When the trucking industry's National Classification Committee (NCC) establishes or revises commodity classification ratings, which are published in the National Motor Freight Classification (NMFC), it is allowed to consider only the following four transportation characteristics: density, liability, handling and stowability. Of these four characteristics, two—density and liability—typically carry considerably more weight than the others do. But that could be changing.

A little background may be in order here. As noted above, if the other factors fall within normal ranges, density—defined as weight per cubic foot—becomes the controlling factor in determining a commodity's classification. In assigning goods to one of the 18 classes applied to commodities listed in the NMFC, the committee relies heavily on the NCC Density Guidelines (or in cases where there is a wide range of densities, the committee will many times establish a multiple scale of ratings based on density).

Liability typically is the next characteristic to be considered. If the record shows a high susceptibility to loss or damage, the NCC Value Guidelines—classes related to value per pound—may come into play. This may result in commodities' being assigned classes higher than would normally apply if density alone were considered.

The two other factors—handling and stowability—generally don't exert much influence over the classification process. Most commodities fall within normal ranges, and in such cases those factors are given little, if any, weight.

Once in a while, however, one—or both—of these factors causes difficulties. For example, a product may be difficult to handle even with the use of mechanical handling equipment. In other cases, carrier drivers and dock workers may receive numerous handling instructions, such as "Do not drop," "Do not fork this side," "Do not drag/push," or "Do lift completely."

As for stowability, several factors can make the job of structuring a load difficult and time consuming, including a lack of regular load-bearing surfaces, unusually heavy weights requiring floor loading, and requirements that only compatible freight be stowed adjacent to the load.

It appears, based on my monitoring of NCC dockets, that the committee is now taking a closer look at handling and stowability characteristics than it has in the past. In the committee's May docket, for example, there were two Review Matters where these factors had prompted the committee to consider tacking on a class or two over and above what the item's density would ordinarily call for. One case, for example, involved a commodity deemed difficult to handle and stow because of its length—90 or more inches.

If and when such a penalty should be tacked on to any commodity, a potential problem could arise. Right now, some individual carriers have a rule that assesses additional charges of up to $50 per shipment on all articles over 14 or 15 feet in length. This puts these overlong shipments at risk of being penalized twice—once via the NMFC classification process and once via a carrier penalty fee. One way to avert such potential problems would be to assign a unique symbol to such commodities in the NMFC. With such a symbol in the classification, those carriers' rules could be flagged so as not to apply on articles having that symbol, thus sparing shippers the extra work involved in ensuring that their commodities are not charged twice.