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Carrier Tariff Management

What is Carrier Tariff Management?

Carrier tariff management maintains rate tables showing what your carrier partners charge for moving freight on specific lanes. These tariffs work like customer rate tables but represent your costs instead of your revenue. Each carrier tariff links to a partner carrier and contains lane-specific rates they've quoted you for equipment and service combinations. When tendering a load to a carrier or comparing multiple carriers for coverage, the system references these tariffs to show what each carrier will cost so you can select the most economical option while maintaining service commitments.

This visibility prevents you from accidentally tendering loads at rates you haven't negotiated or being surprised by carrier invoices that don't match what you expected to pay. Your team sees carrier costs during the booking decision, calculates margin before committing to freight, and can compare multiple carriers' rates side-by-side to find the best combination of cost and service for each shipment.

How Carrier Tariff Management works:

  1. Access the Tariffs board in the Rating module. Click "Rating" in the main menu and select "Tariffs Board" to view all existing carrier rate tables and create new ones.
  1. Click "Create Tariff" to build a new carrier rate table. The tariff creation interface opens where you'll define which carrier this applies to, what equipment and service types it covers, and the effective date range.
  1. Enter the tariff details and name. Give the tariff a clear name that indicates the carrier, equipment, and time period (e.g., "Smith Trucking - Reefer Rates 2025" or "ABC Carriers - Flatbed Southeast Lanes"). Add description notes if needed to capture special terms or conditions.
  1. Select the fuel surcharge table to apply. Choose the appropriate fuel surcharge calculation that this carrier uses. Different carriers may use different fuel surcharge indexes or calculation methods, so ensure you're applying the correct one to get accurate total costs.
  1. Define the tariff dimensions for rate applicability. Currently, TMS.ai supports full truckload flat rates. Enter the weight range this tariff covers (e.g., 0-44,000 lbs for standard FTL). This tells the system when to apply these rates based on the commodity weight in an order.
  1. Create lanes within the tariff. Click "Create Lane" to add origin-destination pairs covered by this carrier's pricing. Enter the lane name (for your reference), origin location, and destination location. You can create lanes as specific city-to-city routes or broader regional zones.
  1. Enter the carrier's rate for each lane. Input the rate the carrier charges for this lane. Include minimum and maximum costs if the carrier has rate ranges. Add minimum and maximum transit times if the carrier has guaranteed service windows that affect pricing.
  1. Save the completed tariff. Once all lanes and rates are entered, save the tariff. The system validates the structure and makes it available for use in orders and quotes.
  1. Link the tariff to the carrier's partner profile. Navigate to Partners, select the carrier, and scroll to the Tariffs section in the right data panel. Click the empty tariff field and select the tariff you just created. Save the carrier profile to establish the connection.
  1. Reference carrier tariffs when building orders. When creating an order, use the "Add Partner Costs" widget to see all carriers with applicable tariffs for the lane. The system displays each carrier's rate from their tariff, letting you compare costs and select the best option. The chosen rate automatically populates in the order's carrier cost field.

What it means for you:

Your dispatch team makes informed coverage decisions. When tendering a load from Memphis to Atlanta, they see that Carrier A charges $1,200, Carrier B wants $1,350, and Carrier C bids $1,175. If your customer rate is $1,600, the margin calculation shows $400 with Carrier C, $250 with Carrier A, and $250 with Carrier B. Dispatch chooses the most profitable option while factoring in service quality and relationship considerations.

This also prevents billing surprises. When you book a load at $1,200 carrier cost based on the tariff, and the carrier later invoices $1,400, you have documentation of the agreed rate to dispute the overcharge. Without tariffs in the system, you're relying on memory or hunting through emails to prove what was quoted, making it harder to push back on incorrect carrier bills.