Efficiently managing your freight costs is key to keeping your bottom line in tip-top shape. One of the more common ways your freight costs increase is by the reweighing or reclassification of your freight. Carriers have the right to inspect your shipment if they deem necessary and these incidents can trip up even the most experienced shippers.

When it comes to avoiding reweighs and reclassifications, the best defense is a good offense. Doing your homework on best practices for shipping your freight and closely following these practices will give your freight the best chance of getting to it’s destination without being hit with unexpected charges.

Below we have some points of emphasis to remember before shipping your freight:

Know your freight classes: Less-than-truckload Freight Class refers to the National Motor Freight Classification (NMFC) and it is the category of your LTL freight as defined by the National Motor Freight Traffic Association (NMFTA). Your shipment's LTL freight class determines the carrier's shipping charges. It identifies the size, value and difficulty of transporting your LTL freight.

We know determining your freight class is one of the more cumbersome aspects of freight shipping, and that's why we've developed an entire ePaper on the subject, and a helpful Find Your Freight Class' tool for our customers. We ask a few simple questions about your commodity and point you in the right direction.

Stay up-to-date on industry changes: Like any industry, the freight industry is constantly changing and adapting. For example, NMFC changes evolve to accurately reflect a commodity's “transportability.” The NMFTA will post any changes on their website - regularly reviewing these types of resources will keep you in the know on the important changes that affect your freight.

Pay close attention to your shipment’s weight: Obviously very important to not being hit with a reweigh is getting it right the first time.

• All weights on the BOL should be exact weights, not approximations!
• Remember to include the weight of the pallet and other packaging in the final total weight
• Have your scales tested and calibrated often – we would recommend annually, but there’s no harm in more frequent fine tuning.

Work with an experienced partner you can trust: Even after doing your homework and following guidelines, the freight industry can be a complicated world to navigate. Working with a 3PL partner like PartnerShip allows you focus on your company and us to focus on the freight. We have a team of dedicated freight specialists that can guide you to provide accurate shipment information that will avoid reweighs and reclassifications. As a free service, we even audit your freight bills for errors or unnecessary charges that sometimes arise, and we have the industry knowledge to fight to correct any discrepancies.

Keeping the above tips and advice in mind when shipping your freight will help you stay ahead of the curve and eliminate any unwanted billing surprises. If you have additional questions about reweighs or reclassifications, or would like to learn more about PartnerShip, contact us today at 800-599-2902 or email sales@PartnerShip.com.

Do you have a truckload shipment ready to be sent out? Looking to expedite the process of obtaining a quote for that truckload shipment? One way to quickly and efficiently get your truckload shipment on its way is to have all the information necessary before calling PartnerShip for a quote. Below is a list of tips to follow before picking up a phone or shooting out an email about your truckload shipment.

1.       Know the Basics – Where is the shipment picking up and where is it going? Are appointment times necessary – does the shipment need a specific pickup or delivery time/date? How many pieces, what type of packaging is being used, and what is the weight of the shipment? All of these questions need to be the answered before getting a truckload rate.

2.       Equipment Type – Truckload shipments can have many different requirements - dry van, flat bed, refrigerated, to name a few. Determining the correct option for your specific shipment is an important part of the truckload shipping process and can affect variables like carrier availability. Need more help determining which equipment your shipment requires? Check out our truckload equipment options post for more information.

3.       Commodity – What are you shipping? A basic description of the contents of your shipment is enough to get you an accurate rate on your pending truckload shipment.

4.       Value of the Shipment – It is important to know the value of the goods you are transporting. Even though most carriers have cargo legal liability coverage, typically these policies have limits of $100,000 per trailer; there is no longer any federal requirement for motor carriers to carry cargo insurance. If we know the value of your move, we can ensure the carrier that moves your load has adequate coverage or even obtain additional coverage if necessary. The good news is that PartnerShip has a stringent carrier on boarding process ensuring the safe, most reliable carriers. All of our partner carriers are fully insured with industry standard cargo coverage.

Keeping these tips in mind when obtaining a truckload shipment quote will help ensure quick and accurate quotes.

Do you have a truckload shipment you would like to quote today? Visit PartnerShip.com/TLQuote for a free, no obligation quote today!

Truckload shipping is the movement of large amounts of freight - usually exceeding 10,000 lbs and enough to fill an entire semi-trailer. Every shipment is different and needs the proper equipment to ensure a safe and efficient trip from pickup to delivery. Determining the correct option for your specific shipment is an important part of the truckload shipping process and can affect variables like carrier availability. Below is a list of some of the more common equipment choices, what they are, and how they are used.

Dry Van – This is the most common form of truckload shipping and is the option best used with standard packaged freight that does not need to be temperature controlled. The typical 53-foot van trailer can haul 44,000 pounds or up to 26 standard sized pallets of cargo.

Flatbed – Flatbed trailers are used to haul shipments of large, heavy, and oversized loads that cannot easily fit within a dry van. While flatbed shipping may sound straightforward, there are different options within the flatbed category that can throw you for a loop – single-drop, double-drop, and stretch trailers, to name a few. The PartnerShip team of shipping experts is here to make recommendations based on your flatbed shipping needs.

Refrigerated – Often referred to as “reefers”, refrigerated shipments require temperature controlled trailers. This equipment is often used to haul perishable food, beverages, medicine, plants, or even sensitive equipment. The refrigeration unit on the truck keeps the cargo at the exact temperature specified by the customer.

Chances are that your truckload shipment fits into one of the categories of equipment above. If your shipment falls outside of the above options, our team of dedicated representatives and our truckload brokerage department stand ready to help you find the best option for your shipment. We’ve been helping companies with their shipments for 25 years and we have a wealth of experience transporting all commodities and materials at all weights and sizes. We were even named one of NASTC’s best brokers!

Do you have a truckload shipment you’d like to get a quote for today? Visit PartnerShip.com/TLQuote to get a free quote on your dry van, flatbed, or refrigerated shipment today.

https://www.partnership.com/Quote/public_free_quote_ltlPartnerShip has secured another carrier alliance, with Estes Express Lines- the 6th largest LTL carrier in the United States - to provide our customers with an additional option for less-than-truckload (LTL) shipments. Estes brings reliable, first-class LTL freight shipping services and additional solutions to PartnerShip customers.

Estes, headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, was established in 1931 and has provided top-quality transportation solutions ever since. Throughout the years, high integrity and an unwavering commitment to customers have guided their growth from a small, one-man operation to one of the top carriers in the industry. Today, Estes has almost 15,000 employees and over 24,000 trailers making them the largest privately held LTL carrier in North America.

Estes offers a full spectrum of shipping and supply management services for virtually any destination in the world. PartnerShip customers now have access to Estes world class services, including:

• LTL Freight – Fast, reliable services to regional, national, offshore and international destinations throughout North America and beyond
• Time Critical – Guaranteed, expedited, or time- and date-definite service
• Volume and Truckload – cost-saving volume LTL and full truckload services

If you have any questions about shipping with Estes through PartnerShip, contact us today at 800-599-2902 or email sales@PartnerShip.com. If you're ready to ship now, click the button below for a FREE rate quote on an upcoming LTL freight, truckload, expedited, or tradeshow shipment.

25 weeks ago PartnerShip started our 25 prizes in 25 weeks promotion as a way to say thank you to our customers that have been with us every step of the way. We kept you updated by posting winners periodically:

Congratulations to our latest winners and to all of our past winners who received a "PartnerShip 25th Anniversary Prize Pack". We’d also like to thank everyone who provided pictures and participated in this promotion. We have enjoyed working with you these last 25 years and look forward to the next 25 years of providing savings on shipping services to customers across North America!

Also, if you haven’t already, be sure to check out the PartnerShip 25th Anniversary Thank You Message and PartnerShip Employees Reflect on our 25th Anniversary.

By working with the most reputable carriers in the country, we are able to offer our customers many different services to fit their shipping needs. One of these services is Cold Shipping Package provided by FedEx. This temperature-controlled packaging system for shipping sensitive products across the country or around the world serves as a needed solution to many of our customers shipping food, medicine, or anything else that needs to stay cold during transit. The packaging technology uses a special cooling device to evaporate water over time, maintaining a constant 2–8°C environment inside the package for up to 96 hours.

The Cold Shipping Package from FedEx features:

• Smaller, lighter packaging that weighs less than half of some gel-pack systems, which translates into lower shipping costs and labor savings.
• No complicated gel packing instructions since there’s no fridge or frozen preparation or preconditioning required.
• Peace of mind knowing that your temperature-controlled shipments are in the custodial control of the secure FedEx® network.
• Reusable boxes (replacement cooling devices available), making shipping to and from events and tradeshows easy and cost-effective.

What cold shipping package sizes are available?

If you would like to learn more about cold shipping options available through FedEx, go to fedex.com/coldshipping. There you can order supplies, get more information about cold shipping solutions, and read real world success stories. Also, be sure to check out the short video below about Cold Shipping provided by FedEx.

To learn more about packaging options and best practices, download our free white paper: The Ultimate Guide to Packaging Your Shipments

The transportation and logistics industry is regulated by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) through the development and enforcement of safety regulations. One of these regulations is the Hours of Service (HOS) rules which dictate the working hours of anyone operating a commercial motor vehicle (CMV) in the United States — this includes truck drivers.

Last July the FMCSA made a ruling on HOS which altered provisions of the regulations. Changes that took effect in July of 2013 include:

• The limiting of the maximum average work week for truck drivers to 70 hours, a decrease from the previous maximum of 82 hours.
• Allowing truck drivers who reach the maximum 70 hours of driving within a week to resume if they rest for 34 consecutive hours, including at least two nights when their body clock demands sleep the most - from 1:00-5:00 a.m.
• Requiring truck drivers to take a 30-minute break during the first eight hours of a shift.

There are many reasons for these HOS changes, but the main reason is to combat accidents on the rise due to fatigue. The FMCSA cites increases in crashes due to fatigue the further a driver gets away from a break in driving. The FMCSA's goal is to obviously limit this statistic by inserting more breaks and limiting drive times.

These rules have now been in effect for over 1 year and the influence of the ruling can be seen throughout the industry — impacting every transportation and logistics company as well as their customers.

As you can imagine, one of the major issues that arose from HOS changes is that transit times are now longer. A shipper that is used to seeing a 625 mile next-day-delivery is now seeing that same shipment extended to 26 hours due to a 500 mile per 24 hours limitation change to the regulations. The increased transit times are leading to shipment pile-ups and congestion — a result of the changes that continues to snowball as time goes on.

Another difference that customers are seeing is a bump in prices. With drivers spending more time off of the road than before, rates are escalating to offset that lost time and wages. These changes to HOS regulations, and their effects, are making shippers and carriers reexamine their processes and practices to stay as efficient as possible. Offsetting shipping industry changes and prices can often be achieved by working with a 3rd Party Logistics (3PL) company which brings administrative and financial efficiencies to businesses that otherwise lack the resources to negotiate with carriers and navigate the ever-changing world of logistics.

If you're interested in learning more about the HOS changes, you can read more about them on the FMCSA website. There you can find a summary of HOS regulations, HOS FAQs, and a comparison of old and new HOS rules, among other resources. If you're interested in learning more about working with a 3PL partner, click the button below to download our free electronic white paper on the subject.

For the past 20 weeks we've been giving out prizes as a way to say thank you for helping us celebrate 25 years of helping businesses save money on their shipping. We've kept you updated the whole way — from week 1 through week 10 — and now we have 10 more lucky winners to share with you:*

Congratulations to all our winners who received a "PartnerShip 25th Anniversary Prize Pack," and thank you to those that provided us with some great pictures of their businesses (as shown to above).

With week 20 in the books, you still have five more weeks to take home a prize! All you have to do is enter your business into the contest by visiting PartnerShip.com/25th and filling out the entry form. There, you can also view our 25th anniversary thank you video, learn more about PartnerShip, and take a walk down memory lane!

Also, if you haven't already, be sure to check out PartnerShip Employees Reflect on 25th Anniversary for some insight on what this milestone means to our company and its employees!

*Winners will also be contacted directly

PartnerShip, as in years past, exhibited again at this year's Summer Fancy Food Show - North America's Largest Specialty Food & Beverage Event. The event was held in New York City from June 29^th - July 1^st and featured 180,000 products including confections, cheese, coffee, snacks, spices, ethnic, natural, organic and more. The show also boasts 2,400 exhibitors from 80 countries & regions.

Highlights from the show included:

• The 2014 sofi Awards Ceremony — a red carpet awards ceremony acknowledging the best innovations and tastes of the past year. Check out who took home the gold this year.
• Business Builders — a free "match-making" program for exhibitors and attendees
• Numerous educational programs — ranging from —The Business of Specialty Foods to —The State of the Specialty Food Industry 2014'
• Exhibitor Showcases — the over 2,000 exhibitors always bring new, innovative products that make this show what it is

Since PartnerShip is the endorsed company that manages the Specialty Food Association Shipping Program, is an important relationship-building event for us. Harry Centa, senior program manger for PartnerShip, attended the show to spread the good word about the PartnerShip services and discounts available to SFA members for small package and freight shipping. Harry also had a chance to take a few great pictures at the show that capture the sights, energy, and fun that this show offers year in and year out. See our Flickr slide show below for the highlights.

*The winner will also be notified directly.

We have completed 10 weeks of our "25 prizes in 25 weeks" promotion to celebrate our silver anniversary of helping small businesses save on shipping! We already announced of our first 5 winners, and now have a whole new group:*