A look through just about any for-hire less-than-truckload (LTL) motor carrier's rules tariff (or what some carriers now call their "Optional Service and Rules Tariffs") will reveal that those carriers assess additional charges for making pickups or deliveries at certain types of businesses or at specific, named sites.

Most of us are aware that many LTL carriers charge extra for making pickups or deliveries at "private residences," which generally include homes, apartments, camps (other than military), churches, country clubs, estates, farms, rectories, schools and other such locations that are not considered to be commercial businesses.

In addition to imposing fees for serving private residences, carriers may charge extra for pickups and deliveries at other types of sites. To give you some idea of where you could get hit with added charges, I've listed below the sites specified in one major LTL carrier's rules tariff as locations where additional fees apply. They include:

Deliveries to Mines. Under the carrier's definition, a "mine" includes the entire property upon which any pit, excavation shaft or deposit, warehouse, supply house, tipple, etc., is located at which coal, ore or minerals are, have been or will be extracted.

Pickup and Delivery Service at Exposition Centers. This particular carrier not only assesses a minimum linehaul charge based on Class 125 rates with a 55-percent discount, but it also charges either $75 or $150 per shipment or per vehicle if more than one vehicle is required, depending on the convention or exposition center involved.

Delivery Service to Fairs or Traveling Shows. This rule provides for the collection of an additional $75 from the party responsible for payment of the linehaul charges.

Delivery Service at the New Jersey State Prison, Trenton, N.J. This was one of the highest added charges we've seen—$250. Maybe the high fee is needed to cover the cost of hiring someone to "ride shotgun."

Delivery Service After Business Hours—Home Depot. Those charges are $90 per shipment on prepaid shipments delivered weekdays between 8:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. There is an additional $150 charge for delivery during those same hours on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays.

Pickup and Delivery at the Port of Miami, Fla. Cargo moving to or from the port is subject to an additional charge of $30 per shipment.

Pickup or Delivery at Self-Storage Warehouses. Such sites are defined as warehouses or storage units to which access is controlled by the owner of the goods stored and which are not operated as a general storage or distribution warehouse with loading and unloading docks and personnel available at all times during normal business hours. Additional charges of $3.50 per hundredweight apply, subject to a minimum charge of $35.

The tariff also includes an extra charge that is applicable on any delivery service after business hours. That charge is assessed when a delivery is made between the hours of 8:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. It is collected from the consignee regardless of whether the shipment is moving prepaid or collect.

It is apparent from the examples listed above that you should check out your motor carriers' rules tariffs to become familiar with each company's additional charges for making pickups or deliveries at specified sites. Keep in mind that these special charges can vary substantially from carrier to carrier. In fact, not only do carriers include different sites in their tariffs, but they also assess different charges.