Freight shippers need to be aware of what obligations they are assuming when they move freight using a freight bill of lading. Today, hundreds of shippers enter into contracts where they do not know the responsibilities and obligations they are taking on.

The main reason for this is because most of these loads involve only a bill of lading. Many times, this bill of lading comes from the carrier and the shipper just pulls one out and uses it when it comes time to ship. The freight shippers signs the bill of lading and the carrier hauls the freight.

Beware of these bills of ladings, because many times freight shippers can be caught agreeing to terms they don’t know about. For example, on freight shipping manager used a carriers bill of lading that referenced terms in another agreement which stated that, if freight bills were not paid in a timely manner, all the discounts would be waived for ALL SHIPMENTS with freight bills outstanding. This resulted in the shipper being charged an extra $26,000 for their shipments!

After deregulation, there is no government agency watching LTL and full truckload freight shipping. So make sure you know what you are agreeing to when you sign your carrier’s bill of lading.

FreightClick.com has joined the fight to help victims of the Myanmar cyclone.  For the next several weeks, the company is offering discounts off LTL (less-than-load) freight and Truckload freight services for customers shipping supplies destined for the victims of the Myanmar cyclone.

FreightClick’s customers can use the company’s on-line rating system to obtain freight quotes and rate shop between different leading LTL and Truckload freight companies and carriers. When notified that the shipment contains emergency relief supplies for Myanmar, customers will receive a reduced rate on their freight shipping.  The discounts apply to domestic shipments that are consigned to ports for ultimate transportation to Myanmar cyclone victims.

“We all need to try and help people in need,” explains FreightClick CEO Justin Lubin. “The discounts should help folks who are looking to do something positive.  Shippers simply need to contact us to get an LTL or Truckload freight quote. We will help them the best freight shipping solution for their load, and prepare all the required documentation. The ultimate goal is to help get critical supplies to the people in Myanmar who need them the most.”

FreightClick’s decision to help the victims of the Myanmar cyclone is just another example of American business working hard to help others.  Discounted freight shipping is especially helpful in light of the recent surge in shipping prices as a result of the record high oil prices. 

Unknown to most freight shippers is the freight futures market where companies can hedge against increases in freight rates. Analysts report that the activity on the Baltic Exchange’s Index (Dry) shows that investors and hedge funds are running to participate in these once obscure markets.

Ronald Willins, analyst of the FIS Freight Services, reports that “The freight futures derivatives market should continue to grow larger than the underlying freight market. Financial players want to exploit and profit from the growth of Asian markets, even in spite of America’s slowdown.”

The impact on domestic freight shippers could be felt as speculators on the freight futures derivatives markets could push pricing up for ocean freight, with a possible spillover into domestic LTL and Truckload freight rates.

Not all Carriers are being hurt by surging fuel prices. Burlington Northern Santa Fe, one of the largest railroad freight carriers in North America, announced that its first quarter net income substantially improved by 30%.

The details show that much of this financial improvement came as a result of the company’s ability to collect an extra $275 million in fuel surcharges from freight shippers who use the railway.

The results show that the rail carrier was, really, benefiting from the rise in fuel prices. Commentators note that companies that engage in freight shipping, LTL, Truckload, or rail, should note that fuel surcharges are not merely “cost pass-throughs”, but may also be profit centers for carriers.

This is because methods of determining fuel surcharges factor in variables other than just the price of fuel.  This means that a small increase in the actual cost of fuel can end up as a significantly greater boost in the “fuel surcharges” tacked on by carriers.

When navigating the pricing maze, freight shippers need to be be sure the freight quote they receive is an all-in price, including any fuel surcharges.  This way, shippers can avoid nasty surprises when the bill comes.

There are many different opinions on how involved the government should become in the freight shipping industry and transportation in the United States. First, there are tax issues. In its most recent report, The National Surface Transportation Policy and Revenue Student Commission, comprised of logistics industry figureheads, proposed a fuel tax increase to help support funding for interstate infrastructure.  The Bush administration is very much against any sort of tax hike.

Current administration officials explain that freight haulers need to use the current infrastructure more wisely; for example, spacing out volume by providing incentives for hauling freight during the night. The bottom line, the jury is out on tax increases, and any potential electoral candidate who supports them is risking quite a bit.

Government agencies are also focusing on truck safety. In doing so, they are paying attention to using new technologies to make sure truckers comply with rules. This regulation could further lessen the supply of freight which could come back to haunt us as we pull out of the recession and find lots of demand and a shrunken freight supply.

Stock market analysts lowered revenue and profit expectations for major domestic LTL freight cariers, including freight companies YRC Worldwide and SAIA.  Carriers are being hurt by increasing fuel costs and lower demand resulting from the growing recession.

“Carriers have experienced a marked decline in freight tonnage than most of us who follow the market had thought would happen,” explains analyst George Hattron. “We predict other carriers like Old Dominion and Con-way to demonstrate some weakness as well.”

The market will be shaky for trucking and freight shipping stocks in the near future, as the economy proceeds through the looming recession. Demand for freight will likely continue to be weaker than it has been in past years.  Fuel price increases could spell further divergences in the freight rates that carriers demand the the freight quotes that shippers receive.

With demand for LTL freight falling in early 2008, Carriers are being a lot more competitive with rates. Freight shippers, especially larger shippers, should be able to have their rates hold for this year.  This is especially so because carriers are concerned about lesser volume.

“I believe larger shippers should have more leverage in this environment,” says Tim Hutson, a freight consultant. “But smaller shippers would be best to work with a freight pooling company, because the carriers are still not happy about giving good rates to lower-volume shippers. This is even more so because fuel surcharges are so high.”

There are at least 4000 comments received by the the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration — both DOT agencies – related to limiting truck engine speeds to 68 mph.

Not surprisingly, while there are safety advocates and ATA member fleets supporting this plan, many independent drivers and truckers are not for it. What about public opinion? 

One of the responses strongly supported the speed limiting on commercial trucks to minimize accidents because of speeding. The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association feels that the speed limiter will hardly have an effect on speeding, but will impact highway safety negatively. The benefits of limiting speeds are not convincing enough to be implemented.

Another issue is whether the FMCSA or NHTSA has the authority to create a rule that would effectively set speed limits on state highways, because effective 1995, highway speed is regulated by individual states. 

The Best Highway Safety Practices Institute in Portland feels that speed limiters will reduce the capacity of multi-lane roadways. The ATA fleet representatives feel that while variations in traffic speeds could have safety implications, cars are likelier to rear end a tractor trailer traveling at reduced speed. Imagine an 80000-pound tractor-trailer rear-ending an automobile! The speed limiters will shift the focus on such safety issues related to automobile operations around trucks. It is felt that increased variances in traffic speeds between cars and trucks will not create a greater safety problem.

The outcome of the speed limiter issue remains to be seen.

A new survey by maintenance management experts Arsenault Associates found that fleet budgeting as the biggest worry facing trucking company managers. Next comes equipment life cycle costing. Arsenault will use the results of this survey where around 200 fleet managers participated, during its conference in October. The survey also covered driver/mechanic management; tire management, equipment specification, wireless computing, purchasing, and accident tracking.

Fleet managers, therefore, are not only accountable for keeping the fleet operational and running, but also for its financial management.

They must be conversant with budgeting fleet maintenance expenses, developing an operating expense plan and managing it.

Arsenault’s Dossier software helps track and report on actual fleet expenses vis-à-vis estimated expense budgets; tracks parts, labor, fuel, fluids, tires, and other related fleet operational and administrative expenses. 

Fleet managers face the key challenges of managing the high cost of fuel and executing safety programs that focus on reducing accidents that can be prevented. Added to this is the constant pressure from management to reduce costs. They have to continuously show more and more cost savings every year while managing a bigger workload with minimum resources. But fuel and safety are the top challenges that face commercial fleet managers. One of the reasons for safety being a major concern is the pressure from corporate risk departments in fleet management. So much so, fleet managers think twice about taking on vehicles that do not come with the recommendation of the risk department, in case there is a safety related issue, ending up in an injury or accident, where they may be blamed for not taking the safety issue seriously.

The pilot project that was to let Mexican trucks haul freight into the US has been stalled since the Senate panel voted for a delay.

The earlier decision was to allow hundred Mexican trucking companies to come beyond the present twenty-mile limit for a period of one year initially, provided they complied with on-site Department of Transportation audits and prescreening of Mexican drivers, along with drug tests and insurance checks. Similar to Canadian carriers, the Mexicans are not allowed to haul point to point within the US. At the present time Mexicans are allowed to travel twenty miles into the commercial zone, north of the US-Mexico border. But the Senate panel wants to delay the plan – and wants details of this pilot program published. They feel the public should have enough time to express its opinion before the program is executed. It is felt that the move to open the US border to Mexican trucks is compromising safety. In the meantime, the Transportation Department expressed its commitment to going ahead with the program, taking care of law enforcement concerns on the way. The Department feels that allowing the Mexican trucks into the US will benefit the US economically as well as maintain safety standards.

The Senate’s concern is that the US has opened the border to the Mexicans before Mexico opened the border to US trucks. The International Brotherhood Of Teamsters is happy with the delay. Though access to US highways to Mexico was to materialize in 2003, it was stalled due to disagreements between the US and Mexico.