Whether you are shipping products to customers, delivering goods
to distributors, or receiving goods from vendors, the risk of loss
or damage in transit is real. Even more consequential, carriers and
freight forwarders limit their liability in the event goods are
lost, delayed or damaged during shipment, which can leave
businesses exposed.
In this blog, we review the liability rules for different types of
carriers – truck, air, or ocean freight, as well as the role
of insurance and freight forwarders in this context, and review
ways in which businesses can mitigate their risk when shipping.
Shipments via Truck – the Carmack Amendment
The Carmack Amendment1 governs liability for
interstate truck shipments within the U.S.2 Under this
rule, a carrier is strictly liable for losses or damage to goods
during shipment, but allows a carrier to contractually limit its
liability. Typically, carriers limit their liability in the
following ways:
