For years, less than truckload shippers and 3PLs have been gathering volume LTL rates the hard way. Due to a lack of options, when their shipments fit the parameters of a volume LTL move, these transportation users have had to get on the phone to query numerous carriers about their volume LTL pricing, sending countless emails back and forth.

As fuel prices continue to fluctuate, carriers are looking more closely at the weights being disclosed on the bills of lading versus what is arriving on their docks. When they do not match up, carriers often issue a Weight and Inspection (W&I) certificate to account for the discrepancy—which means unexpected costs for the shipper. In this SMC3 LTL Online Education session, we discuss this important process, the potential impact of incorrect weights, and how to navigate to prevent issues. Rick Wey, director of weight and research, retired, and Paul Dugent, executive director of the Digital LTL Council, NMFTA, shared their insights on this weighty topic.

Ideally, invoicing shouldn’t be complicated. The carrier charges the shipper for the freight, the carrier gets paid, and life moves on. But in practice, all the complexities associated with LTL inevitably bleed into the invoicing process. It’s almost a matter of course that LTL will come with incorrect or avoidable charges. The third session in SMC³ LTL Online Education’s 2023 LTL203: LTL Freight Pricing live seminar hybrid series focused on the challenges of reconciling invoices in the world of LTL.

Much progress has been made to digitize supply chains. Technology advancements like transportation management systems (TMS) and LTL freight APIs (application programming interfaces) automatically connect with carriers and open doors to digitize the shipment lifecycle from quote to delivery.

SMC³ recently talked with Niki Bolton, chief strategic operations officer and senior truck auditor at American Truck & Rail Audits, Inc. about how shippers can proactively reduce accessorial charges and invoice surprises.

The final day of Connections 2023 kicked off with Webb Estes, president and COO of Estes Express Lines, sharing insights from his career as a leader in the LTL market. Estes Express Lines is the largest family-owned trucking company in the United States and the fifth-largest LTL carrier with $4.4 billion in revenue.