One skid or two, what would you do?

Freight Broker

Freight Broker

Well-Known Member
Sep 12, 2009
2,156
1,899
113
30
Here's the scenario: Shipper calls to state that he's got 2 skids, 1300 lbs to ship. I send in the carrier with instructions to pickup two skids, and the carrier delivers them to my customer in Saint Catharines, no issues. Well, no issues until this morning. The receiver calls me to tell me he got the 2 skids alright; however, they were stacked on top of each other and shrink wrapped... so he says its really ONE skid, and he should only be paying me for one skid. I told him my response.. just curious as to how some of you would respond.
 
Your customer is correct.

If you notified the carrier they are non-stackable and they decided to do it than your carrier has to drop their rate.
 
Before making a decision, you need to know who stacked it:

Was it the shipper?
Was it the carrier?
Was it the consignee after delivery (seriously, it's possible)?

Happy Friday,
Mike
 
  • Like
Reactions: chica123
I should clarify that the skids were shipped as two.. the carrier, on their initiative stacked one on top of the other in their warehouse to save space. Stackability was never an issue as these are railway spikes and not susceptible to damage.
 
Freight Broker said:
I should clarify that the skids were shipped as two.. the carrier, on their initiative stacked one on top of the other in their warehouse to save space. Stackability was never an issue as these are railway spikes and not susceptible to damage.
Click to expand...

If stack-ability wasn't an issue I don't understand why it wouldn't be quoted as one skid spot stacked? Especially with the weight being so light.
 
Likely because the shipper doesn't have the wherewithal to handle the weight of the one heavy skid verses two light ones..
 
Freight Broker said:
Likely because the shipper doesn't have the wherewithal to handle the weight of the one heavy skid verses two light ones..
Click to expand...

Okay that makes sense, but if your customer notified you these skids are stackable you could have sold them as stackable, but had to be readjusted at a terminal

If your customer stated they are not stackable the carrier should drop their rate. No carrier should stack freight if they are not aware that they are able to.
 
Charge your customer for the materials and labor to stack the skids. Depending on the laneway, the cost of materials and labour may make up for the smaller volume freight rate.
 
I'm billing my customer for the two skids because that's how they were shipped, and I'm going to pay my carrier the two skid rate. I told my receiver that the stacking of the skids was something my carrier did to save space on their truck, and the cost benefit of doing that should therefore accrue to my carrier. Only way to get the one skid rate is to ship it as one skid right from the get go. We're working with the shipper to see how they can load heavier in the future.
 
We ship crazy number of skids into a few floor spaces for example it might be 15 skids but only 4 floor spaces so we only talk floor spaces never # of skids it takes a little education but runs smoothly after that.
 
  • Like
Reactions: hauling_ass
One has to remember that a lot of people who are involved in shipping freight don't necessarily understand volume LTL. It sounds crazy but it's true. And in most cases, the buyer doesn't see the actual freight so this would never be an issue.
 
lowmiler88 said:
We ship crazy number of skids into a few floor spaces for example it might be 15 skids but only 4 floor spaces so we only talk floor spaces never # of skids it takes a little education but runs smoothly after that.
Click to expand...


While I agree with you LM I had a carrier try and tell me I would be charged double the rate to pick up stacked skids. I just told him to leave the freight on the dock I will get another carrier in to do it. The back tracking and double speak soon stopped but by that time he had pissed me off so I still took the freight off of him. Southern Georgia in January is really no place to try and play games.
 
In most cases, I would use the wording on the Bill of Lading as the determining factor. Was the B/L completed as 2 skids, or 1 skid? In addition, did the receiver just sign the B/L as presented, or did he change the #of skids from 2 to 1? Sometimes the information given out at the time of booking, changes when the truck arrives.
 
Just curious. Was this an inbound from the US? Did they pickup and line haul all the way back as two skids, then wrapped them up as one back in Canada for the local delivery (or the same scenario going outbound to the US?)
We have several customers with really strict 'no-stacking' policies, and we understand why. They ship skids no higher than 4 feet to avoid crushing and damage. They also pay accordingly, and so do we to the carrier. I wouldn't be accepting of any carrier, being paid for 2 skids and taking the liberty to stack them without the decency of asking if this would cause an issue. If it didn't, I'd say go ahead, but to accept the 2 skid rate, then handle the freight in this manner using their sole discretion is not good business practice. You should add "no stacking permitted" to your rate agreement to help solidify your position that this is how it should be if need be.
Anyway, it's Friday. New headaches start Monday morning (probably before unfortunately)
Good weekend all.
 
There is no definitive answer. You need to check with the carrier. Just like anything else if you ask 10 different carriers what they consider a standard skid you will get many different answers. In my view if it is decked and wrapped when you pick it up it is one skid, albeit higher than normal. It may be considered by the carrier as two if they use good load bars and base there capacity on decking everything possible.
The carrier has the right to use every square inch of their equipment to maximize utilization. They also have the risk of a claim if they do not do it properly to protect the product.
The customers has the right to mark "Do not stack" on the bill of lading and if so the carrier should not stack, however the carrier has the right to quote more.
No point in building trailers with over 9 ft. inside height if we are going to only use the bottom half.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom