LTL Freight News

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