A Big Freight Change is Coming To The Printing Consumables industry.

[news]

A Big Freight Change is Coming To The Printing Consumables industry.
…. and it is not necessarily a good one.
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/change-coming-printing-consumables-industry-mark-fisher/?published=t

Up until now, there have generally been three freight classes associated with the Printer Cartridge Industry:

                Class 70                Printer Cartridges without Drum, Toner and Developer units combined
                Class 100              Printer Cartridges WITH Drum, Toner and Developer units combined
                Class 175              Empty Cartridges being returned for recycling/disposal.

Well, starting April 28, that is ALL going to change. 
In the February 13, 2018 meeting of the Commodity Classification Standards Board (CCSB), one of the proposals discussed was amending the National Motor Freight Classification (NMFC) to a DENSITY based NMFC/Class instead of a commodity based NMFC/class that we currently have.  What does this mean for you?  First off, this means you need to start looking at the weights and dimensions of EVERY pallet you are shipping.  The Density of each pallet will need to be calculated, and from there you can determine which NMFC/Class belongs.  Secondly, the time to optimize your density is NOW.  The below chart lays out what your new shipping classes and NMFC codes will be depending on your densities:

New Class	Density	New NMFC
400	00 to under 01 pcf	116030-01
300	01 to under 02 pcf	116030-02
200	02 to under 04 pcf	116030-03
175	04 to under 06 pcf	116030-04
125	06 to under 08 pcf	116030-05
100	08 to under 10 pcf	116030-06
92.5	10 to under 12 pcf	116030-07
85	12 to under 15 pcf	116030-08
70	15 to under 22.5 pcf	116030-09
65	22.5 to under 30 pcf	116030-10
60	30 or over pcf	116030-11

 

In order to take advantage of the lower freight classes, freight will need to either become heavier, or smaller, or both. 

So, after all of this, you may be asking yourself “Why does all of this matter”?  Well, with some very few exceptions typically, the higher freight class, the higher the amount the freight will cost you.  Just how much will it cost?  Well that is dependent on several factors. Namely your Length, Width, Height, and Weight PER PALLET.  In pulling a random sampling of 10 shipments, and running rates at the current freight classes, and comparing them to the new freight classes, on average we are seeing close to a 50.1% increase in shipping costs over Class 70 freight, 35.5% increase in shipping costs over class 100 freight, and a 1.4% DECREASE in shipping costs over class 175.

The time to start preparing for this change is NOW. 

Optimize your packaging. 

Optimize how you are building your pallets. 

Increase your rates now and get ahead of this. 

Let your customers know what to expect.

Like it or not, this change is happening, and there is little (if anything) that anybody can do to stop it now.

If you have any questions about this, or any other CCSB changes, you don’t understand or if you have questions please reach out to me anytime.

Mark Fisher – Unishippers SFW
https://www.unishippers.com/sanfernandowest/
P: 805 583 3855     F: 747 201 3098
Mark.Fisher@Unishippers.com
346 Kanan Road, Unit 104, Oak Park, Ca 91377

[Author]

April 4, 2018 at 1:21 PM