Freight Shipping Tips

All items are defined with a freight class by the NMFTA (National Motor Freight Traffic Association). Freight Classes are based on the density, stow ability, ease of handling, and carrier liability of the product being shipped.

It is critical that each of your shipments are documented with the correct freight class and NMFC# of your products in order to ensure accurate freight rates. If the freight class is deemed incorrect by the carrier you will be held liable for increased freight charges. This is what is referred to as a Re-Class.

Some items are classed based on the shipment density. This becomes tricky because it is all determined by the dimensions and weight of a particular shipment. It is important to keep in mind that your class may change every time you ship a density based item. Please use our Density Calculator to determine the density (Lbs. / CuFt.) of your shipment. 

If you are unsure about what class and NMFC# to choose for your shipment, please make sure to give us a call and we can figure out the specific freight class for your shipment. We will do our best to help classify and define your NMFC#, but ultimately, this is your product and we are not help liable for extra charges due to a re-classed shipment.

All items shipped need to be identified by listing the appropriate NMFC# (National Motor Freight Classification Number). The NMFC# defines the class freight class of the shipment. This may be the single most confusing part of LTL shipping. Some NMFC #'s are constant while others vary depending on the density of the shipment.

For Example:  We will be using 48x40x48 dimensions for the below shipments...

Carpet Squares or Tiles ship under NMFC# 70670 and always ship at freight class 70. This means, no matter if you send 100 lbs. of carpet squares or 1,500 lbs. of carpet squares... this commodity will always be classed at freight class 70 by using NMFC# 70670.

Exercise Equipment ships under NMFC# 15520 and it is a density-based item. This means that the freight class and NMFC# change every time you ship this commodity and it is all determined by the shipment density. Let's use the same weight as the carpet square example and show you how drastically the NMFC# and class can change. Using the density calculator... We can see that:

According to the table below for this NMFC#:

48x40x48 at 100 lbs. = 1.88 Lbs. / CuFt.

This makes the freight class 300!

48x40x48 at 1,500 lbs. = 28.12 Lbs. / CuFt.

This makes the freight class 65!

As you can see, the class can vary dramatically and if the class varies dramatically... so does your price!

Click Here to view the Freight Class / Density Table for NMFC # 15520.

Reweighs and Re-Classes are one of the most frustrating parts about shipping LTL freight. Although they will never admit to it, reweighs and re-classes are a huge revenue stream for the trucking carriers. Most companies do not know how to effectively challenge these extra charges once the carrier adds them to the invoice... and this is where White Wolf Logistics comes in to help. 

In order to effectively fight the carrier for you when one of your shipments get reweighed or re-classed, we need to cover the basics of what these extra charges are as well as what info we need from you in order to successfully win the fight with the carrier.

Firstly, what is a reweigh or a re-class? For those of you who are ahead of the class... hold your laughter.

A Reweigh:

is when the carrier weighs your shipment at one of their terminals and finds the total weight to be more than what is listed on the Bill of Lading. Why is this a bad thing for you? As discussed in the LTL section, one of the pricing components for any LTL shipment is the weight... and if the shipment is found to be heavier than listed... the price of the shipment goes up. I am sure there are a few students sitting in the back of the class who are wondering... "Well, why wouldn't I just lowball the weight on all of my shipments and if the carrier catches me on a few shipments, I will just be paying what I should have in the first place but save money on the others that went unnoticed?" Firstly, wipe that smirk off your face cause you're not the smartest one in the room... everybody thinks of this... including the carriers. When one of your shipments is reweighed, the carrier not only charges you extra cost to account for the extra weight, but they also charge you a "Reweigh Fee" that acts as an additional charge to act as a penalty for under listing your weight. We all know that everybody out there isn't just a punk who is trying to get away with a few extra dollars in their pockets, but reweigh fees can add up... so, if you are innocently underlisting your weights, please adjust accordingly and save yourself the time and fees of incurring reweighs. We will cover how to fight a reweigh below.

A Re-Class:

is when the carrier examines your shipment at one of their terminals and finds the class to be higher than what is listed on the Bill of Lading. As you know, the class is another component that determines the price of a LTL shipment, but class changes can be much more costly than weight changes so beware! Please read all of our sections on Freight classes, as this is the most difficult component of LTL shipping. Please feel free to use our Density Calculator in order to find your shipment's density for any density-based classes out there. Re-classes are sometimes difficult to fight if the incorrect NMFC# was used to classify your shipment items, so please please please make sure you are using the correct NMFC# when booking your shipments. Always feel free to ask your account manager and he or she will do their best to help you determine the correct NMFC#. 

How To Fight a Reweigh or Re-Class:

With all of our clients shipping LTL freight as often as they do, we here at White Wolf Logistics have become very good at fighting the carriers on Reweights and Re-Classes. We do it every single day and when given the necessary information from you... we are extremely successful.

If one of your shipments ever get Reweighed or Re-Classed, we will need two documents from you.

• Specification Sheet (Spec Sheet):  A Spec sheet is a document that clearly lists the part number, shipping dimensions, and weight of the item you sent in your shipment. This cannot be hand drawn, hand typed, or written in plain email text. A valid spec sheet comes in the form of a catalogue page, website page, brochure, schematics, or other official type document that clearly lists the part number, dimensions, and weight.
• Customer Invoice: This is the invoice that lists what exactly you sold to your customer. The reason we need this customer invoice is so that when we submit it to the carrier for review, they are easily able to match up the item from the spec sheet and verify that this is the same item you sold / shipped to this customer.

Once you provide us with the Spec Sheet and Customer Invoice, your Account Manager will submit this dispute to our Invoice Resolution Department and they will go off and fight the carrier for you. We are very successful with our disputes, but please keep in mind that if you fail to provide these documents, we will not be able to fight the carrier for you. We need documentation because we can never win a fight by saying "Our customer is telling the truth."

*** Please note that an open dispute does not validate non-payment of your invoice with us. You are still responsible for paying your invoice to us in a timely manner and when the dispute is settled with the carrier, we will refund you the money for the Reweigh or Re-Class. If you do not pay your open invoice, it will affect your credit with us and your future shipping abilities will be re-evaluated by our Accounting Department. ***

One of our main goals at White Wolf Logistics is to help eliminate any extra charges on your shipments that you were not anticipating. We are happiest when your quoted amount matches up with your invoiced amount and everybody can go home without additional charges keeping them awake at night. One way to incur additional charges is to fail to list any accessorials on the Bill of Lading.

An Accessorial:

Is any extra service that the shipment requires either on pick up or delivery. Many common accessorials include but are not limited to:

• Residential Delivery
• Lift Gate Service
• Pick Up / Delivery Appointment
• Notify Prior To Delivery
• Inside Delivery
• Limited Access Fee
• Government Site Delivery
• and more...

Not listing any of these additional services on the Bill of Lading means that none of these charges were included in your quote. This means you will end up paying more than you were quoted for and this often leads to a number of issues.

Another way to incur additional accessorial costs is if your customer (person receiving the delivery is called the consignee) requests additional services from the delivery driver. In any shipment delivery, all carriers treat the consignee as an authoritative party who is authorized to request the services needed to fulfill the delivery. 

Inside delivery / Lift gate policies with all carriers:

We completely understand that when the carrier performs inside delivery or lift gate delivery without reaching out for authorization, it can be frustrating and seem unfair. Here is why this policy is actually beneficial for both you and your customer. If the carrier were not to perform the inside delivery or lift gate delivery when the consignee requests it (at time of delivery), the carrier would:

1. Refuse to deliver the product
2. Bring it back to the terminal
3. Reach out to us for authorization
4. We would have to reach out to you for authorization
5. You would have to reach out to your customer for authorization for extra payment
6. You would have to reach back out to us authorizing the inside delivery / lift gate
7. We would have to reach back out to the carrier authorizing the inside delivery / lift gate
8. The carrier would then schedule another delivery with the consignee
9. The carrier would re deliver the shipment to the consignee and perform inside delivery / lift gate delivery

Even though the process listed above delays delivery to the consignee and may aggravate the customer, the main problem with this is that the carrier will not only charge the inside delivery / lift gate... but they will also charge for re-delivery. Re-delivery is always very expensive and no customer would want to pay for it. To charge the customer for inside delivery / lift gate is way better than adding on a couple hundred dollars for the re-delivery. 

The best and only way to 100% solve this issue is to educate your customers on what to expect upon delivery. If the customer knows that when an inside delivery / lift gate is performed, they will have to pay extra for it… they will most likely not request this service. And if they do still request this service, at least you know you have authority to charge them for it after the delivery has been performed.

We understand going back to the customer to collect more money after the delivery is not the ideal situation, but if you were to implement policy stating that “their card will be charged after delivery for any additional services performed that were not quoted to them” , it would not be an uncomfortable position to go back and charge them. The rule is that if the consignee signs the delivery receipt and lift gate or inside delivery is marked... the carrier will add on the charge. So, make sure your customers know to make sure these services are not marked or better yet... have them literally write "No Lift Gate Used" or "No Inside Delivery Performed."

Getting extra charges added on by the carrier is always upsetting, but as long as we work together to help prevent this from happening... your freight shipping will get a whole lot more pleasant.

Whether you ship your product in a box, on a pallet, or in a crate... there are specific guidelines that must be followed in order for the carriers to transport your items safely and efficiently.

When it comes to LTL shipping, packaging must adhere to the rules and regulations set by the NMFTA (National Motor Freight Traffic Association). There are many rules and regulations which we have included in the document titled : NMFTA Packaging Rules and Regulations that can be found on our Helpful Documents Page.

We strongly suggest reading this entire document as it will provide insight on how to properly package your shipments in order to avoid being liable for any damages that occur during transit.

A few of the most important practices you should implement are:

     -  Do not let your product overhang the pallet.

     -  Do not misalign your boxes while stacked on the pallet.

     -  Always strap and wrap your product to the pallet.

     -  Never use a damaged pallet.

     -  Always choose the pallets that have consistent and minimal spacing between the deck boards. 

Transit times are: 

The number of days that each carrier estimates will be needed in order to fulfill the delivery.

Please note that these transit times are estimates and are not guaranteed. Each carrier posts their transit times based on their network of terminals and if the shipment takes longer to be delivered... there is nothing that can be done to receive money back or "Get a Discount". The only way to get money back for a delayed delivery is to have booked the shipment as a guaranteed shipment. It will then be guaranteed to deliver on the specified date by the carrier. Some carriers do not offer guaranteed services and some accessorials remove the option to send a shipment guaranteed.

Accessorials that remove Guaranteed Options are:

• Residential Delivery - The carrier cannot guarantee that they will be able to make a delivery appointment with the resident in time to meet the specified delivery date.
• Lift Gate Delivery - The carrier cannot guarantee the availability of lift gate trucks in any area for a specific date.
• Notify Prior To Delivery - The carrier cannot guarantee that they will be able to reach the consignee by phone in time to get the shipment delivered by the specified date.
• Inside Delivery - The carrier is unsure about the conditions necessary in order to successfully deliver inside the customer's garage or front door and therefore cannot guarantee a specific date.

Among accessorials that remove the options for guaranteed shipment services, there are a handful of carriers in our network that just flat out do not offer guaranteed services. These carriers are referred to as "Consolidators."

A Consolidator:

is a carrier that picks up the freight, brings it back to their terminal, and waits for the container to fill up before shipping it out. A shipment may pick up on a Monday, but not start moving until Friday because it took time to fill up the container. The consolidator carriers normally try not to let it sit for more than a week. Also, most of the time, they send it via Rail. When it comes to consolidators, the transit time is rarely accurate as it depends on when it starts moving rather than when it was booked in the system.  

Consolidators are a great choice if the cost is the most important option, as they are always extremely well priced. Sometimes they run long transit times depending on how much freight they have moving in the same direction, so they may be better for some shipments over others. 

For future use, we have listed the carriers that are consolidators… just in case you would like to avoid them in the future…

Consolidators: 

• Clear Lane
• Daylight Transportation
• Dot-Line Transportation
• Forward Air
• Frontline Freight
• Roadrunner Freight (sometimes)