OS&D refers to a freight shipment where cargo is over, short, or damaged compared to the bill of lading or other shipping documents. An OS&D incident is addressed with a freight claim for financial reimbursement for affected cargo.
What is OS&D?
The OS&D meaning applies to freight shipments with an overage, shortage, or damage compared to the shipment’s original bill of lading.
Overage refers to excess freight received over the quantity shipped and listed on a shipping document. A freight overage must be managed – either returned to sender or incorporated into the consignee’s inventory and billed accordingly.
Shortage applies to a shipment where freight quantity is less than detailed in the shipping document. For shortages, any billing, inventory, and order/fulfillment management must be adjusted.
Damaged cargo received by the consignee can be obvious or concealed, where all or part of the shipment was not visible for inspection at the time of delivery. Damaged shipments are generally accepted, documented, and reported in a freight claim for compensation.
What is an OS&D Report?
An OS&D report is an inspection report completed by the consignee, or receiver, for materials that are received in shipment. This report lists every detail about the goods that arrived damaged or in incorrect quantities than those detailed in a bill of lading (BOL). The driver and the consignee both receive a copy of the OS&D report.
OS&D Freight Inspection and Documentation
Following the inspection, any shortage, overage, or damage is noted on the transportation provider’s BOL or proof of delivery (POD). Documentation of specific detail supports OS&D freight claim resolution.
OS&Ds and Freight Claims
Freight claim filing is a time-sensitive process following an OS&D report. Shippers file claims against a carrier within a period specified in the carrier’s contract and/or tariff or as defined by law. Typically, shippers have nine months from delivery to file most freight claim types.
Other statutory deadlines for claim types:
- Concealed damage: 15 days from delivery.
- Lost shipment: Within nine months of the expected delivery date or after a reasonable amount of time for delivery has passed.
- All other claim types: Nine months from the delivery date.
A claim filed after the initial claim period is not valid.
As specified in the Carmack Amendment, financial liability for a freight claim is on the transportation carrier for shipments within the United States. Five exclusions apply that, when validated, alleviate carriers of any liability.
Download our guide to freight claim
types and the OS&D claim process.
How MercuryGate Supports OS&D Claims
- Collect and document claim details: Receivers can report incidents, document OS&Ds, and then later convert it to a freight claim and store all email correspondence in the incident record.
- Monitor trends to reduce incidents: Collect, store and review OS&Ds history for prevention and risk management.
- Time-saving Task Scheduler: Users decide when tasks are created and scheduled, while alerts ensure no missed claim deadlines.
- Data sharing: Cloud-based database enables real-time sharing of OS&D incident details among all stakeholders inside and outside the company. Detailed privacy settings allow control of which OS&Ds an outside party may access.
- Manage salvage process: Record within the OS&D incident report any salvage details, including price, buyer and date sent to salvage.
