LTL FREIGHT: WHAT IS AN FAK?


FAK stands for Freight All Kinds, and it is an agreement made between a shipper and a carrier that allows different items falling into multiple freight classes to be billed & shipped at the same class. An FAK can be beneficial for shippers with several commodities shipping at multiple classes. This is because they help with simplifying the bill of lading and freight payment process and can also provide savings. It may not make sense or be feasible to pursue an FAK in some instances. Shipper’s volume, product mix and product types (value) are all things that a shipper and a carrier take into consideration before an FAK will be put into place.

Here’s an example of where it may be beneficial: let’s say a shipper has several commodities ranging from class 50 to a class 77.5. They may consider trying to negotiate an FAK 50, which would allow all of their shipments ranging from class 50 up to a class 77.5 to be rated and billed at class 50. This would provide savings for all of their shipments that historically shipped above class 50, and since the range in product class is relatively small (50 – 77.5), it is not unrealistic to achieve.

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