LTL Freight News

Freight damages are certainly not pleasant surprises, but they are inevitable at some point if you are a regular LTL shipper. An understanding of the process will help you be more successful at bringing claims to a satisfactory resolution. WHO FILES THE CLAIM? Typically, the payer of the freight can only be reimbursed for the freight charges, so they are usually the ones to file a claim. Anyone can file a claim, however, but this is usually the simplest way to do it. HOW LONG DO YOU HAVE TO FILE A CLAIM? The answer to this depends on the type of claim being filed. There are generally two types of damage claims, Noted Damage and Concealed Damage. The difference between the two is that noted/visible damage claims were noted at the time of delivery, usually on the delivery receipt, and concealed damages were not. Concealed damages must be reported to the carrier within 5 days of delivery. Anything reported past the 5 day window will not be considered for a settlement and will be d

We are roughly 48,000 truck drivers short of filling demand.  can be attributed to numerous factors, One solution to the problem that most anyone can agree upon is the that drivers need to be paid more. Though there are many factors contributing America's truck driver shortage including lifestyle, government regulations, an aging driver pool, among others. The solution to curbing the shortage seems to be multifaceted, and one part of it is most certainly increasing driver pay. We are losing about 95,000 drivers each year to retirement, so we need to attract more young drivers in addition to retaining the ones that are there now. Increasing regulations from the government have pushed some drivers that may not have necessarily been at the age of retirement to go ahead and retire. Another issue at the heart of the driver shortage besides government regulations and driver retirement is a driver’s lifestyle. Being a truck driver is not an easy or glorious job. Rarely do you hear a chi

A ccording to the American Trucking Association, i n 2014 t rucks moved 9.96 billion tons of freight,  which is equal to 68.8% of all domestic freight, and   trucking employed more than 7 million people. With yearly revenue of $700.4 billion - the first time industry revenue has reached $700 billion - trucking accounted for 80.3% of all freight transportation spending in 2014.  

Logistics and traffic managers can be operationally minded and sometimes are only concerned with rates and not the big picture, which is why it sometimes takes executives to lead the charge of choosing logistics partners and/or freight service providers. The LTL market is vastly different than it was just a few years ago. Even though the roughly 25 LTL carriers who own the vast majority of the market compete for business against each other, they do talk to one another, and going behind carrier’s backs is hurting shippers wwhether they realize it or not. We are in the midst of a carrier’s market, and the carriers overwhelmingly favor working with shippers who are willing to form strategic, long term partnerships with a commitment to carrier collaboration as opposed to shippers who consistently rate shop. In reality, taking the rates of one carrier and presenting them to another thinking you’ll get them to go back and forth lowering their price is a surefire way to get on the bad sid

When a shipper requests that a carrier pick up a shipment for delivery to their customer the carrier is to make the delivery regardless of the requirements unless the carrier is unable to deliver, usually for reasons or circumstances out of their control. Carriers can and will bill for a lift gate if it’s needed to off load the freight, even if carriers aren't given authorization to do so upfront. Simply requesting or writing that the carrier must call the shipper for approval of any service not requested on the BOL does not protect the shipper from incurring  and  having to pay additional accessorial fees required to deliver a shipment.  It is the carrier’s responsibility to deliver a shipment in good condition, and it’s the shipper’s responsibility to provide accurate information about a shipment to the carrier for delivery. Residential deliveries don’t always require a lift-gate, but probably more than 95% of the time they do. Logic dictates that most residences do not hav