Something I thought of....

M

MNDroptyne

New member
I was lurking on Midway USA this morning and was looking at powder prices. I read their note at the bottom and it said there is a 25 dollar Hazmat fee, now I wonder how do they charge that fee during shipping because neither the truck or the driver are licensed for that ie the trucks have no Hazmat signs on them nor do the drivers carry Hazmat licenses. How do they charge that fee then? Because a guy hauling any kind of explosive, corrosive, of flammable material needs one right?
 
I work for UPS and the drivers I believe do not need the hazmat signs on the trucks... they are aware of what hazmats they are hauling or delivering because the loaders give them a slip of paper showing that they have hazmats. It is very common that there are more than 2 or 3 different hazmats within the same truck
 
I hold a hazmat shipping certification for my job. Haven't used it in a while though, so am a bit rusty. But, the fee is for someone to sit their ass down and actually do the paperwork. That's it! We paid no premium for hazmat shipping if remember right. So it is nothing more than an extortion fee for the proper paperwork that is handed to the shipper. Now if the shipper does not receive the right paperwork and the shipper or someone else finds out, than there are fines to be paid. So beyond extortion, it may be to form a kitty with funds should they ever have to pay a fine.
 
MNDroptyne said:
I was lurking on Midway USA this morning and was looking at powder prices. I read their note at the bottom and it said there is a 25 dollar Hazmat fee, now I wonder how do they charge that fee during shipping because neither the truck or the driver are licensed for that ie the trucks have no Hazmat signs on them nor do the drivers carry Hazmat licenses. How do they charge that fee then? Because a guy hauling any kind of explosive, corrosive, of flammable material needs one right?
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The $25 HazMat fee is charged by the carrier for transporting the powder. This is their company policy to cover the added risk, and any added paperwork, labor, etc. There is alittle more information required for a HazMat on the paperwork, whether you call it a bill of lading, manifest, waybill, etc. This is generally enforced by the DOT and the truck inspectors you see out doing fixed point, and roadside inspections. This extra information is for the first responders to know what they are dealing with in the event of an accident, for those in shipping to figure out if they need a placard or not, or to know if it is not compatible with other items in the shipment, and also for DOT compliance.

As to the placards and HazMat endorsement on the license...

The placards are required when the hazardous material reaches a certain quantity. For different materials and packaging the quantity can be different. If it is under that quantity requiring a placard for this one material, generally no placard is needed. I say generally because even if you have multiple HazMat shipments that are not required to have a seperate placard theirself due to the amount, but together as a group shipment, a placard may be required. If you watch on the interstate, or around the hubs for UPS or Fed-Ex you will see plenty of placards on their tractor trailers going between hubs.

The HazMat endorsement on the drivers license is required to transport a hazardours material of a quantity requiring placards. I would bet that the major carriers prefer, if not flatly require all of their driver to have a HazMat endorsement, though you may not know since you dont see their license. The company will also have additional insurance because it may transport HazMat at some times.
 
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I was lurking on Midway USA this morning and was looking at powder prices. I read their note at the bottom and it said there is a 25 dollar Hazmat fee,
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And you need to realize something - they have your powder dropped shipped from Powder Valley, if you order primers from Midway itself, you will pay TWO hazmat fees
 
IIRC (and it's been a while since I took my Haz mat endorsement test) most hazardous items under 1000 lbs don't require a placard, except explosives and inhilation hazards.

Our trucks carry all sorts of alcohol, O2 gas cylinders, various flammables like Acetonityle, etc. The paperwork is a real hassle and eats up a lot of time since our Warehouse Management System doesn't do hazardous manifests, and as a driver you have to do them as you load your truck. You'd really want those 1st responders to be able to know what's in that truck with the smoke coming out of it, though...right?
 
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