Motor Freight Information

     Package Shipping service via UPS is perfect for small to moderate sized shipments, but for the larger items typically sold by Dogwood Ceramic Supply, the only practical means to deliver the order is palletize the order and ship by a trucking (motor freight) company.

     Unlike UPS charges, freight charges are extremely complicated as the freight rates are based upon the weight of the shipment, density of the goods, damage rate versus cost of the goods, distance traveled and the volume of freight handled between origin and destination as well as services required at the origin and destination. In other words there is no "one size fits all" for freight pricing.

     Even with all the variables, for customer convenience Dogwood Ceramic Supply has prepared a Motor Freight Rate Table based upon shipping moist clay (NMFC Freight Class 50) to major cities and geographic points across the Southern USA via YRC (Yellow-Roadway Corp), Dogwood Ceramic Supply's exclusive freight carrier. The freight table was computed at 500, 1000 and 2000 lb shipping weights based upon 2009 freight rates and includes the applicable Fuel Surcharge plus the administrative fee for prepaying the freight charges.

     Dogwood Ceramic Supply's published freight rates with YRC (Yellow-Roadway Corp) are applicable for delivery to a school, university or commercial locations with dock or other off loading capabilities. If the customer is a small school or commercial location without a loading dock the commercial rates will still apply but you will need to assist with off loading the truck or pay the surcharge for a special delivery by liftgate truck.

     Residential deliveries are available, though a surcharge applies to residential deliveries as the big trucks have much more difficult time accessing residential neighborhoods. Liftgate service, if needed, is an extra cost service that can be added to residential deliveries. To avoid residential surcharges just request delivery to the closest YRC freight terminal for pickup during normal business hours. YRC has more freight terminals than any other carrier across the nation, with (for example) 17 YRC freight terminals in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama plus the Memphis Tennessee terminal which also provides service to NW Mississippi. Most importantly, the YRC terminal will always have forklift trucks for ease of loading palletized or crated loads into your standard pickup truck or SUV.

     Please note, one key advantage to freight shipments is the simple fact that doubling the weight shipped does not double the shipping rate. In fact, for most customers within a few hundred miles of Dogwood Ceramic Supply, doubling or even tripling the weight will not increase the freight rate a single penny.

Dogwood Ceramic Supply Motor Freight Rate Table

     The table does not include freight rates for any area in Florida south of the I-10 corridor as the rates to these particular areas can widely vary due to the geographic limitations of the area.

     One should note the cost differences between locations in close proximity to Gulfport Mississippi versus locations further away. These cost differences are primarily due to the distance the freight must travel. However, if one peruses the abbreviated West Coast and Rocky Mountain Freight Rates listed below, it should become obvious that distance traveled is not the only factor in determining freight rates as the rates from Gulfport MS to Los Angeles are the same as the rates from Gulfport MS to Phoenix, yet a truck leaving Gulfport MS for Los Angeles would have to travel through Phoenix to get to Los Angeles. Obviously factors other than distance traveled can impact freight costs.

Freight Carriers

     Dogwood Ceramic Supply is a Preferred Pricing Partner with YRC. YRC is the name of the combined Yellow/Roadway Freight companies (Yellow-Roadway Corp), the largest freight carrier in North America with an estimated 30% of the entire LTL freight market by weight/volume. As a Preferred Pricing Partner, Dogwood Ceramic Supply contractually receives substantial discounts on all of freight shipments. These discounts are in turn passed onto our customers.

     Dogwood Ceramic Supply does not routinely use any other freight carrier.  In general terms YRC represents the best average price for Dogwood's customers. And while being satisfied with the pricing structure, level of service, low damage rates and customer support is always important, the use of a single freight carrier simplifies our administrative tasks (billing and processing) while greatly simplify our dock operations and thus reducing our overall costs. Lower operating costs significantly benefits our customers.

     Dogwood Ceramic Supply does not use a freight broker as they are unable to meet or exceed the price and service of YRC, complicate our administrative tasks and dock operations and potentially place our goods at risk by using low cost carriers with high damage rates.

The Fine Print

    Freight charges are based upon published rates, the distance the goods will travel, the weight and density of the merchandise and packing material, and any additional service fees. All motor freight companies have a minimum charge, as of January 2010 the minimum charge ranges from $91 to $142 per shipment depending upon the carrier and destination not including fuel surcharge and other accessorial charges. If you need several small shipments, you might consider consolidating two or more orders in order to obtain the most goods for the minimum charge.
Dogwood Ceramic Supply receives a contractual freight rate from YRC. These heavily discounted rates earned by Dogwood Ceramic Supply are in turn passed on to our customers.
   
    To determine the charges for a motor freight shipment, the density of the goods must be known, the most dense items (such as clay) have a freight class of 50, the least dense items (such as ping pong balls) have a freight class of 500. The following chart is the freight classification for the most common items shipped by Dogwood Ceramic Supply:

    The freight class of a shipment has a tremendous impact on the total charges. Goods shipped at freight class 50 would cost 50% less than goods shipped at freight class 100 and freight class 200 is double the cost of freight class 100.

    Fuel Surcharge: All Motor Freight companies assess a valued based fuel surcharge to each shipment. The Fuel Surcharge fluctuates weekly, depending upon the national average of diesel fuel. As of January 2010 the Fuel Surcharge is 18.9% for LTL shipments. LTL Shipments are palletized shipments that weigh less than the maximum amount allowed on the truck (Less than Truck Load or LTL). Per Dogwood Ceramic Supply's contract with YRC, the Fuel Surcharge is included within our standard freight rates with some limitations.

    Insurance: Insured value of the goods is determined by the freight classification and the release value for that particular class of goods. As an example, the release value (insured value) of goods at Class 50 is $1.00 per pound, while goods shipped at Class 85 have a maximum release value of $10.00 per pound. The release value will determine the maximum liability of the freight company in the event of loss or damage.

Additional Charges:

   The cost structure of freight shipments, properly classified as LTL (Less than Truck Load) or palletized shipments are based upon Zip Code to Zip Code combinations (shipper to consignee) for commercial loading dock to commercial loading dock service. For customers that require additional services, the cost structure will be adjusted using Accessorial Fees. Accessorial Fees may be based upon a percentage of the total freight charges, the weight of the shipment or a single flat rate fee. Accessorial Fees are determined by the Tariff (discount schedule) in effect at the time of the shipment, are subject to change and may not apply to all customers or locations. Each carrier determines the Accessorial Fees to be assessed by that carrier, and the amount to be charged for each fee. Not all Accessorial Fees apply to each carrier. The list of Accessorial Fees are not complete as to Accessorial Fees that may be charged.

Accessorial Fees

Commercial Delivery w/o loading dock
Pickup at Terminal
Limited Access Delivery
Schools & Universities with Loading Dock
Schools w/o Loading Dock
Churches
Construction Sites
Military Facilities
Hospitals
Gated Facilities (prisons & jails)
Roadside off-loading required
Remote Access Delivery
Residential Delivery
Liftgate Delivery
Inside Delivery
Arrival Notification
Appointment Required
Guaranteed Delivery Day
Guaranteed Delivery Time
Customer Service Fees

Off Loading Information

    You should anticipate delivery and provide appropriate unloading facilities.

    Normal delivery is to your loading dock or the tail of the delivery truck where no loading dock may exist. The delivery driver is not responsible for off loading the truck. Please make arrangements to have staff available for off loading the delivery vehicle if your location does not have a loading dock or if you did not request liftgate service.

   If you require special services, such as lift gate service, residential delivery, inside delivery, or delivery notification, please let us know at the time you place your order so that those services can be billed at the lowest possible rate.

   All purchases will leave our warehouse packed in the manner sufficient for normal domestic freight shipments. If you require additional, or special packaging (such as export packaging) please notify us at the time of the order. There may be an additional charge for special packaging.

DAMAGES

    Report any damage or breakage to the carrier immediately upon receipt of your merchandise. You must retain all packing material for at least 30 days for the carrier's inspection. The carrier has signed that your shipment was in good condition from our warehouse, therefore you must file a damage claim with the carrier (the specific trucking firm) regarding damaged or missing items. We can not file the damage claim for you. As the customer will be settling the claim directly with the carrier, the customer will be responsible for the cost of any replacement items which are sold by Dogwood Ceramic Supply. Replacement freight charges can be added to your damage claim.

Additional Information & Fees

    Dogwood Ceramic Supply’s LTL tariff (shipping contract) requires the shipment to be prepaid by the shipper (Dogwood) to lock in the lowest freight rates. Prepaid LTL Shipments will be assessed $15 to cover the administrative costs of prepaying the shipment as well as to cover any fluctuations in freight rate due to small changes to the estimated shipping weights as well as fuel surcharges. The prepayment fee is included in all freight rates quoted by Dogwood Ceramic Supply.
 

Pallet Fees:

    Wooden or plastic pallets are required for stacking goods for shipment. With the exception of Mackie's Slip pallets, the cost of any pallets required to ship an order are not included in the cost of the goods. All pallets become property of the customer.

Pine Pallets:    $10.50 per pallet
Practical weight limit is 1500 lbs per pallet for mixed goods shipments.
Pine Pallets may not be used for export shipments.

Hardwood Pallets:    $22.50 per pallet.
Hardwood Pallets are required for export and high weight domestic shipments

Palletizing Fees

Pallets of goods that contain mixed goods or mixed sizes of goods are difficult to pack and secure and are subject to a handling charge.

Single Product:    No charge

Single Product applies to a pallet of a single product variety and size, such as a pallet of clay, or a pallet of pints of glazes.

Mixed Product:    $30.00 per pallet

Mixed Product charge applies to pallets of a variety of products and/or variety of product sizes, such as a pallet that contains both glazes and clay, or a pallet that contains pints, gallons and other sizes of glazes and/or other products.

Complex Product:    $90.00 per pallet

Any pallet that requires the products to be boxed in protective boxes with Styrofoam fill or liners will be assessed the Complex Product fee.

Ceramic Molds Shipped via LTL
Small ceramic mold orders palletized by Dogwood Ceramic Supply will be assessed the Mixed Product fee due to the complexity of the product. The Complex Product fee will be assessed for any mold pallets that the molds to be boxed with Styrofoam liners and/or Styrofoam fill.

Mold orders that are palletized by the manufacturer will not have any additional palletizing charges added by Dogwood Ceramic Supply.

Hardwood pallet fees will apply to export mold orders that are palletized by the manufacturer.

Billing Information

   LTL shipments are subject to a fuel surcharge adjustment. The fuel surcharge is computed as a percentage of the freight costs.

   The freight price on invoices will be a single entry and will include the freight charges, fuel surcharge, any requested accessorial service charges, as well as the administrative fee required to prepay the freight charges.

   Pallet fees and palletizing fees will be itemized separately on the invoice.

Accessorial Fees

    If accessorial services, such as lift-gate or limited access delivery, are required, please request those services to be added to your prepaid freight charges. Any accessorial fee that is back charged to Dogwood Ceramic Supply’s account by the freight carrier is subject to an administrative charge of $65 plus the cost of the service provided.

    Product Costs are important to consumers. Even more important is the Landed Cost of the product.

    Do yourself a favor, just say no to Freight Brokers.

The Major Products

    The Products carried by Dogwood Ceramic Supply can be quickly accessed through the Product Index or the major product links shown below:

pottery equipment
		Standard Clay