A key element of carrier pricing has always been weight—designated as "pounds" in domestic pricing. Yet rarely is this subject ever discussed.

On domestic bills of lading (B/Ls), shippers are required to show the weight of "articles being shipped." But what do carriers mean by this term when the B/L weight column merely reads "weight"?

According to the National Motor Freight Classification (NMFC), "unless otherwise provided, charges shall be computed on actual gross weight, except when estimated weights are authorized such estimated weights shall be used. A shipping carrier, container or package, or pallet, platform, or skid constitutes part of the gross weight." (See Item 995, Sec. 1—Weights—Gross Weights and Dunnage.)

As for what's meant by "gross weight," according to the Transportation-Logistics Dictionary ( edited by Joseph Cavinato, Traffic Service Corp., 1982), the term means " ... the weight of both the container and its contents, as well as the material that might be used for packing." A number of individual motor carriers further state in their rules tariffs that actual gross weights include "the weight of any pallets, platforms, racks, skids, or other materials constituting a shipping carrier, container, or package." In other words, if you stretch-wrap a number of packages to a pallet, the weight of the pallet must be included as part of the gross weight. (If packages are placed loose on a pallet but not attached to the pallet, you generally need not include the pallet's weight as part of the gross weight.)

If weights shown on your bills of lading are not accurate, carriers, through their in-house weighing and inspection departments, may uncover the weighing errors and adjust the weight designations using their own scales, including lift truck scales. Some carriers, when doing such weighing on their own, allow a manufacturer's specified tolerance of only plus or minus 1 percent. If the carrier finds an error that is above or below that tolerance, freight charges are assessed on the basis of the corrected weight.

If you ship products having gross shipping weights that vary substantially from unit to unit, you might want to consider asking your carriers to negotiate a "weight agreement." A weight agreement, according to the Transportation-Logistics Dictionary, is "a form of agreement between shippers and carriers when shippers desire to use estimated weights not already incorporated in classifications or other traffic schedules." Furniture shippers, for example, might benefit from this kind of agreement: A study we did many years ago showed variances of up to 20 pounds on knocked-down wooden dining room tables coming off the line.

On another note, in the event a dispute should arise between your company and a carrier over the accuracy of weights shown on your bills of lading, you'll be in a much better position to defend your case if you can show that your scale had recently been inspected and was accurately calibrated.