B/L Forms: And then there were two...

By Ray Bohman -- Logistics Management, 6/1/1998

Over the past few years, motor carriers that are party to the National Motor Freight Classification (NMFC) have been wrestling over how many standard bill of lading (B/L) forms should be authorized. Prior to Dec. 27, 1997, six different standard B/L forms were published in the NMFC. But on that date, the Surface Transportation Board (STB) approved a complete revision of the Uniform Straight Bill of Lading-Original-Not Negotiable-Domestic, which for years has been commonly referred to as the "long form." Then on Feb. 7, 1998, virtually identical revisions to the Uniform Straight Bill of Lading-Original-Negotiable-Domestic-Short Form took effect after the STB denied a protest and request for suspension by the Transportation Consumer Protection Council.

Also on Feb. 7, the following long-standing bill-of-lading forms were canceled in the NMFC:

* The Straight Bill of Lading-Original-Not Negotiable, found on Page 233 of current NMFC 100-X.

* The Straight Bill of Lading-Original-Not Negotiable, found on Page 236 of the current NMFC 100-X.

* The Shipper-Provided Short Form Bill of Lading, found on pages 234 and 235 of the current NMFC 100-X. In its place, a bill of lading with that heading may be used as allowed by Item 360, Note 2.

Finally, on Feb. 2, 1998, the National Classification Committee (NCC), which has the final say on all changes to the NMFC, OK'd a proposal for cancellation of the Uniform Order Bill of Lading. The committee felt that the "Order B/L" was rarely used and virtually obsolete. That cancellation took effect on April 18 in Supplement 6 to the NMFC.

Of course, shippers still may design and use their own customized bills of lading as authorized in the NMFC, Item 360, Sec. 2. Such B/Ls generally will be accepted unless they contain provisions that exceed provisions in the two newly revised NMFC B/Ls--the long form or the short form. In such cases, the revised NMFC B/L provisions would take precedence. A classic example would be a shipper B/L that contained the old Section 7 non-recourse clause, with the shipment being prepaid and the non-recourse clause executed. The two new revised B/Ls now limit use of the non-recourse clause to collect shipments, so if an old Section 7 clause still appeared on a shipper's B/L, was used on a prepaid shipment, and was executed, it would be nullified.

Just a reminder that all of the B/L changes recently made in the NMFC apply only for the account of carriers party to the National Motor Freight Classification. There are thousands of truckers that are not party to the NMFC, and generally there have been no changes in their B/Ls or in the types of shipper B/Ls they accept. There is no need to worry about any changes in B/Ls when dealing with these types of carriers. Be sure to recognize this distinction before you run out and print up new B/Ls. You may not really need new ones.

So there you have it. The NMFC, which once contained six standard bill-of-lading forms, is now down to two.

Ray Bohman is a well-known consultant and author. Mr. Bohman is editor of several highly successful newsletters on transportation and is a consultant to a number of national trade associations. He is president of The Bohman Group, consultants and publishers in the freight-transportation field. His offices are located at 27 Bay Lane, Chatham, MA 02633. Phone: (508) 945-2272.