Freight charge

“ The proceeds of the cargo, it is always to be presumed, will pay all the freight and expenses attending it. Whatever sum, therefore, the commissioners have failed to allow less than the fair charge of freight, is to be considered as part of the proceeds of cargo allowed for. To the extent of that reasonable freight, therefore, we should be permitted to be satisfied out of the freight awarded, and out of the proceeds of cargo allowed. ”

“ From the facts found by the Commission it appears that the appellant railroad companies bring freight from the South to Richmond, Va., where the same is delivered to industries in the switching limits of that city. If the freight is received at a point served by any two or more of the carriers, the switching charge is absorbed if the freight be delivered on the line of either; but if the delivery is to an industry served only by a noncompetitive carrier the switching charge is not absorbed. ”

“ In general the railroads have taken on the duty of wharfage and handling for freight consigned for overseas shipment. [5] In some instances railroads have charged for the use of the piers ('wharfage') and the necessary 'handling' separately from their charge for line-haul transportation. In other cases there has been only a single factor export rate (one inclusive charge) providing for limited shipside delivery with the railroad furnishing these accessorial services pursuant to their tariffs at no extra charge to the shipper. ”

“ It is of the utmost importance that the discharge of the cargo shall begin as soon as possible after the vessel arrives at her wharf, and if the consignee may sometimes be spurred to greater diligence, or put to some inconvenience, in removing his consignments, he receives a compensation in the lower rate of freight the vessel is thereby enabled to charge. ”

“ But freight is a charge upon the cargo, against which the underwriters do not, in any event, whether of abandonment with salvage, or of partial loss, undertake to indemnify the owner of the cargo. In order to obtain the salvage, when in the hands of the ship owner, it may become necessary for the underwriters to pay the amount of the freight, for which they have a lien, as it may to pay any other charge created by the act of the owner of the cargo. ”

“ Now, for instance, how do common boats rank, as first or third class freight?" "Third class, I should think," slowly responded the agent. "Ease your conscience, my friend," continued the clerk, "by weighing the boat, and charging the usual tariff rate for third class freight."
The boat, with its cargo still locked up inside, was put upon the scales, and the total weight was three hundred and ten pounds, for which a charge of seventy-two cents per one hundred pounds was made, and the boat placed on some barrels in a car. ”

“ Prepayment of charges shall in no case be demanded by carrier, nor shall collection be made from consignee. On presentation to the office indicated on the face hereof of this bill of lading, properly accomplished, attached to freight voucher prepared on the authroized Government form, payment will be made * * *.'
The simple provision against 'prepayment' does not, we think, force the conclusion that freight will be paid only on delivered goods. This clause seems to us not to forbid accrual of the freight charge obligation in advance of delivery, but only to prohibit payment in advance. ”

“ We should expect express charges to be higher per ton here than abroad, as much higher as our freight-per-ton charges. But no necessary economic cause is known which justifies a substantially higher proportion or ratio of the express to the freight charges here as compared with other countries. ”

“ All the cases involve the same fundamental question of law. The essential charge is that the carrier demanded and received greater compensation for transporting freight for a shorter distance than its published rate for transporting like property for a longer distance over the same route and in the same direction. ”

“ But even assuming the final cost to follow the range of transportation charges closely, is it not evident that, so small relatively are many freight charges by comparison with other costs of production, that consumption is not proportionately affected by their movement one way or the other? ”

“ Storage space is provided on the piers for freight. For many years the piers were leased to a private terminal operator. This operator has a contract which the railroads hauling to the piers to perform handling and wharfage services with respect to their freight. The railroads pay the operator $1 per ton for these services. They do not charge shippers separately for this handling and wharfage but instead include the cost with the transportation charges in a single line-haul rate. ”

“ But on the subject of cross-continent freight, by which many people may want to ship their cars home, the Transcontinental Freight Company’s offices in Chicago, New York, San Francisco, etc., have a special rate for through shipment of automobiles that is a very good thing to know about. They ship three automobiles in one freight car, and for cars weighing 4,500 pounds and over, they charge a maximum rate of $225.00, or $5.50 a hundred pounds, from New York to San Francisco or vice versa. A car weighing 3,000 pounds would cost $165.00. ”

“ The reasonableness of making a distinction in freight rates according to the character of goods is easily apparent, as judged on the basis of cost of service. A multitude of factors enter into consideration at this point. The railway ought in self-protection to charge more for hauling a thing, if it actually costs it more in the long run to perform that service. Some of the factors which enter into this cost were well put by the Interstate Commerce Commission in 1897. [334] ”

“ One whom Providence has not favored with the mysterious wisdom of a general freight agent might suppose that considerations of bulk, weight, insurance and similar factors formed a basis of railroad classification. Nothing, however, is farther from the truth. Freight charges, when permitted to be fixed by railroad companies, are invariably such as the traffic will bear, and freight classifications are arranged on this principle, provided competition by water, rail or other land transportation does not demand a modification. ”

“ The average freight charges in this country are the cheapest in the world, yet the question of rates is the most troublesome one with which railway companies have to contend. The relative rates between different roads and different points rather than the actual charges for freight involve problems which railroad pools, traffic associations, and legislators have not been as yet entirely successful in solving. ”

“ It is principle of American maritime law that ocean carrier freight charges are not earned unless and until the goods are delivered to destination. [1] But contractual provisions establishing the shipper's liability for freight regardless of actual delivery have been uniformly held valid, [2] and have become common stipulations in carriers' bills of lading. Shipments of government property are made subject to the conditions of the carrier's usual contract of carriage unless the government standard form bill of lading specifically provides otherwise. ”

“ A common carrier is bound to receive from any person paying or tendering the freight charges, such goods as he is accustomed to carry, and as are offered for the place to which he carries. But he may refuse to receive them if he is full, or if they are dangerous to be carried, or for other good reasons. He may refuse to take them unless the charges are paid; but if he agrees to take payment at the end of the route, he may retain them there until the freight is paid. A carrier must deliver freight in a reasonable time ”

“ The revenue per unit of service on a road whose traffic is largely of low grade most necessarily be low. Probably the lowest average ever reported in the United States was for the Chesapeake & Ohio in 1899—the low point in the general movement of freight rates—when its ton-mile revenue touched O.362 cents. Whenever the business of a carrier consists largely of coal, grain, lumber or other low-grade commodities on which the freight charges must necessarily be exceedingly low in order that the freight shall move at all, the revenue per ton mile must consequently stand at a low figure. ”

“ The underlying carrier's haul involves a different shipment, a different consideration, a different origin, a different destination, and a different consignor and consignee than are involved in the forwarder's undertaking. Furthermore, respondent's contention leads to the conclusion that railroads, whose bills of lading have long been prescribed by the I.C.C. and filed with rail tariffs, must transport freight on bills of lading subject to change at will by the forwarder and possibly different in many respects from the uniform rail bill. ”

“ Today, 95 percent of our imports and exports are moved by water—more than one billion metric tons of cargo—and our waterways currently handle 140 million passengers a year. Our domestic fleet is one of our most productive and cost-effective modes of transportation, moving 24 percent of the Nation's cargo at less than 2 percent of America's total freight cost. ”

“ In the second place, the shipper is guaranteed a stability of rate schedules which is deemed necessary for settled business conditions. The merchant, for example, includes transportation charges in the cost price of the goods in which he deals. But if the transportation charges on the same class of goods are subject to frequent change, the merchant can never tell when his competitor is to be given the advantage of a sudden lowering in freight rates. ”

“ It is said that when a carrier sells an article which it has purchased and transports that article for delivery, it is both a dealer and a carrier. When, therefore, the price received for the commodity is adequate to pay the published freight rate and something over, the command of the statute as to adherence to the published rates is complied with, because the price will be imputed to the freight rate, and the loss, if any, attributed to the company in its capacity as dealer, and not as a carrier. ”

“ The great quantity of coarse freights, that could only be profitably carried long distances by water, has revolutionized the type of vessel used for its transportation, making large steamers imperative, consolidating interests and cheapening methods. It is usual for the vessels in the grain trade and in the iron-ore trade to make their up trips empty; but in consequence of the admirable facilities provided at terminal points, they make very fast time, and carry freight very cheaply. The cost of freight per ton-mile fell from 23/100 cent in 1887 to 8/100 cent in 1898 ”

“ Has a carrier engaged in interstate commerce the power to contract to sell and transport in completion of the contract the commodity sold, when the price stipulated in the contract does not pay the cost of purchase, the cost of delivery, and the published freight rates? ”

“ The issue presented is whether s 1 (6) of the Interstate Commerce Act, as amended, which requires carriers 'to establish, observe, and enforce just and reasonable classifications of property for transportation, with reference to which rates, tariffs, regulations, or practices are or may be made or prescribed,' [1] is applicable to so-called all-commodity freight rates. The Commission, with three members dissenting, held that § 1 (6) does apply to such rates, and that the section was violated by the rate schedules here in question. ”

“ Forwarders are required by § 1013 of the Act to issue bills of lading to their customers, covering the individual package shipment from time of receipt until delivery to the ultimate consignee. When the freight is consolidated into carloads, the railroad gives the forwarder its bill of lading in which the forwarder is designated as both consignor and consignee. The contents are noted as 'one carload of mixed merchandise' and usually move under an 'all-commodity' carload rate. ”

“ To this the dealers objected, instancing among other things the practice, long prevalent in the cattle business where a similar loss of weight in transit occurs, of charging according to the weight of the shipments, not at the initial point, but at the point of delivery. At first sight the complaint appears to be well founded. Surely one should not be compelled to pay freight on a greater lading than is carried. But the Commission on examination decided in favor of the roads. ”

“ But there we find that the charterer cannot, without an express violation of his contract, deliver to the consignee a single article, not only until its own peculiar freight be paid, but until the payment of the sum of 32,000 dollars, the whole of the freight reserved to the owner.
On what principles rests the general lien of goods for freight? The master is the agent of the ship-owner, to receive and transport; the goods are improved in value, by the cost and cares of transportation. ”

“ We confess we do not see why. Place for the payment of freight, other than that for which the cargo is shipped and discharged, amounts to a stipulation that freight will not be demanded at the last, as a condition for the cargo's delivery. All of the authorities concur in this, that place for the payment of freight is a waiver of a lien upon the cargo, unless there are already circumstances or stipulations to show that it could not have been meant. ”

“ Our decision turns upon the validity of an order of the Commission cancelling certain proposed tariffs of these carriers upon the ground that they were unlawfully discriminatory in affording lower rates to 'forwarders' of freight than to other shippers.
Forwarders utilize common carriers by rail and motor truck to transport goods owned by others. They solicit and obtain many small shipments, from various points within an area, and cause them to be carried in less than truck-load or carload lots to a concentration center within the area. ”