping agent, or freight carrier the most accurate information possible at the time of obtaining a freight quote. Do not guess and hope for the best, or buyer beware when the freight bill comes!