An alternative to
density, when costing freight known to be either unstackable, untoppable, or double-stacked,
is to specify the square foot base of each pallet, piece, or other handling
unit. This option is found on the Density shipment
description item, both when costing shipments and in the Traffic/CIS Customer
Profile. Double-click, or press the F7 key, to open the density
calculation worksheet window. That window includes an unstackable button,
that opens a second window to specify the length and width of each handling
unit. Options on that window include the use of feet or inches, and
buttons to specify cylinders and to specify double-stack.
Length and width entries will change the
"density" title, back on the main entry screen, to "base",
reflecting the square foot base of each handling unit. If double-stack was
specified, the square foot base will reflect half of each handling unit's base.
When freight density is specified, it is
applied to the shipment weight, in addition to the stowability factor, to obtain
shipment cube for cost allocation. If, instead of density, the square foot
base is specified, it is used to calculate shipment cube for linehaul cost
allocation on a leg by leg basis as follows:
1. Average height of
freight in the trailer is calculated using 9 feet x (average cube / maximum
cube), with a 4 foot minimum.
2. Shipment cube is then
calculated using average height x square foot base x number of handling units
The resulting cost allocation is thus
reflective of floor space occupied. The system will report back the
calculated density. Care should be taken when using this option that
freight be genuinely unstackable, either due to size, fragility or weight
constraints. For example, pyramided pallets may prohibit double stacking,
but may still have other non-palletized freight loaded on top of it, in
which case the usage of square foot base might not be appropriate.
Note: In the CIS Spreadsheet Editor, the base will be shown in the density field as a negative number.
Revised March, 2008