
The Transportation and Logistics Council
TLC is a not-for-profit corporation dedicated to serving the interests of the shipping community through education and representation in issues relating to the transportation of goods. Virtually anyone that is directly or indirectly involved in transportation, distribution, logistics, purchasing, shipping, risk management, insurance, cargo inspection and surveying, loss prevention, packaging, customer service, consulting and legal services can benefit from membership.
Got a question? Visit our Q&A Forum to get answers to your questions about loss and damage (OS&D) claims, freight charge disputes, CSA2010, transportation contracts or other transportation law issues.
45th Annual Conference - March 25-27, 2019
And, for those that want an in-depth educational experience, before the Conference on Sunday, March 24th, the Council also offers three optional full-day seminars - Contracting for Transportation & Logistics Services, Freight Claims in Plain English, and Transportation, Logistics and the Law, all presented by leading transportation attorneys. Click here for details on the T&LC Seminars
Hotel Information for The Hilton Memphis
A direct link for attendees has been set up if you click here you can make your reservations today. Room rate is available until February 20, 2019 or until room block is sold out, whichever comes first. Rooms fill up quickly, so don’t delay in making your hotel reservations.
ARTICLES & NEWS
How to Hire a Trucking Company (or a Broker)
Trucking companies come in all sorts and sizes from little one-truck companies to giants like UPS and FedEx. There are an estimated 790,000 companies that operate commercial motor vehicles, including private fleet and “exempt” carriers, which are registered with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (“FMCSA”), of which about 240,000 are active interstate “for hire” carriers that serve the general public. There are also about 20,000 licensed freight brokers - intermediaries that arrange for motor carrier services on behalf of shippers and receivers of freight. Click here to read the full article
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Dropped Trailers" and Liability for Shortage or Damage at Destination
Many large retailers and distributors control their inbound freight. They arrange for the transportation, have contracts with the carriers, pay the freight charges, and require their vendors to use only their designated carriers. And often they have "drop trailer" agreements with their carriers. Click here to read full article
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Fines for Late Deliveries or Missed Appointments
Recent articles in the trade press have described “fines” that are levied by major grocers on refrigerated carriers transporting perishables for late deliveries and missed delivery appointments. Among the retailers that have been named are three major grocery chains, Kroger, Safeway and Wal-Mart. While it is well known that delay (and temperature abuse) can cause or contribute to spoilage or shortened shelf life, the carriers complain that often these penalties are unfair because they fail to recognize the problems that carriers run into with severe weather, bad roads, congestion and hours of service limitations. Click here to read full article.
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We often get questions about which party (the shipper or the consignee) is entitled to file a claim for freight loss or damage.
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FMCSA Website
THE FMCSA HAS REDESIGNED ITS WEBSITE - MAKING IT VERY DIFFICULT TO FIND SOME OF THE MOST FREQUENTLY USEFUL WEBPAGES. HERE ARE SOME HELPFUL ADDRESSES: The Licensing and Insurance (L&I) home page is now at: http://li-public.fmcsa.dot.gov/LIVIEW/pkg_html.prc_limain and can also be accessed at:
http://li-public.fmcsa.dot.gov/LIVIEW/pkg_carrquery.prc_carrlist The Safety and Fitness Electronic Records (SAFER) System is now at: safer.fmcsa.dot.gov The Safety Measurement System (SMS) which shows a carrier's Behavior Analysis and Safety Improvement Categories (BASIC scores) is now at: http://ai.fmcsa.dot.gov/default.aspx
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Imposter Theft - Can a Carrier be Liable? - Unfortunately, imposter thefts have become all too common, partly because it is all too easy for thieves to obtain information about high-value shipments and how to steal them from various sources: truck stops, load boards, rate quotes, websites, emails, insider tip, etc. |
Cargo Liability of Mexican Motor Carriers - Many U.S. companies are doing business in Mexico and questions frequently arise about the liability of Mexican motor carriers for cargo loss or damage. |
How to File a Freight Claim for Loss or Damage - The Council's popular information booklet on "How to File a Freight Claim for Loss or Damage" has been completely revised and updated. You may wish to print it out separately and retain it as a handy reference. |
Anti-Indemnity Clauses in Transportation Contracts - Many shippers have been including broad indemnity clauses in their transportation contracts. Recent legislation could make these clauses void or unenforceable.
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Those Pesky Shortages "Shortages" are a perennial problem and it seems there is an epidemic, particularly small shortages in shipments of consumer goods to retailers. Many of these shortages are from sealed or "dropped" trailers, or shrink-wrapped pallets, and are not discovered or reported until after the truck driver leaves. . . . |
Ocean Service Contracts & Service Agreements If you are an importer or exporter with a significant volume of ocean freight, you should definitely consider entering into a formal contract with the ocean carriers and/or NVOCC's that you deal with. |
Broker out of Business? Are trucking companies and/or their collection agencies seeking payment of freight invoices that you already paid to your broker? Do you have to pay these charges . . . maybe? |
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Q&A in Plain English Books XI
By George Carl Pezold and Raymond A. Selvaggio
"Transportation & Logistics - Q&A in Plain English - Book XI", is the eleventh in this series of the Transportation & Logistics Council's popular texts, and is a compilation of 275 of the most recent questions submitted to the Council's “Q&A” forum and published in the TransDigest.
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![]() Q&A in Plain English Books 7,8 & 9 A Compilation on CD Disk By George Carl Pezold and Raymond A. Selvaggio "Transportation & Logistics - Q&A in Plain English - Books 7, 8 & 9" is a compilation of the seventh, eighth and ninth books in this series of the Council's popular texts that were originally published in 2009 through 2013. Since these were about to go out of print, the Council decided to re-publish this valuable reference material in a single CD version. Read More
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Transportation & Logistics Q & A in Plain English - Book Xby George Carl Pezold and Raymond A. Selvaggio
Q&A in Plain English - Book X, is the tenth in this series of the Transportation & Logistics Council's popular texts, and is a compilation of hundreds of the most recent questions submitted to the Council's “Q&A” forum and published in the TransDigest ...Read More..
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Transportation & Logistics Q & A in Plain English - Book IXby George Carl Pezold and Raymond A. Selvaggio Book IX is the ninth in this series of the Council's popular reference materials. The new text is a compilation of recent questions submitted to the Council's "Q&A" forum by shippers, carriers and logistics professionals and published in the TransDigest, and is loaded with informative answers by George Carl Pezold and Raymond A. Selvaggio, two leading transportation attorneys ....read more.... |
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Q&A in Plain English Books IV, V & VI A Compilation on CD DiskBy George Carl Pezold and Raymond A. Selvaggio “Q&A in Plain English – Books 4, 5 & 6” is a compilation of the fourth, fifth and sixth of the Council’s popular texts that were originally published in 2004 through 2007. Since these were about to go out of print, the Council decided to re-publish this valuable reference material in a single CD version. . . . read more. . . .
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Transportation & Logistics Q & A in Plain English - Book VIIIby George Carl Pezold and Raymond A. Selvaggio This is the eighth in this series of the Council's popular texts that are based on hundreds of actual questions submitted to TLC's "Q & A" forum on the Internet, to the TLC HotLine and to the TransDigest by shippers, carriers and logistics professionals. The new text is loaded with informative answers by George Carl Pezold and Raymond A. Selvaggio, two leading transportation attorneys. . . . read more. . . . |
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Shipping & Receiving in Plain English - A "Best Practices" GuideBy George Carl Pezold Implementation of a "best practices" program, together with planning, good procedures, instruction and education of employees will help your company to avoid or mitigate many of the problems and conflicts over freight claims, freight charges, legal disputes, violation of laws or regulations and other matters that come up in the area of transportation and logistics and save money for your company. . . . read more. . . . |
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Freight Claims in Plain English (4th Ed. 2009) - Text books are sold out available in CD Rom onlyBy George Carl Pezold and William J. Augello Since its first publication in 1979, Freight Claims in Plain English has become "the Book" for transportation and logistics professionals throughout the country who are involved in claims for loss or damage in transit. It is used as a text for students of transportation, and as a reference for attorneys and paralegals involved in claim problems. . . . read more. . . . |