Constant issues with damaged freight???

Rant first. Question at the bottom.

We have been crating and palletizing and our products (steel panels, etc) the same way for 20 years or more. Here and there we have had issues with damaged freight, and it was always taken care of regardless of carrier.

About a year ago we started using FedEx Freight exclusively (we had used them on and off in the past), and in that year or so we have had so many issues I can't even count them all. Tens of thousands of dollars worth of freight damage....but it's not just them. Other companies who bring deliveries to us are doing the same thing. Products shipped out with "High Dollar Value Freight" pasted all over them are getting ripped off the skids they were banded to and hit over and over again with forks because no one will handle them by hand.

Not too long ago we shipped out a 400lb pallet which was about 4'x8' and 5' tall. The big moulded plastic part that was on this pallet was covered in heavy cardboard, held on with three steel bands, and shrink wrapped just for added protection. Someone at one of the freight terminals hit the pallet so hard (on the solid side of the pallet...no holes for forks) that it shattered the pallet, broke a band or two, and forced the plastic part through the other band. Ruined.

Another recent issue was with a pallet full of formed 10ga steel sheets. Despite nailing 2x4s around the sheets to protect them from idiot forklift drivers, they somehow managed to hit a 2x4 just right so their forks slid between it and the pallet. They must have been doing 80mph because they buckled an edge of this stack of 10ga steel.

A couple days ago we shipped out 4 wirebound wooden crates full of 3.25'x6' box formed stainless steel panels. These crates are only made to be handled from the broad side, but they decided to pick them up from the end and push them around. They ended up blowing the ends out of the crates. By the time the customer got the crates, his panels were laying all over the inside of the truck and a couple boxes of fasteners and such were missing.

All these freight claims keep racking up, but all FedEx does is give us a runaround...don't think any claims have been paid. I'm at a loss. We're packing these shipments well, but they always seem to find a way to damage things.

Anyone else having these issues? Have you had to take them to court? I'm actually considering buying a truck and hauling things ourselves...but I'm not sure about it since we ship a fair number of products across the country.

Thanks,
Phillip

Use somebody else? fed-ex is notorious for doing exactly what you described.

Sue there pants off. Its the only way to make em pay attention, document every case and go after them for damages.

Get the highest ranking FedEx executive you can, explain the situation, and mention you are considering setting up a few trucks with drivers, and ask if they could use the capacity of your back-hauls.

Go visit a busy freight terminal and watch the forklift operators . . . then go back to your shop and build crates appropriate for the level of abuse you see the operators dish out. That is the only way you will get ahead.

I ship REALLY expensive product in very robust crates. We have an account with the local lumber yard and take deliveries every week. We have a complete workshop with panel saw just for making crates exactly because of what you describe.

Our pallets are made from 4x6 timbers lag bolted together and reinforced with plywood pneumatically nailed with spiral nails.

Yup, what motion said.

Banding down to pallet aint' gonna cut it.

Ever see a guy load a box truck by lining up 4-5 pallets
end for end at the dock, then shove the last one ?

Guess when he decides to stop shoving ?


Kentucky should have some crate making people around.

We have them, south of town in the hills, ussually next to a sawmill.

I've had the same experience at a previous job. We contracted out our crates. The entire sides were made of 2x4's stacked up. Long crates had skids so that when they got pushed they would slide without ripping off the cleats. Also have 45 deg angles cut the end of the skids so that they wouldn't catch as easy. I've never gotten FedEx or UPS to honor a claim. Estes paid up once though, overall been treated pretty good by them.

My shop is next door to several freight depots.
From the sounds of the earth shaking as the fork trucks slam in and out of the trucks, some days we think that they unload the trucks with hand grenades.

I have worked in the trucking industry most of my life. First off you have to understand what happens once the freight leaves your dock. The way trucking companies make money is by 'cubing' out the truck. Meaning to fill it up completely. This involves stacking and putting the freight together like a puzzle to make it fit tight to prevent shifting and to maximize how many shipments travel in a trailer.

If you are shipping crates of an unusual size and shape, the companies have more trouble packing it in the trailer than a standard 4 x 4 x4 skid. Therefore they will turn, tip, stack on end, etc to fill a hole in the trailer, thus possibly damaging your freight when they do so. Call your local freight rep and have him visit for suggestions on how you can cut down on claims.

Some tips:

Standard size pallets and crates measuring 42 x 48 and 48 tall work best.
Crate well with GOOD materials and fasteners and secure your freight inside of it.
Write the weight and dimensions on ALL sides of the crate - this helps the forktruck operator know if it can go on top of something or on the bottom.
Use direction arrows - again on ALL sides - If you put them on one side they may not see it.
Get some large labels "$$$ High Claims Freight Handle with care $$$"
Make your crates forkliftable from all sides

Switch companies. Some are better than others overall, some are better in certain areas. All companies have different operating procedures for loading freight.

Hope this offers some insight.

motion guru said:

Go visit a busy freight terminal and watch the forklift operators . . . then go back to your shop and build crates appropriate for the level of abuse you see the operators dish out. That is the only way you will get ahead.

I ship REALLY expensive product in very robust crates. We have an account with the local lumber yard and take deliveries every week. We have a complete workshop with panel saw just for making crates exactly because of what you describe.

Our pallets are made from 4x6 timbers lag bolted together and reinforced with plywood pneumatically nailed with spiral nails.

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Guru,

A logical defensive approach to the problem, the cost of which, I suspect, is more easily justified in view of the overall price of the product. Do you absorb the added expense of heroic crating or pass it along to the customer? Any idea of what percentage of your cost of doing business would be represented by these measures?

~TW~

Why did you go FedEx Freight? If I had to guess I'd say they were cheaper. You get what you pay for. This is all risk vs. return. How many tens of thousands of dollars are you losing in product? How many lost customers even if its not your fault? That's how much money you can spend on better packaging and a quality shipper. Maybe a smaller regional firm you can build a relationship with?

As a side note... I assume there has to be some way to insure shipments independent of the carrier? That way <insert policy underwriters name here> can go pester and sue the carrier's ass off for you when they keep smashing things up. Maybe a policy rider?

We started having better luck when we applied "tip-n-tell" labels on everything. We also put these cardboard triangular cones on top of our shipments. They stand about a foot tall, and we just tape them on with packing tape. I'm not sure why these things work, but we have noticed less damage. As others have pointed out, bombproof packaging is the best way to go.

Fed ex tried dis honoring a claim once and I met them in small claims court. It is almost like they put some kind of code on your shipping label because that was the end of the problem. I actually prefer fx now.

I was using ups and they destroyed 5 grand worth of stuff last year. They were fine for the first 2 years then it all went to hell. I built crates I used packing blankets I had custom boxes with foam built nothing worked I was loosing one press a week. I disasembled the press and put it in 2 boxes and ship it US postal service. I save tons of money and have had no damage. I was never able to recover on thin dime on any of the losses even with insurance. UPS sucks balls. The frieght guys are even more brutal I build big crates with lag bolts for presses that have to ship frieght.

Tommy said:

Guru,

A logical defensive approach to the problem, the cost of which, I suspect, is more easily justified in view of the overall price of the product. Do you absorb the added expense of heroic crating or pass it along to the customer? Any idea of what percentage of your cost of doing business would be represented by these measures?

~TW~

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When we bid the job, we add between $300 and $2000 for crating. If it is going to China we charge the cost of having certified pest free crates made plus 25%.

I know that when we ship one of our bottle stacker machines at a price point of $135k, the guys who uncrate it jockey for "salvage" rights for the lumber.

I know that when we ship one of our bottle stacker machines at a price point of $135k, the guys who uncrate it jockey for "salvage" rights for the lumber.

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My Uncle Louie built an entire two story garage from salvaged Pittsburgh Plate Glass packing crates. Big sheets of glass came in nice crates.

Paul

I believe in the olden days the railroad sent a man in a special car (caboose?) along with high value loads to keep an eye on things. Obviously no good for you.

When I build crates not only do I bullet proof them. I build the top with a significant lean. Anything the put on top is likely to slide off. I also get pictures of it on the truck with the driver in the scene. Although they still dont honor claims it prevents them from saying it got to them that way.

I always thought about shipping a plastic drum of rotted fish for them to turn over to teach them. But figure the law would nab me over some obscure rule that you cant ship rotten pike on the third friday of the month or something.

I would get snarky on them and glue larger-than-life headshots of the terminal managers on the freight.

Go ahead buddy, put a fork through your bosses nose....

For your domestic shipping, try a smaller independant company. Tell them you'll try them a couple of times and if it works out, you'll do more business with them. That way, it gives them the incentive to do it right and if they don't, you'll go elsewhere. On long haul and overseas shipping, You'd better build them bombproof. You can also make up a large label saying "Caution! Accelerometer Installed"

Dave1123 said:

You can also make up a large label saying "Caution! Accelerometer Installed"

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That would just make the guy running the forklift see how many G's he can pull.

Better sign would be this:

This package contains nitroglycerine. Handle with care.