Recovery of freight overcharges: a source of hidden revenue

By Wm. Napoli Carmichael Traffic Corn. Monrovia. Ca.

building materials dealer received a shipment last year from a New Jersey tile manufacturer. The manufacturer had tendered the shipment to a local eastern motor carrier who. in turn. had interlined the freight with a western motor carrier. The dealer received two freight bills, one from each carrier. Both were for the total cost of the freight. Unaware that the two bills reflected trransportation costs for the same shipment, the dealer paid each carrier. An overpayment of $316.40 resulted.

Carrier assignment of an incorrect freight rate constitutes perhaps the most frequent cause of overcharges. Such errors can generally be detected only through the research endeavors of a freight rate expert with access to an extensive

Sfory at a Glance

How to find money

tariff library. As one illustration, a complex tariff rule, the "Aggregate of Intermediate Rates," allows a rail shipment to be rated as if it moved through several intermediate points, rather than directly from origin to destination. Carrier failure to follow the least costly aggregate rating path results in higher, unnecessary costs. In one instance, a lumber dealer was overcharged $l 50 per carload because of carrier failure to apply this rule.

Upon discovery of any type of overcharge, a claim can be easily filed and the overcharge readily recovered. When a claim is filed within three years of the shipment date. regulated common carriers are required by law to refund the overpayment.

Fortunately, a shipper need not employ a rate exPert nor maintain an expensive tariff library in order to prevent excessive transportation costs. Many potential overcharges can be spotted rather easily, even by transportation laypersons. Shippers and receivers should take advantage of this fact by designating a specific person in their company to review each freight bill prior to payment. The following procedures should be included in the intra-company review.

(l) Verify that the freight bill should indeed be paid by the company. Check that the invoiced name and address on the freight bill matches that of the company. Be sure that the shipment was actually shipped or received by the company. Examine the F.O.B. terms under which the shipment was made. Determine if the freight charges should be paid by the customer or vendor rather than bY the company itself.

Q) Ascertain the amount of charges to be paid. Shippers sometimes mistakenly issue freight payment checks in the amount of the freight bill number, the shipping date, the customer's C.O.D. charges, or any other number that happens to appear on the freight bill. Total charges should be circled in (Please turn to page 62)

Accenting Redwood Beauty

All the paneling in this room has the exposed saw-textured surface of ldeal for new construction and remodeling. this Palco-Loc Paneling is nominal 3/a" x 5" redwood lumber consisting of short pteces selected for redwood's clear heartwood beauty and warmth which are precision lointed and firmly glued together into B' lengths. The Clear All Heart grade pteces with the very subtle color differences and handsome grain characteristics provjde paneling which has an attraclive emphasis of redwood s prestige

Important Advantages

o Clear All Heart redwood is the top quality grade consistrng only of heartwood: Certified Kiln Dried ensures maximum stabrlity.

r Redwood s natural beauty trequently can be displayed best by using short pieces: using short pieces also provides an efficient utilization of redwood lumber.

o 16" nominal thickness provides the prestrge of redwood lumber and subtantially the same in-place appearance as 1" or la" lumber at considerably less cost.

o Application is done easily by Do-lt-Yourselfers or contractors because of the light weight. straightness in length. tongue and grooved pattern. Can be blind nailed, face nailed. stapled or grueo.

r Versatile with a face handsomely saw-textured and the reverse side surfaced smoolh.

r The 5 nomrnal is a special attractive width.

HOW TO USE PALCO.LOC REDWOOD INTERIOR PANELING VERSATILITY

As shown in the photographs, this paneling can be applied vertically, horizontally, or diagonally which particularly creates an accent wall. Can also be used on ceilings. Can have a saw-textured face or smooth face. Should not be used on exteriors.

Application

Nailing: Nail to furring strips or blocking spaced 2' or less. Can use 4d finish nails for blind nailing through tongue and for face nailing. lf face nailed, colored nails can eliminate countersinking and nail-hole filling. Staples may be used in lieu of nails. Gluing: Paneling can be applied easily to dry flat surfaces following adhesive manufacturer's directions.

Detailed Product Specification

Product Name: Palco-Loc Redwood Interior Paneling Size: Nominal 3/e" x 5" in 8' lengths with 14 full length pieces and 2 layers of shorter length pieces per carton. Dressed thickness and width are shown in this sketch:

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Finishing

Although redwood takes and holds finishes better than other woods, redwood requires no finishes on surfaces away from grease, moisture and dirt, as on ceilings and accent panels. Left unfinished, the paneling will gradually darken in color. To protect and minimize color change, use a dull or satin lacquer, or a clear sealer. A number of clear sealers are available, are economical, and are easy to apply.

In areas subject to soiling and moisture such as kitchens and bathrooms, apply lacquer or clear sealer. For a washable finish, apply one or two coats of a flat or semi-gloss varnish.

lf other color hues or tones are desired, penetrating stains are recommended. Any color or hue can be achieved. To help retain the initial color, mix small amount of properly colored pigment or compatible semi-transparenl stain into the clear sealer.

Grade:

Pattern: #22OVz, tongue and grooved, eased edges, saw-textured face and smooth surfaced back. Certified Kiln Dried, Clear All Heart, Mixed Grain redwood.

Finger- Glued with waterproof melamine-urea adhe- joints: sive in non-structural joints (non-structural means nol load-bearing).

Shipping Information For Distributors

Available in straight or mixed truck and car shipments. Mixed shipments can include items from a wide range of redwood lumber including uppers, and Douglas fir uppers and plywood.

Cattons are prctective and easily handled. ln every cafton is an in' struction sheet including arrangements, applications, and finishing recommendations in simple terms ideal for D-l-Y's- r a F i

ROM UPWARDS of 30.000 I feet, the jet passenger over California's Mojave Desert can just make out the long tangents and sweeping curves of the four-foot, eight-and-ahalf-inch-wide Union Pacific Railroad track.

Those faint scratches on the beigeto-black landscape are part of a 9,500mile trace of hard-headed steel highway that courses from Council Bluffs, Ia., and Kansas City, Mo., to Los Angeles and Long Beach, Ca., Seattle, Wa., and Portland, Or. It is the mark of a major carrier of products to and from the West.

This pioneer transcontinental line is a big hauler of grain, coal and other bulk commodities as well as other freight with lumber traditionally accounting for 7 to 9Vo of its tonnage.

It connEcts with 32 other railroids to provide its l3-state operating territory with roller bearing contact with all the other states and Canada.

Union Pacific's sreat reaches of rail are a long suit, o-ne for which any railroad strives: "the long haul." Last year this line's average haul was 7ll miles. It has led the industrv average haul for 48 of the past 5b years. In ln9 it moved 74 billion tonmiles of revenue freight, up 9Vo over '78.

Abetting such performance is UP's location, plus planning throughout a century and more to make the most of its place on the map. For UP built through regions that have been growing,.consuming, producing and needing freight transportation at a rate that has oupaced the rest of the country.