Mis-Load

ISSUE

The truck has picked up your shipment and left your facility, and you discover that you put the wrong freight on the truck, or that you put the correct freight on the truck, but not the entire shipment.

This is called a “mis-load”.

ACTION

1. Call us, tell us what happened, and what time the truck left your facility.
2. We will immediately call the carrier, find out where the truck is, and ask that it be stopped until the matter is resolved.
3. There are now 3 issues to be resolved:
   A) What to do with the “wrong” freight;
   B) What to do with the “right” freight;
   C) How to ensure that the shipment and the paperwork match.And there are other variables that will bear on the resolution of this issue:
   A) Is the truck able to return to your facility, or has it travelled too far?
   B) Has other shipper’s freight been loaded on the truck behind your freight?
   C) Is this a domestic or foreign shipment?
   D) Has incorrect information been submitted to Customs?
   E) Has the shipment been cleared by Customs with incorrect information?
   F) Is there a potential cabotage problem?
   G) Is there an opportunity to deliver the “wrong” freight to the receiver, or to another receiver?
   H) If the shipment is merely short-shipped, can the paperwork be modified and the receiver notified in advance of the delivery?
4. We will work through these options, and their costs, with you, and with the carrier. Time is of the essence in these situations, so the objective is to have a workable plan developed and agreed with half an hour.
5. Once the plan is in motion, we will keep you advised on progress, and we will do everything we can to mitigate the impact of the mis-load.

EXPLANATION

Mis-loads happen from time-to-time, especially when there are multiple shipments spotted for near-simultaneous loading, and / or where there is little visual difference between shipments. Sometimes they are not detected until a few days after the incorrect or incomplete shipment has been delivered.

Mis-loads are simple mistakes made by busy humans, but in the dynamic world of inter-city, international freight, correcting the mistakes can sometimes be costly, and delays are certain to occur.

If incorrect information has been provided for and used to clear freight through Customs, your will have to involve your Customs Broker: there are established procedures in place for correcting incorrect clearances, since Customs knows that mistakes do happen.

IMPACT & TYPICAL RESOLUTION

If the decision is to let the truck proceed, loaded as it is, and there are not administrative matters, such as an incorrect Customs clearance, to be resolved, then there will be little or no impact on cost or service, unless a follow-up shipment is required to ship the intended freight.

If the decision is to have the truck return to the pick-up point, then there will be both costs and delays. The magnitude of each will depend on how far the truck had travelled after the pick-up, and whether there are additional steps, such as re-filing Customs paperwork, to correct the problem.

Typically, the truck returns to the pick-up point, the mis-load is corrected, and the truck delivers the freight one day late. Fees assessed are for one extra pick-up, and for the extra driver time, which may include a layover, and extra miles driven from the shipper to the turn-around point and back to the shipper.