About: Dominique Defour

LTL accessorial charges are pesky extra fees carriers add to shipping bills in order to account for additional services and resources needed to deliver a shipment. They can quickly add up and cause unnecessary increases in your overall transportation expenses. Knowing what they are and how they are calculated is the first step in taking back control. Bellow is a guide to better understand and reduce the most common accessorial charges.

FAK (Freight All Kinds) agreements enable multiple items to be shipped and billed under a single freight class. For shippers dealing in various freight classes, these contracts can generate immense efficiencies. They allow for a streamlined process by reducing costs (admin and operational) for both parties involved (the shipper and the carrier). BUT, as time passes, the benefits of many FAK agreements evaporate. They then turn into unnecessary drains and inefficiencies, which inflate the freight bills of unaware shippers. 

Here are four reasons you may need to review your current FAK agreement(s):

Mode optimization (finding the most cost-effective shipment method for every shipment) is a useful cost-minimization tool. However, traditional methods can often lead to missed opportunities and foregone savings.  Here are five essential questions to ask during mode optimization planning or evaluation.

For time- or temperature- critical shipments, nothing beats air freight. It is a highly efficient, highly visible form of shipping that has become an integral component of many modern supply chains, allowing shippers greater agility and speed to market. However, these gains can often come with a steep price tag. Here is a quick guide on how to best approach integrating air freight into your supply chain. 

Top risk management firm RMS conducted a catastrophic risk analysis of the world’s ports, ranking them according to greatest loss potential. Though the two riskiest ports are in Japan and China (Nagoya and Guangzhou), out of the top ten most hazardous ports, six are located in the United States and two are in Europe.

The tables have turned. Driver shortages and increased HOS regulations have made shipping a seller’s market. More and more, shippers are the ones competing for carrier services. This role-reversal means carriers can be choosier about their freight, and shippers with reputations for being difficult, do so at the costly and inconvenient risk of delays and unshipped cargo. As the trend evolves, there is growing talk of the Shipper of Choice designation, which involves investment in carrier-friendly processes and a conscious commitment to good carrier relations. Here’s what you need to know.

July 1st has passed, and the new SOLAS VGM regulation is now in effect. The rule, aimed at cracking down on overweight containers and accidents, states that, as a condition of vessel loading, shippers must present the verified gross mass (VGM) of their containers to ocean carriers. The rule change was approved in 2014, and gradually, software-based solutions arose to meet the needs of anxious shippers. Here is a roundup of 7 products aimed at making SOLAS VGM compliance as cheap and painless as possible.

Intermodal shipping is loading cargo into a container and moving it from point A to point B using multiple modes of transportation (rail, road, sea, air). Once the cargo is in the container, it is not touched until it reaches its final destination. We’ve already discussed why you should be incorporating intermodal into your supply chain. Here are some ways to get the most out this transportation method:

On the shipping spectrum, partial truck load (PTL) shipping exists at the midpoint between less than truckload (LTL) and truckload (TL) shipping. It’s not as common as the other two, but spotting opportunities for it can save you a lot of money. Here’s what you need to know about this safer, faster, and cheaper method.

Freight Class doesn’t matter

• Unlike with LTL and TL, freight class doesn’t usually need to be identified on a PTL shipment. This means no NMFC codes, class calculations, and nasty reclassification charges! 

More Peace of Mind

• The truck that delivers your shipment is the same truck that picks it up. There are no unloads and reloads. Fewer hands mean fewer opportunities for damage. 

Fewer Delays

• Because these shipments don’t typically have to stop at distribution terminals during their journey, they’re more likely to arrive on time than LTL and LT shipments. 

So, when is partial truck load shipping right for you?

• If your shipment falls between LTL and TL requirements, PTL  might be the way to go. More specifically, PTL should be considered if you are moving between 6 and 18 pallets or between 8,000 and 27,500 pounds. 
• PTL is also ideal for light but large shipments; cargo that doesn’t weigh much but takes up a lot of room. Shipping such loads via LTL can be extremely expensive, so you may want to explore PTL as an alternative. 
• Finally, if your shipment requires careful handling and meets the size requirements, PTL can give you enhanced peace of mind without the enhanced price tag.

The best way to go about coordinating a partial truck load shipment is to go through your third-party logistics provider; they’ll be able to assess your shipment and find the best place for it.