While the National Motor Freight Traffic Association classification overhaul kicked-off on July 19, FedEx Freight is pausing its enforcement for 150 days to give customers more time to prepare.
The LTL classification changes has been years in the making. The updates includes a shift to a single density-based scale to simply the classification process for shipments that have no handling, stowability or liability issues.
“Once the changes are fully adopted, FedEx Freight may apply an inspection surcharge (Item 980, Item 981) for shipments with incomplete or inaccurate information listed on the BOL,” the carrier told customers on its website.
The inspection surcharge depends on the findings made during inspection, when information is incomplete or believed to be incorrect on the customer’s bill of lading.
For example, if FedEx Freight reweighs a shipments and the difference is less than 50 pounds of the weight listed on the bill of lading, no fees will apply. If it’s over 50 pounds, there will be a $38 fee, according to FedEx Freight’s 100-X Rules Tariff guide.
While FedEx Freight is giving customers more time to prepare, other carriers such as A. Duie Pyle and Southeastern Freight Lines recently shared with Trucking Dive on how they’ve been preparing for the LTL classification shift.
Both carriers increased the amount of dimensioners to their operations noting that accuracy of the dimensions for shipments will make the new classification system work more effectively.
