Ductile Iron Pipe is normally shipped in pre-packaged bundles. For special orders we can break a bundle and create exactly what is needed to fill your order. When we load a truck for delivery our goal is 40,000 pounds of pipe.
Our pipe is priced and sold based on full truckload quantities. The price of the freight is included in the price of the pipe if enough pipe is ordered to fill a truck. If a customer has ordered less than a full truckload worth of pipe, then there are three options to get the pipe delivered:
Variables Affecting Final Weight
Most trucks are capable of carrying more, but we shoot for a minimum weight of 40,000 lbs. Here are a few variables which can change the final weight:
- Truck and Trailer Weight: This will impact the gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR), or gross vehicle mass (GVM). The trailer also impacts the weight that can be added onto a truck. If a truck is using a steel trailer, the heavier trailer prevents us from putting on as much pipe as we would put on an aluminum trailer.
- Accessories: Some purchase orders have accessories that can accumulate weight. Gaskets, Lube, PolyWrap, Rings, Caps, and any variety of accessories need to be loaded on a pallet or a bag and loaded onto the truck. This also impacts that GVRW.
3. Fuel: Most trucks can carry 300 gallons of diesel fuel. That’s about 2,100lbs! Trucks that carry our pipe include the weight of the fuel in their GVRW. A truck may have a full tank of gas, then get loaded with pipe and then be overweight. It is important to remember that if a truck’s MAX GVWR is 60,000 LBS, there needs to be some room left for fuel.
Full Truckload vs Less Than Truckload
Our pipe is priced and sold based on full truckload quantities. The price of the freight is included in the price of the pipe if enough pipe is ordered to fill a truck. If a customer has ordered less than a full truckload worth of pipe, then there are three options to get the pipe delivered:
- The customer can order more pipe (usually for stock or for a future job). McWane ductile would assist in figuring the additional amount of pipe that would need to be ordered to get to a full truckload quantity.
- The customer can wait for another order to ship that would add the extra weight needed to get the truck to a full truckload. This is called “a fill”. The destination of the fill would need to be reasonably near the other destination. There is a maximum of 3 destinations per truck. Considerations need to be made about the distance between destinations, requested delivery dates, etc. Again, McWane Ductile can assist in working out the details of the deliveries.
- The third, and usually last, option is for the customer to pay the freight for the portion of the truck that is not filled. This is call a “light load fee”. The fee is calculated based on what weight is lacking on the truck and the cost to ship that truck to its destination. For example if the job site is in Phoenix, AZ and the pipe is being shipped from our Provo facility, the formula would look like this:
A. The weight percentage of what is lacking to fill the truck is multiplied by the total cost of a full truck load to that particular destination and that result is the light load fee.
* Full truck load cost is calculated based on current market freight Tariffs, Fuel Surcharges and distance.
This table gives a breakdown of how many pipe of each size can fit on a truck. Each row of pipe in a bundle no matter the size weighs about 5000 pounds. Some jobs require multiple sizes of pipe, and we can create custom bundles with different sizes of pipe to be shipped in the same load.
Dimensions of a Truckload
Weight isn’t the only thing to consider. We also need to make sure the load can fit under overpasses on the freeway and isn’t too wide for the lanes it will travel in. The maximum height for a truck is 13 feet and 6 inches. The max bundle height we can put on a trailer is 102” tall, and it can’t be wider than 96”. If these rules are ignored the trucker will receive a fine.
Number of Pipe per Truckload. 40,000 / 45,000 LBS.
ELD’s and On Time Deliveries
Effective December 18, 2017 Electronic Logging Devices, or ELD’s are required on the trucks of all professional truck drivers and commercial motor carriers to easily track Hours of Service (HOS) compliance.
The ELD law is intended to help create a safer work environment for drivers, and make it easier and faster to accurately track, manage, and share RODS (Record of Duty Status) data. As part of the MAP-21 Act, Congress required adoption of the ELD law.
The ELD law creates a situation where there is no room or flexibility on extended driving time. If there are delays such as mechanical issues, weather, traffic, job site issues, etc, those count into the drivers hours and can delay target delivery times.
Let us help
McWane Ductile has been producing and shipping pipe for about a century now. We started when it was delivered by horse and buggy and have the experience and expertise to get our iron strong pipe to the job site safely and efficiently. If you have questions or want more information on how we calculate how much pipe goes on a truck, reach out to your local McWane Ductile sales rep.
McWane Ductile offers multiple services to our customers extending far beyond manufacturing Ductile iron pipe. From estimating to design, from production to installation, we take great pride in providing education and assistance to water professionals throughout the water industry.
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