Taking the time to establish correct LTL quotes will save your company time and money in the long run.
By Tony Jenkins
When a customer is ready to purchase but needs to confirm shipping costs, accurate LTL quotes are essential. Both you and your customer must provide detailed information to ensure accuracy. Here’s what you need to ask:
What is the name of the company that is receiving the shipment?
What is the receiving company’s complete shipping address?
Who is responsible at that company for receiving the shipment, including their first name and last name?
What is the phone number and email (if possible) for this person?
ASK SPECIFICALLY: Is this shipping address a commercial address? The answer is YES or NO. If they can’t answer “yes” without hesitating, then this is a residential shipment and needs to be designated as such on the Bill of Lading (BOL). Note that residential delivery (or pick-up) is always an additional charge from all LTL carriers.
ASK SPECIFICALLY: Do you have a dock or a forklift for unloading? The answer again is YES or NO. If they can’t answer “yes” to one or the other or both, then you need to make sure when you quote the shipment that you include Liftgate Delivery. Again, Liftgate Delivery and Pick-Up is always an extra fee from all LTL carriers.
ASK SPECIFICALLY: Will you require any other services beyond the truck arriving and you getting the shipment off the carrier’s truck? Additional services that will add cost to a shipment include but are not limited to: Appointment Fee, Inside Delivery, Limited Access, Farm Delivery, and many others. If you don’t know what all of these are, consult with your shipping expert.
We recommend that all yards that ship have a commercial scale to weigh
your shipments. If you don’t want to invest in a large commercial scale, at least get a scale that can hook on to your forklift.
Once your customer has provided you with this information, provide accurate details on your end:
What is the pallet or unit size being shipped? Dimensions must include all the outside dimensions of everything in or on your shipment. Note, the carrier doesn’t want exact dimensions, they want rounded up dimensions. For example, let’s say the exact dimensions of your shipment including the pallet/unit and the part being shipped are 47.5”x39.5”x30.2”. The dimensions that the carrier needs to see on the Bill of Lading (BOL) are 48”x40”x31”. Note that any dimension over 0.0… rounds up to the next highest number, so 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4, 0.5, 0.6, 0.7, 0.8, and 0.9 all round up to the next whole number, in this case 1.0. More examples: 40.4 equals 41; 38.2 equals 39; 20.1 equals 21. You should be aware that nearly all carriers today have laser measuring devices in their terminals and the vast majority of all shipments are re-dimensioned by the carrier, so if your dimensions are off, you will receive corrections and anytime you receive a correction to a BOL, it will cost you money.
What is the weight? Be as close to exact as possible. Like dimensions, the vast majority of all LTL freight is re-weighed. We recommend that all yards that ship have a commercial scale to weigh your shipments. If you don’t want to invest in a large commercial scale, at least get a scale that can hook on to your forklift. There are options that cost less than $50. This investment can save you hundreds of dollars over time in reweighs. We have seen reweighs that range from 10 pounds to over 5000 pounds.
What is the NMFC number and class of the item that you are shipping? If you understand the NMFC system, call me, I’d like to talk to you. The NMFC system is as clear as mud. It’s old, it doesn’t make sense, but the industry still uses it. Incorrect NMFC numbers and classifications generally cost shippers the most money. We have seen many times over the years, a customer doesn’t put the NMFC number and/or class into the quote or BOL correctly.
For example: Uncrated used motors NMFC number is 120790-01 and their class is 85. We had a customer ship a motor and they put 120790 and class 85. Because they didn’t put “120790-01” the carrier charged that customer to not only update the NMFC and class but they also reclassed the freight to a generic NMFC number and a class of 150. Because of this, the shipper is getting hit with an NMFC and class correction charge and, in most cases, a different transportation rate altogether.
One final recommendation, quote your customer at least $50 more than the quote you get from your TMS or broker. Over time, if you have issues where there are rebills from the carrier, if you can’t collect the extra charges from your customer after the fact, you have covered yourself on any future rebills.
Tony Jenkins grew up in the salvage business (Birmingham Auto Parks, Birmingham, MO) and his family still owns a salvage yard in Kansas City. After spending 25 years in corporate America, in 2020 Jenkins started InXpress 308. Today, the majority of the business for InXpress 308 is with salvage dealers and other related industries. InXpress 308 is the only place where you can ship blinker fluid, flux capacitors, and muffler bearings for free. To learn more about Jenkins and his background, visit https://www.linkedin.com/in/asjenkins.
