Review guide · Freight and carrier agreements
How to review a freight or carrier agreement before you sign
What to check in a freight, parcel or carrier agreement before signing: rate validity and fuel surcharges, accessorial schedules, cargo liability limits, claims deadlines, minimum volume tiers, and termination.
Carrier agreements price every shipment you send, and the quoted rate is the smallest part of the bill. Fuel surcharges float, accessorials are billed per event from a schedule that sits in an appendix, and cargo liability is capped at a per-pound figure that rarely matches what you ship.
For a Columbus-area shipper near the Rickenbacker air and rail hub, or any ecommerce or distribution business, this is the agreement that moves most often and is read least. Check these clauses first.
Who usually signs it: The operations or logistics lead, often on a carrier's pricing agreement that references tariff documents you have never seen.
Columbus sits at the junction of two interstates and the Rickenbacker inland port, and carrier pricing agreements are the vendor contracts central Ohio shippers sign most often. Vendor agreement review for Columbus businesses →
The clauses to check, in order
- 01
Rate validity and general rate increases
Why it matters: Negotiated discounts are taken off a base rate the carrier can raise annually, so the discount stays and the price still goes up.
What to ask for: A cap on the annual general rate increase as applied to your net rates, and notice before it takes effect.
- 02
Fuel surcharge formula
Why it matters: The surcharge floats with a published index and a table in the carrier's tariff; the table can change without the agreement changing.
What to ask for: The surcharge table attached to the agreement, with changes requiring notice.
- 03
Accessorial charges
Why it matters: Residential delivery, address correction, liftgate, redelivery, dimensional-weight adjustments and "additional handling" are billed per event and add up to more than the base rate for many shippers.
What to ask for: The accessorial schedule attached, the ones you incur most discounted or waived, and audit rights on invoices.
- 04
Cargo liability limit and claims process
Why it matters: Liability for lost or damaged freight is capped per pound or per package, with claims windows measured in days and documentation requirements that defeat most claims.
What to ask for: Declared-value coverage at your landed cost for what you ship most, a claims window of at least 30 days, and a defined claims process.
- 05
Minimum volume tiers and earned discounts
Why it matters: Discounts are tiered on weekly or annual spend; fall below a tier and the rate resets, sometimes retroactively.
What to ask for: Tiers measured over a trailing period, no retroactive resets, and a renegotiation right if volume changes.
- 06
Term and termination
Why it matters: Multi-year terms with automatic renewal and penalties for early exit lock in a rate structure that the market may undercut next year.
What to ask for: A one-year term, termination on 30–60 days' notice without penalty, and no exclusivity.
Before you sign: the checklist
- Get the tariff, surcharge table and accessorial schedule the agreement references, and attach them.
- Model last quarter's shipments against the accessorial schedule.
- Read the liability limit against the value of a typical shipment.
- Write down the claims window and the documentation required.
- Check how discount tiers are measured and whether they reset.
- Confirm term, renewal and termination notice.
Run the interactive 12-point red-flag checklist → · Find the last day to give notice →
Have one of these on your desk?
Upload it and Sidecar returns a verdict, a 0–100 risk score, every clause above flagged with the text quoted, every date that can cost you, and the negotiation points with suggested wording. A Sidecar reviewer looks it over on request. The first review is free.
Questions
What is an accessorial charge?
A fee for a service beyond simple line-haul transport: liftgate, residential delivery, inside delivery, redelivery, address correction, dimensional-weight adjustment. Each is billed per event from the carrier's schedule, so the schedule is part of the price.
How much is a carrier liable for if my freight is lost?
Whatever the agreement and the carrier's tariff say, which is usually a per-pound or per-package limit far below the value of the goods unless you declared a value or bought coverage. A review flags the limit and the claims deadline so you can decide what to insure.
Does Sidecar review carrier agreements?
Yes. Logistics agreements are one of the types the review classifies. Upload the pricing agreement with the tariff and schedules it references, and the review reads them together.
Clauses explained
Other agreement types
Definitions and negotiation guidance here are educational business decision support, not legal advice. Consult an attorney about how any clause applies to your own agreement.