Q: One national account shipper suggested that Tariff 400-N was just a scheme to
obtain a rate increase. Is this true?
A: Any time there is change, it is reasonable to expect some initial resistance
and confusion. The old method of pricing had been in place since 1936 and, while
it was simplified in piecemeal fashion over the years, it did not keep pace with
the dramatic changes in the world that have affected our industry. For some, just
the idea of an electronic tariff was unsettling, not to mention the rate restructuring.
Once the national account shippers had a chance to work with Tariff-400N, they favored
it over the old pricing approach for all the good reasons previously discussed.
If the industry needed a rate increase, it would have proposed one just as it had
in the past. The industry would not have invested years of research and development
and committed future dollars to computer-related programming and training just to
obtain a rate increase. Tariff 400-N represents a more rational approach to pricing,
and this is why the industry has supported it.
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Q: Is Tariff 400-N subject to periodic general rate increases and restructures similar
to the old 400-M pricing mechanism?
A: Just as any other industry, ours will need a way to establish pricing
that reflects actual costs. Under Tariff 400-N, two specific government indices
are used to justify future rate increases and decreases. However, prevailing discounts
will not automatically increase. Tariff 400-N was designed to be a rational, cost-based
approach to pricing household goods carrier services—even in the event of rate changes
or restructuring.
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Q: When did Tariff 400-N become effective? Was Tariff 400-M maintained for a period
of time for transition purposes?
A: Tariff 400-N became effective on January 1, 2002, and Tariff 400-M was
discontinued at the same time. There was no transition period. Existing current
rate contracts referencing Tariff 400-M automatically transitioned to 400-N. Frozen
rate agreements were not affected until contract expiration dates.
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