When I first entered this business, at the age of 15, one of my favorite things was looking for NMFC’s inside the giant book that was the National Motor Freight Classification. I am not totally sure why I found it intriguing, but it was like solving a puzzle each time and playing the game of how to find the lowest class that could possibly correspond to the freight that my customer was shipping. For a girl that had always loved math and problem solving, this was right up my alley. Calculations and logical arguments? Count me in!
In today’s world, the NMFC is no longer a giant book and now an online library (honestly, I miss the book). The days of it being the end all be all are over, many carriers have implemented their own limitations and rules regarding the governance of the NMFC and applicable classes within their own tariff, some even turning to strictly density as the classification guide for freight running through their system. In other words, sometimes the NMFC is bible and other times the carrier has written specific rules as to their acceptance of the classification put forth by it. This remains the largest challenge when shipping LTL with common carriers. (Though accessorials, their frequency of occurrence, and the rates being charged, are rapidly vying for first place of challenges in today’s LTL common carrier world). And to be fair, the request of deeper discounts on the common carriers’ tariffs often leave them with no option but to charge these additional fees. At the end of the day, we all need business to be profitable to ensure a future for our companies and the families they support. This means negotiating best rates to reduce the financial impact of shipping and pricing your services responsibly are equally important.
The necessity of an adept and well-educated brokerage team has never been more valuable. Our expertise, desire to protect our customers, advocate on their behalves and ethically guide them along the shipping path is by and large our value. Shipping LTL with a well-versed broker, who maintains good relationships with their underlying carriers, leaves you, as a customer, in a power-position. With Streamline, you get 53 years of expertise in shipping LTL, Volume, TL and all modes of same, full-service customer support, claims filing, reclassification dispute and advocation on your side. This saves you time and money to focus on what you do best, grow your company, deliver exception customer service to your own customers and sleep soundly knowing your freight is in good hands.