Streamline Your Shipping Process: A Guide to Accessorial Charges
What Are Accessorial Charges?
What Are Accessorial Charges?
In the freight industry, accessorial charges are additional fees for services that go beyond standard service. These fees are common in LTL shipping. OD publishes all accessorial charges in our ODFL 100 Tariff.
Understanding what accessorial charges are and how they may impact your invoice is essential to avoid surprise costs and streamline your freight planning process.
Common LTL Accessorial Charges
- Liftgate Service: Liftgates are specialized equipment used to load or unload shipments when your location does not have a dock. This service must be requested in advance, as not all trucks have one.
- Non-Commercial or Residential Deliveries: Freight carriers often charge a fee for deliveries to residences, schools, airports, or other non-commercial locations because this may involve out of route miles, specialized equipment and possibly additional labor or resources.
- Time-Specific Deliveries: If your shipment requires delivery by a certain date or time, a freight carrier may charge a fee to ensure your service needs are met.
Beyond these, other common LTL accessorials can include detention fees when a driver is held longer than the standard allowed time, inside delivery when freight needs to be brought beyond the dock or threshold, redelivery when a shipment can’t be received on the first attempt, and charges for oversized, overweight, or reweighed freight. These services and situations all require extra time, labor, or equipment, which is why they’re billed separately from the base line haul charge.
Because some accessorials are only triggered once the driver arrives on site—like detention, reweighs, or redelivery—they can sometimes be added after the shipment is completed. This is why clear communication up front and accurate shipment details are so important for keeping invoices predictable.
You can request the accessorial services you need by using Old Dominion’s online tools, such as our LTL rate estimate, Schedule a Pickup, or Electronic Bill of Lading (eBOL) options. Failing to account for accessorials may cause delays with your shipment and headaches when you receive your invoice. These extra charges can become a nightmare for you and your freight carrier since it involves additional paperwork, time, and labor.
Why Do Accessorial Charges Exist?
Typical freight shipping costs include a subtotal, also known as line haul charges, which reflects an LTL carrier’s base rate along with the specific variables of the shipment (total weight, freight class, and number of transit miles.)
Freight accessorial charges were originally introduced to account for carriers’ additional labor and time when shippers need services beyond standard pickup or delivery. The basic premise was that line haul charges were for a “normal” pickup and delivery. Normal was defined as the carrier showing up, loading freight on the truck, and delivering to a dock somewhere.
Everyone knew that “extra” meant inside delivery, residential delivery, sort, segregate, to account for carriers’ additional labor and time when a shipment required service(s) beyond standard pickup or delivery. For example, drivers may need to travel extra miles to reach a residential location, or the service center may need to plan to provide a trailer equipped with liftgate or pallet quilt services.
Unlike today, years ago, carriers did not have the data they really needed, such as the time the driver was at the stop. This is an example of a legacy-based charge that may not have a place in the future system of pricing – more on this topic in our podcast below.
How to Avoid Unnecessary Accessorial Charges
We want to help you avoid surprise charges and choose the right services you need in addition to our standard LTL service. When you fill out a rate estimate and include accessorial requests, we include a breakdown of the possible cost of your shipment including the additional services.
While some accessorial charges may be unavoidable, many can be avoided with proper planning and communication.
Here are some tips to plan ahead and minimize costs:
1. Provide Accurate Shipment Information – be upfront about your shipment details, including weight, size, and delivery location. For example, if liftgate service is required, include that information upfront. It is always a good idea to accurately weigh and measure your shipment before filling out your rate or Bill of Lading (BOL) so that your shipment is not subject to change if it is reweighed or remeasured. This can add additional, often unexpected, costs.
2. Communicate Requirements Early – Identify your needs and your customer’s needs then inform your carrier in advance. Your local service center can help you with these requirements.
3. Prepare Your Team – if possible, have your team and equipment ready to assist the driver. This can prevent detention fees and unnecessary delays.
Taking these proactive steps is key to avoiding unexpected accessorial charges and reduce surprises throughout the shipping process.
Cargo Shorts Podcast Discussion: The Future of Freight Payment
The trucking industry has reached an inflection point where digitization and automation are critical parts of the industry’s future. This leads to many downstream benefits for both the shipper and carrier. Listen to Todd Polen, Old Dominion’s Vice President of Pricing Services, and Curtis Garrett, Senior Vice President of LTL at Freight Plus, as they discuss the future of freight payment.
The Future of Accessorial Charges
As freight shipping evolves, carriers are working toward simplified and transparent pricing models that minimize disputes and improve efficiency.
Here’s what the future should look like:
Imagine a model where standard delivery includes a specific, agreed-upon timeframe. For example, your pricing includes no more than 20 minutes to complete delivery. In the event it takes longer than that, you may need to pay more for the driver’s additional time. Under this structure, some accessorial services such as residential deliveries or liftgates would still add extra charges, because they add operational costs such as out of route miles, and liftgates require extra maintenance, but these fees would be clearly communicated in advance.
Forward-thinking pricing models focus on streamlining billing processes, reducing disputes, and improving transparency. This benefits both shipper and carrier.
Pricing of the future will move away from charging shippers to death for every little thing and will focus on invoice automation and real-time notification of any accessorial charge, should it be warranted!
Partnering with the Right Carrier
We want to help you avoid surprise charges. When you request accessorial services in your ODFL.com rate estimate, we provide an estimated breakdown of potential costs.
In the end, your price is based on the cube in the truck and time spent on pickup, delivery, and handling your shipment on the dock. By understanding accessorial charges and taking steps to prevent unnecessary fees, shippers can minimize unwelcome surprises and streamline shipping processes. Partnering with a trusted carrier ensures you have the right support to manage these fees.
Our customers choose Old Dominion for our premium service and one of the lowest claims rates in the industry. Our team can help you access competitive pricing tailored to your needs and ensure your freight arrives on-time and is damage-free. Connect with a Solutions Specialist today.