hazmat fees

[dakotashooter2]

What are hazmat fees actually for? Where does that money go? Is it just another government tax? Does it pay for extra insurance? Or maybe pay for employee hazmat training? $28 is a lot of money for a small amount of hazardous matterial such as a pound of powder or brick of primers.........

[jeepyj]

Interesting question. Now you've got me wondering. Answers should be interesting.
Jeepyj

[RoyEllis]

Don't know if it's still the same as I haven't driven over the road truck in several years, but it used to be a royal pain from all the paperwork to haul any registered hazmat load. I got pd a tiny bit extra on hazmat loads to deal w/the BS at every weigh station & some state border crossing.
You think I'm kidding? Hit the scale house going into Cali with a load placarded for "explosives"....they inspect you for hours right down to your last personal orifice. I rather imagine since 9/11 & the Patriot Act it's even worse for both drivers & shipping Co's. I believe the hazmat chg is a Fed DOT mandated deal if memory serves me right. Powder & primers aren't the only hazmat that gets a surcharge either, lots of chemicals are charged haz fees to ship.

[500MAG]

I don't believe that any goes to the government. I believe it's just a charge by the shipper to cover the cost incurred in training employees in the proper way to handle hazardous material. Basically it's a way to stick it to you.

[9w1911]

As far as I can tell its a red and white sticker

[tomme boy]

They have to carry a extra piece of paper. That is it. I worked for a company that shipped thousands of items every day that was Haz Mat. Guess what. We never charged anyone. anything for it. My local dealer tells me he does not get charged for powder or primers either. Believe what you want

[fastfire]

I think it's a way the guberment cane keep track of where the stuff goes?

[starmac]

I don't know if the govt gets any percentage of the hasmat fees, but they sure get 90 bucks from each and every driver that they approve to haul it every 4 years. The govt also mandates any carrier to carry over twice the amount of liability insurance for even the most minor hasmat, plus paperwork and employee training every so often. It cost the companies more to move it. Any company that moves it without any extra fee is adding cost to all their freight to cover cost. Some ltl companies don't have to add, because they are already getting it in the freight charge.

[youngmman]

Just an extra charge for presumably special handling by the shipper. It's just another way to nick you for extra money.

[jcwit]

Just an extra charge for presumably special handling by the shipper. It's just another way to nick you for extra money.

Possible you didn't read the post prior to yours?

[oneokie]

FWIW, YMMV
Over the years, none of the deliveries of powder or primers has been delivered in a vehicle that was placarded.
I even asked one of the drivers about the Haz-Mat fee and was informed that he did not have a haz-mat endorsement on his CDL.
Figure that one out.

[Bad Water Bill]

I have asked this question here for several years.

A lot of answers were given but no documentation as to where the authority or fees were designated.

Some dealers charge the fee for no more than a brick of primers and only 5 # of powder for each fee.

I have had 20# shipped from 3 different locations on 3 different days on ONE Haz Mat fee from one dealer.

Don't even ask how many primers we got on ONE fee from one dealer.

I have asked folks at Fed/Ex and UPS about shipping so called HAZARDOUS materials and was met with blank stares.

So again show me the fed documentation and fed rules on haz fees.

[youngmman]

jcwit-Possible you didn't read the one following yours?

[akajun]

It is simply an extra fee tacked on by the shipping companies to generate profit. These large companies have a deductable on their insurance which is very high, so they are basically self insured. When is the last time you heard of a truck catching fire because of powder or primers?
The DOT does not require haz mat placards, haz mat cdl, or anything unless you are carrying 1000lbs of haz mat material.

[starmac]

Yes, depending on the hasmat in question they can deliver 1000 pounds or less without hasmat or placard. The local ups and fedx type trucks will never exceed 1000 pounds, but the original trucks picking it up at the factories or docks will be placarded. anything you buy has been on a truck at least 3 times.

[starmac]

I am not sure what the limit on powder is, but the way I understand it even a barge coming to Alaska is limited to 4 pallets of powder or ammo. The pallets can have no more than 100 pounds and have to be seperated to the extreme corners of the barge.

There is a lot of regulations dealing with hasmat, and very hard to keep up with.
Ltl carriers do not operate on any rate per mile, the same as a full load carrier, and their rates are high enough to cover any additional cost incurred. It is not unusual for an ltl truck to be getting 10 or 50 bucks a mile

[jcwit]

jcwit-Possible you didn't read the one following yours?

Ya, I did.


I don't know if the govt gets any percentage of the hasmat fees, but they sure get 90 bucks from each and every driver that they approve to haul it every 4 years. The govt also mandates any carrier to carry over twice the amount of liability insurance for even the most minor hasmat, plus paperwork and employee training every so often. It cost the companies more to move it. Any company that moves it without any extra fee is adding cost to all their freight to cover cost. Some ltl companies don't have to add, because they are already getting it in the freight charge.

starmac states that the company approves the driver and they pay a $90 dollar fee every 4 years. He says nothing about the driver being endorsed on his CDL.

starmac also says nothing about the vehicle being placarded.

You need to read more carefully.

[mac60]

Yes, depending on the hasmat in question they can deliver 1000 pounds or less without hasmat or placard. The local ups and fedx type trucks will never exceed 1000 pounds, but the original trucks picking it up at the factories or docks will be placarded. anything you buy has been on a truck at least 3 times.

Certain hazardous materials must be placarded for in ANY amount. Among those that meet that requirement are division 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 2.3 and 4.3. There are others, but those 5 come to mind. Class 1 is explosives. I know small arms primers are 1.4. I'd have to look it up to see what smokeless powder is. This makes me curious, as I've had powder and primers delivered to the house and the delivery truck wasn't placarded. They probably have some kind of exemption from DOT. I've been a truck driver since 1998 and I've never hauled a single load that wasn't placarded.

[dragon813gt]

Placarding is based on the material being transported. We don't have to put placards up when transporting one 55 gallon drum of Methanol. But any bit more and we do. Our shop guys don't like transporting raw methanol to begin w/ so we premix it at the shop and move it in large totes. This is for geothermal loops so we need quite a bit for large commercial jobs.

[gandydancer]

Its nothing more than extra profit for UPS & FedEx & others Government has no hand in it. gd

[Bad Water Bill]

Its nothing more than extra profit for UPS & FedEx & others Government has no hand in it. gd

Since the folks at BOTH said they did NOT know about a Haz Mat fee and the fee and quantity change from merchant to merchant I tend to think the merchants are the ones profiting.

[gandydancer]

you may be right. I like your avatar. gd

[bobthenailer]

If i remember correctly ? Years ago a delivery truck blew up carring Federal primers ? thats why Federal uses a larger primer shipping tray than other brands. since then the HAZ MAT fees started @ $5.00 and over the years has increased up to $28.00 . IMO alot more $ than is needed !! My last big powder & primer order palced sometime in 2010 was almost $1,000 , i ordered 4-8lb kegs andto get the max weight limit i added 20,000 primers that they had on sale .

[youngmman]

Then read the rest and can the criticism because they don't all agree

[abunaitoo]

If I remember correct, Hazmat fees are $35.00 per pallet. I think it's limited to #48 of powder per pallet.
I don't remember a limit on loaded ammo or promers. I do remember powder and primers cannot be on the same pallet
As far as the high cost, the shippers add on a handling chager for the "special" handling they "claim" they have to take to load and transport hazmat matirials.
The extra cost is from the shippers, not the government for a change.
The shippers hide it as hazmat cost.
Smokless powder is a flammable, not an explosive. Yet, every shipper lables it as an explosive so they can charge extra handling.
Just my 2sence.

[Bad Water Bill]

Someone told me a while back that there is even a haz mat fee on first aid kits containing "Iodine".

How flammable is that?

[Handloader109]

Guys, the hazmat fee is the seller's money. UPS provides software that automatically generates the paperwork necessary to ship the various hazardous materials. UPS does not charge an extra fee per shipment. These 'fees' are profits that go to the business selling the hazardous material. That is why the fees vary with quantity purchased. We are getting ripped and can't do anything directly to alter except complain.

[dakotashooter2]

It's basically why I buy local. I just can't justify the quantities that I would need to buy to pay both the hazmat and shipping costs.

[David2011]

jcwit-Possible you didn't read the one following yours?

Thanks for the humor!

David