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Liquid Bulk Fertilizer Transport: An Exhaustive Guide

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Liquid Bulk fertilizer transport is stressful enough. There are a lot of processes, paperwork, and tracking to be done. But if you think that is stressful, try bulk liquid fertilizer transport when the fertilizer contains hazardous materials — and boy, many fertilizers do!. It’s another world of stress, with countless regulations and regulatory bodies brandishing their penalties like whips in the air for when you break a rule.

Your business doesn’t need the extra pressure. When you partner with a reliable agricultural logistics company like Total Connection, you can concentrate on your business without the constant yapping of regulations at your heels. The experienced logistics company will handle your liquid bulk fertilizer transport for you.

Here, you’ll learn everything about the liquid bulk transport of fertilizers that contain hazardous chemicals and the regulations that surround them. You’ll also learn how to transport your liquid bulk fertilizer. Then you’ll see how Total Connection takes these off of your shoulders.

Content

Part A

The Challenge of Shipping Liquid Bulk Fertilizers

Part B

HAZMAT Classifications for Fertilizers

Regulations for Shipping Fertilizers Containing Hazardous Materials

Part C

Important Steps in Liquid Bulk Fertilizer Transport

Part D

How Total Connection Eases Your Liquid Bulk Fertilizer Transport

The Challenge of Shipping Liquid Bulk Fertilizers

Plants require a lot of nutrients for healthy growth. Crops need potassium to help them grow roots that are deep and strong, for instance. Nitrogen boosts the development of plant stems and leaves, especially when the plants are in the mid-stages of their lifespan. And phosphate strengthens root, leave, and stem systems of plants, especially in young plants.

Aerial view of fertilizer spreading on a field.

Like these three, there are other nutrients that a plant should not do without. About 17 of them. But unfortunately, not all soils contain them all at once. Thanks to fertilizers, however, you can give the soil a boost in the nutrients it is deficient in. And thanks to bulk fertilizer transport as well, allowing you to spend less for more value and quantity.

However, bulk fertilizer transport comes with its challenges, with the major one arising from the unavoidable use of hazardous materials (HAZMAT) in many fertilizers. And if you were to get careless with these materials, all hell could break loose.

As a result, you must be extra careful and smart when dealing with bulk fertilizer shipping matters. A good place to start is to understand the hazardous classification of your fertilizer shipment, irrespective of whether you are a farmer or a fertilizer distributor.

HAZMAT Classifications for liquid chemical Fertilizers

Many fertilizers contain compounds that could be dangerous when they are not being used on the farm. Ammonium nitrate, for instance, is not only an important ingredient in fertilizers but also in explosives. “Why is a hazardous material used in making fertilizers,” you may ask. It is because ammonium nitrate is an inexpensive source of nitrogen. And since nitrogen is needed in large quantities on farms, it is hard to completely scrap the use of the potentially dangerous chemical.

Sulfur is another important component in many fertilizers, but it could be dangerous when mishandled. Because of the potential dangers that accompany the use of these chemicals in fertilizers, many regulations control and monitor the shipping of these hazardous chemicals.

The Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR) of the United States Department of Transportation (USDOT) classifies hazardous materials into nine major categories. Many fertilizers fall into some of the categories:

Hazardous Materials Classes Fertilizers May Belong To

Of the nine classes of hazardous materials, fertilizers may fit into seven of them.

●      Class 2: Gases

Some fertilizers contain sulfur. And under the wrong conditions, these fertilizers could emit some gases that are dangerous to the humans close by.

●      Class 3: Flammable Liquids

Not all liquid fertilizers can ignite, but those that can fall into this category.

●      Class 4: Flammable Solids

Apart from granular fertilizers, liquid Fertilizers that are combustible when wet fall into this category.

●      Class 5: Oxidizers and Peroxides

Ammonium nitrate is an oxidizer. The compound could also irritate your lungs and eyes when it comes in contact with them. It could even be a recipe for disaster when it spills in large quantities.

●      Class 6: Poisons

This class belongs to fertilizers that are poisonous when they get into your body.

●      Class 8: Corrosive

Some fertilizers are also considered corrosive.

●      Class 9: Miscellaneous Hazardous Materials

If you want to be sure of the hazard classifications of your shipment, refer to this Hazard Determination document provided by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). Your fertilizer manufacturer or importer should also provide you with labels for hazard classes of your shipment.

Also, never ship fertilizer containing hazardous materials without providing the logistics company with your Safety Data Sheet (SDS). This way, everyone who is involved in the shipping is certain about what materials are being transported. The SDS contains details about the chemicals that make up the fertilizer. It also describes safety measures, such as cleanup procedures, fire-fighting techniques, and first aid measures, in case of accidents.

Regulations for Shipping Fertilizers Containing Hazardous Materials

A liquid bulk fertilizer chemical processing plant view from above.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) of the USDOT has a lot of regulations shippers of hazardous materials must adhere to. The body has a document where it describes how to comply with federal HMR. Although the document addresses the transport of hazardous materials by highway, it also applies to:

  • HAZMAT transport within and between states, and to foreign countries through aircraft, motor vehicles, rail cars, and vessels.
  • Any form of representation that suggests that an aircraft, container, motor vehicle, package, railcar, or vessel contains hazardous materials. Even in comic books.
  • The process of fabrication, maintenance, manufacture, marking, reconditioning, testing, or repairing of a container or package that is meant for use in the transportation of HAZMAT.

When you are transporting fertilizers containing hazardous materials (HM), there are responsibilities that FMCSA expects of you. These responsibilities are:

●      Shipping papers.

Carriers of HM are never to be without shipping papers during transport. The shipping papers contain all the details of the hazardous materials you are transporting according to HMR.

●      Marking and placarding your vehicle.

The shipper of your fertilizers should give you placards to attach to the outside of your transport vehicle. You must attach these placards where they are easily visible on your transport vehicle so that it effectively communicates its hazardous material content.

●      Loading and unloading responsibilities.

There are a lot of packaging responsibilities for HM, and you can find them in Title 49 of the Code of Federal Regulations from par 174 to 177. Here, the CFR gives requirements for transporting hazardous materials by air, highway, rail, and water. And in the 177.834-177.854 of part 177, it discusses the specific requirements for loading and unloading the materials.

●      Compatibility.

Compatibility addresses situations where the hazardous materials are being transported in multi-compartmented tanks in the transport vehicles. This is because some chemicals that are incompatible with one another and should never be transported in the same cargo. For instance, you must not transport cyanide and its mixtures, found in some fertilizers, with acids, irrespective of the hazard class.

●      Blocking and bracing.

This responsibility covers the proper containment of hazardous materials during transportation. It requires that the materials are well contained and secured to avoid leakages or spills because of inadequate blocking and bracing.

●      Incident reporting.

In the case of incidents, a carrier must immediately notify the Department as early as they can. Eight consequences of these incidents warrant reporting when they occur. Death, fire outbreak, serious injury, public evacuation, and spillage are some of these consequences. You are to report incidents to the DOT and/or CDC. However, this emergency report does not replace the formally written incident report the carrier is still responsible for providing.

●      Security plan.

A security plan cuts the amount of liability you may be exposed to if an illegal act involves your potentially dangerous fertilizer.

●      Employee training.

It is the responsibility of shippers and carriers to invest in the training of employees who would handle the hazardous materials. This training should include safety and security training, first aid training, and other important training sessions. This training should not only be limited to new employees, but it should also cover every other employee regularly.

●      Emergency response information.

You must include emergency response information in the employee training sessions. This information should contain who the employees are to contact. You may contact the National Response Center (NRC) for spills via telephone at (800) 424-8802. And for incidents that involve etiologic agents (infectious hazardous materials), report to the Center for Disease Control (CDC) at (800) 232-0124 instead of the NRC. Employees should memorize emergency response phone numbers.

Exceptions to Hazardous Fertilizer Transport

As you might have already guessed, the rules are voluminous. And with regulations such as this, exceptions litter the whole place.

There are exemptions from requirements on employee training, emergency response information, and some packaging requirements if you are a farmer transporting hazardous fertilizers (apart from Class 2 gases) within a 150-mile radius of your farm. But these exemptions only apply to when:

  • A farmer who is an intrastate private motor carrier transports the agricultural product
  • You are already transporting your agricultural product in compliance with the requirements of the state you’re transporting in, and you have been specifically authorized by a state statute that was in effect before the 1st of October, 1998.
  • The total amount of hazardous agricultural product being transported in a vehicle does not exceed
    • 7,300 kg (16,094 lbs) of ammonium nitrate fertilizer.
    • 1900 L (502 gallons) of liquid or gaseous agricultural products.
    • 2,300 kg (5,070 lbs) of solid agricultural products.

The HMR also lists some other exceptions relating to the Agricultural Operations Section. These exceptions concern you if

  • You are a private motor carrier who is transporting less than 220 L (58 gals) of formulated liquid agricultural products with proper transporting equipment. This transporting equipment includes several closures to a closed mixed system, which is fully equipped with positive dry disconnect devices from right before transit till the products get to their final destination.
  • The products are only nurse tanks of anhydrous ammonia.
  • Or trade materials.

Important Steps in Liquid Bulk Fertilizer Transport

The steps include how to get HAZMAT verified, how to label your containers and tankers properly, and general safe handling tips for liquid bulk fertilizers.

These processes are very important because liquid bulk transport of any hazardous material requires special attention. A little leak could contaminate water bodies, cause injuries to people, and lead to loss of lives and property.

But first, there is an alternative to liquid fertilizers that we just can’t ignore: dry or granular fertilizers. Apart from the obvious difference in the forms of the fertilizers, how are they different from each other? And what advantages do liquid fertilizers have over dry fertilizers?

Liquid Fertilizer vs Dry (Granular) Fertilizer

We base our comparison on the advantages one has over the other

The advantages of liquid fertilizers over granular fertilizers.

  • Liquid fertilizers are easy to apply, especially on large farms.
  • Plants and soils absorb liquid fertilizers faster than granular fertilizers, thanks to the liquid form of the fertilizers
  • Liquid fertilizers are better than dry fertilizers for starter and in-seasons applications.
  • You can easily blend liquid fertilizers with other crop protection products.
  • It is easier to attain a uniform application over a large farm with liquid fertilizers.
Farmer tending their crops with agrochemicals like pesticides, herbicides and fertilizer.

The advantages of Granular Fertilizers over Liquid fertilizers.

  • Because they are slowly absorbed into the soils and plants, their effects last longer. And you don’t need to apply them as often as you would need to apply liquid fertilizers.
  • There is no risk of them sinking into the ground when they are applied, unlike the way it is with liquid fertilizers that aren’t well prepared.
  • Better for intensive pre-plant applications than liquid fertilizers.

So which is better, liquid fertilizers or dry fertilizers? They are both good for various purposes, so one isn’t necessarily better than the other. And farmers often use the two kinds of fertilizers over several stages of their farming process.

But before you jump to a conclusion about whether to use liquid or dry fertilizers, consider which is better for bulk transport.

Liquid Bulk Fertilizer Transport vs Dry Bulk Fertilizer Transport?

Transporting your bulk fertilizer in liquid form beats dry from in the following ways:

●      Space and Cost Efficiency.

If a tanker could carry liquid or dry bulk fertilizer, it would carry more liquid fertilizer than dry fertilizer. And because you save more space with bulk liquid fertilizer shipping, you can transport more at once and save cost.

●      Greater control over your products.

Imagine your crops are in dire need of nutrients, and you need to revitalize them quickly. Dry fertilizers are already out of the question because of their delayed effectiveness. But liquid fertilizers can quickly help your crops back to health. Not just because of their liquid form, but also because liquid fertilizer tankers have features like in-transit heating systems that keep your fertilizers at an optimal temperature at delivery. This way, your fertilizer is ready for use as soon as it gets to you.

●      Ease of unloading.

You would have to depend on forklifts and heavy manual labor to unload your dry fertilizers from the truck. This is a waste of time, human labor, and money on extra employee wages. But when you opt for liquid bulk fertilizer transport, you unload with hoses into your container. You save time, rely on less manual labor, and save more on employee wages.

●      Damage Protection.

When your dry bulk transport truck drives under suboptimal conditions, your bags, skids, and totes of dry fertilizers are prone to damage and tear. This could lead to the loss of valuable products, making you get less for your money. But liquid bulk fertilizer tankers are built to withstand abnormal road conditions. This way, your products never waste during transit.

How to be HAZMAT Certified

Your employees who are in direct control of the transport and removal of your hazardous materials may need HAZMAT certification. There are several HAZMAT fields to get certified in, including management, training, or shipping. However, the USDOT itself is not in charge of the certification. There are HAZMAT schools where you could take the training and get certified.

The process of getting HAZMAT certified involves HAZMAT training, which often includes learning all HMR requirements. The certification is an optional process for employees, and you or your employees won’t get into trouble for not having them. However, anyone who handles your hazardous materials MUST go through HAZMAT training. This part is non-negotiable.

Proper Labelling of HAZMAT Containers and Tankers

There is a label that goes with each hazard classification. The labels are the same all over the world to avoid any confusion. And they must be placed on the bodies of the containers so that they can be visible from some distance away.

Without these labels, it would be hard to determine the amount of risk involved when an accident that involves a HAZMAT container occurs. And since the hazardous content could be anything from flammable, corrosive, radioactive, or even toxic, going about without these labels could incur some heavy penalties.

With tankers or any vehicle carrying potentially dangerous materials, they must always have hazard classification placards on them. The placards are like the labels. And they must be visible on all sides of the tanker.

Safe handling of Liquid Bulk Fertilizers

liquid bulk fertilizer tanker at sunset

Every employee that would handle these potentially dangerous chemicals at any point must be well trained. Your carriers must first be licensed to drive a tanker truck. Then they should be familiar with laws concerning the transport of hazardous materials. Also, your carriers should always have a copy of the SDS your shipper provides for the fertilizer you are transporting.

How Total Connection Eases Your Liquid Bulk Fertilizer Transport

All the rules and regulations surrounding bulk chemical transport could be hard to follow, especially for fertilizers containing hazardous materials. And the law is unforgiving when you break any of them. Keeping up with the regulation updates is another challenge on its own. And don’t forget the paperwork that comes with the entire process. Then comes the anticipation that comes with tracking your shipments. The processes are so demanding that if you created a department within your company or farm to handle them, it would be worth it.

But the good news is that you don’t have to do all those when you partner with a reliable and competent logistics company like Total Connection. We let you concentrate on your business and nothing more. We will handle the delivery for you and obey all the rules and regulations on your behalf.

Benefits of Shipping your Liquid Bulk Fertilizer with Total Connection

Here’s how Total Connection eases liquid bulk fertilizer transport for you.

●      Vast experience.

After 25 years in the business of shipping agricultural chemicals, we have all the experience it takes to handle your bulk liquid fertilizer transport smoothly. Whatever kind of liquid fertilizer you intend to ship, whether organic, HAZMAT, or any other kind, thousands of other clients have trusted us to ship it for them. So, yours wouldn’t be a problem.

●      Emergency on-demand coverage.

We are a private family-owned business. We don’t have unnecessary “delivery processing hierarchies“ that do nothing but slow down your delivery process. Instead, we deliver your bulk fertilizer as soon as you want it. Contact Total Connection anytime, 24/7, to make that last-minute shipment.

●      Cost-Efficient and Insured Delivery.

You don’t have to take up more liability than you need to. Our services are inexpensive and we always insure your products that are with us. So, even in an extremely rare case of an accident, you still have nothing to worry about.

●      Flexibility.

This is where we most pride ourselves in. We immerse ourselves into your business when you partner with us so that we can provide solutions that are best suited to you. We do last-minute reschedules, and offer you just the perfect quote for your business, just so that we don’t interrupt your supply chain.

Conclusion

Liquid bulk fertilizer transport is a complex process, but you don’t have to do it on your own. Relieve your business of the stress and pressure of bulk fertilizer transport by filling the quote form below.

Shipping Agricultural Chemicals

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The use and shipping of agricultural chemicals & agro-chemicals dates to as far back as 4500 years ago. Since then, farmers have depended on chemicals to treat crop diseases, kill pests, eliminate weeds, and do so much more for a long time. The best manufacturers and distributors of agricultural chemicals know the importance of working with high-efficiency logistics companies to handle the shipping of their agricultural chemical products. As a result, they work with Total Connection, a top agricultural chemical products shipping company.

The Role of Agricultural Chemical Shipping in the global food supply

Agricultural chemicals are some of the best inventions that could ever happen to you and your farm. Take a moment to think about what would happen if there weren’t pesticides to get rid of those annoying pests that infest your crops or consume your animal feed. Or how that area of your farm with low soil nutrients would have dipped your net yield if you hadn’t used chemicals to boost its nutrients.

The transport company you depend on to ship these agrochemicals is just as important as the chemicals are to your farm. That is why you need an agricultural chemical product shipping company that is swift, keeps your chemical products in good condition, and offers you flexible services. It would go a long way in keeping your productivity and net revenue high up there. Frankly, anything short of this standard of agrochemical shipping company could cost your business massively.

Understanding Agricultural Chemical Shipping: Hamzat Transportation

Shipping of any kind can be a complex process, plagued with rules and regulations. But the rules get stricter and more numerous for the transport of hazardous materials, also known as HAZMAT. And the United States Department of Transportation (USDOT) rates some agricultural chemicals as Hazmat. The department has nine classes of Hazmat materials, and chemicals, like the pesticides you use on your farm, conveniently fall into some of these classes.

How the USDOT Hazardous Material Regulations Affect Your Shipping of Agrochemicals

First off, the USDOT Hazardous Material Regulations (HMR) controls the transportation of hazardous materials in the country. You are subject to its rules if you are transporting hazardous agricultural chemicals over 150 miles away from your farm. And in this case, your transport trailer has to have some placards that communicate the content of the trailer.

shipping agricultural chemicals are sometimes classed as hazardous freight and may require the use of relevant placards.
FMCSA regulates the shipping of some dangerous Agro-Chemicals.

Image source: Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

In addition, the regulations require that agricultural chemical carriers have a security plan. And if you are a farm, you must also have a security plan as long as you belong to any of the categories below:

  • A farm that earns over $500,000 annually in gross receipts from selling agricultural products and commodities.
  • A farm that transports hazardous materials over a 150-mile radius of its location on the highway or rail.
  • A farm that transports hazardous materials that don’t directly support its farming operation.

The security plan reduces your exposure to liability should an illegal act involve your chemical products. It also helps to deter terrorist or illegal acts involving the use of your hazardous chemicals.

What Makes Up a USDOT Hazardous Materials Regulations Security Plan

Three important categories should be in your HMR security plan. The first covers personnel security, the second addresses unauthorized access, and the last handles en route security.

●      Personnel Security

The security plan must contain ways to confirm the information on the job application or resume given by the carriers of your hazardous agricultural chemicals. However, this regulation exempts employees or carriers of hazardous agrochemicals who were hired before the 25th of September, 2003 (when this security plan regulation was developed).

As you might imagine, this is just to help to confirm the identity of the personnel who are directly involved in the transportation of your agrochemicals.

●      Unauthorized Access

This part of the plan helps to protect the materials from being used by unauthorized personnel for any reason, especially for illegal reasons. The plan requires that the Hazmat being transported must always be under the visual observation of the personnel transporting it. The materials must also be locked up at all times during transportation.

For instance, a carrier must never be too far away from the chemicals during transportation, even if they stop on the way to take a bite or use the bathroom.

●      En route Safety

This part of the plan covers the security of hazardous materials while shipping agricultural chemicals during transportation. It requires that all necessary security measures be put in place from the moment you pick up the chemicals to the instance you get to your farm. And in this case, that means keeping the time your shipment spends in transit to the barest minimum. You only go straight to your farm from your supplier.

How Total Connection Makes Shipping Agricultural Chemical Products Easy for You

The regulations surrounding the shipping of hazardous materials are not only many, but they are constantly being updated. If you had to keep up with them all on your own, you might have to always take the time to check in with the regulations before every single trip. This could cost you more time and labor, but you must not do without it. Otherwise, you might get your farm in trouble for infringing on any of the regulations. But who says you have to do it all on your own?

Total connection helps you observe all these regulations while saving you time and money in the process. We verify that our carriers have excellent records and know about every regulation update before every shipping. All you just need to do is to contact us and expect the delivery of your agricultural chemicals. You can sleep with both eyes closed, knowing that your agricultural shipments are in good hands until they get to your farm.

We offer you all that, and we still offer you more. We nurture a direct connection between your farm and the producers of your agrochemical products. And with our decades of experience in agricultural chemical shipping, we know the most efficient and economical ways to get your chemicals to you.

It doesn’t matter if yours is a brooding business with limited resources and tighter margins for errors, or a massive Fortune1000 establishment with gazillion gallons of products to ship. We have worked with chemical producers and farmers like you, and they were all satisfied with our services. We streamlined their agricultural chemical supply chain, so they wasted less time, incurred fewer risks, and spent less. Yours won’t be different.

The Benefits of Shipping Agricultural Chemical Products through Total Connection

Shipping agricultural chemical products is a complicated process that can only be easy when you use the shipping company. And that is who we are.

●      You would be working with the best

Not to be cocky, but it’s that simple, really. Total Connection is the primary source of shipping agricultural chemicals for various manufacturing plants in the industry. You’ll be dealing with one of the kingpins of the agricultural trade lanes in all of North America.  

Our highly experienced and knowledgeable staff is at your service from the moment you contact us for a quote till you receive your chemical products. We train our workers to handle various delivery situations so you have nothing to worry about. Yours is to give us a call, and ours is to handle the rest.

●      You receive agrochemicals quickly and in perfect conditions

Timing is everything in shipping. Keeping a supply chain on schedule is vital to avoiding any disruptions to the food supply chain. Because we understand this and the enormous effect it could have on your farm, we do everything we can to keep to your timing. What this means for you is that we ship your agrochemicals to you on schedule. We deliver it when you say you want it delivered.

Impeccable timing is great, but maintaining the quality of your products is just as important. That is why arm our trailers with all the necessary equipment to maintain the quality of your shipment during transit.

●      We have a broad experience shipping agricultural chemicals

Having been in the business for almost three decades, we have had experience shipping all kinds of agrochemicals. So, we have most likely shipped any agrochemical products you have in your mind to ship, and we know the best way to deliver it.

Here is a list of agricultural chemicals we ship:

●       Pesticides

●       Fertilizers | You should check out our complete guide to shipping fertilizers

●       Herbicides

●       Insecticides

●       Fungicides

●       Soil fumigants

●       Desiccants, harvest aids, and plant growth regulators

●       Natural Pesticides

And if by a long shot, you are intending on shipping agricultural chemicals that do not appear on the list above, it’s no problem. Contact us to discuss how to ship it to you. We help you increase your crop yield potential, protect your soil, and make it suitable for farming through the efficient transport of these chemicals.

Can Total Connection Help Ship Your Agro-Chemicals?

Shipping all kinds of agricultural chemical products for all kinds of clients is part of what we do. It is our job, and we fully commit to it. We invest time and effort into building productive and mutually profitable relationships with our agricultural customers and their agrochemical suppliers. This way, your agricultural chemical shipping supply chain only involves you and the supplier, and you spend less while saving more time.

In addition, we make sure to study your business model to know how best to tailor our solutions to best serve your specific needs. We don’t offer a one-size-fits-all kind of solution, where we inconsiderately ask a small farm to provide something only large farms can easily provide. Before we give you a solution, we have done our homework and considered everything about your farm to ensure that the shipping process is completely stress-free on your part.

Learn why thousands of other manufacturers, distributors and farms like yours trust us with the shipping of their agricultural chemicals today when you request a quote through the form below. Our agrochemical shipping experts will respond to you swiftly, and we will listen to you and offer intelligent agrochemical shipping solutions before you even know it.

Liquid Bulk Transport Company

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Do you need a reliable and cost-effective liquid bulk transport service to ship your bulk chemical product? Look no further.

In all our 25 years of excellent logistics service at Total Connection, one of the services we most pride ourselves in is our liquid bulk transport. Here, we lavish our combined century of experience on making sure that whatever chemicals you wish to transport arrive at their destinations safely and without a drop in the quality of your goods.

Our bulk chemical transport service covers varieties of products, such as sensitive chemical materials, dangerous HAZMAT goods, food-grade products and so much more. But that’s not all we offer you. We also have the right connections with many major chemical suppliers in different areas to help you streamline your business’ chemical supply chain.

Our Commitment to Safe Chemical Transport

We understand it is your priority to offer your customers the best and most satisfactory services that help them achieve whatever purpose they use the services for. At Total Connection, our topmost priority is to help you achieve this through the safe transport of your bulk chemicals.

For this reason, we have affiliated ourselves with a regulatory body with incredibly high standards as regards chemical distributions, the National Association of Chemical Distributors (NACD). This shows our commitment to preserving lives, properties, and the reputation of your business through the safe transport and storage of your chemical products.

To ensure this high standard of safety, we have over 10,000 bulk liquid tanker carriers. And each has gone through a thorough screening process which comprises a 5-point carrier checklist. This checklist helps us to weed out substandard carriers while leaving the best ones with high-quality equipment to transport your chemicals.

Our 5-Point Checklist for Bulk Liquid Tanker Carriers

●      High industry credit worthiness.
Credit worthiness of a company is a strong sign of a stable bulk carrier’s infrastructure, so this is one of the first signs that we check.

●      Proven track record of safety and accident history.

We make sure that only transporters who have a clean history as regards accidents and safety can transport your chemicals.

●      Highly trained drivers with in-depth knowledge about handling and transporting sensitive hazardous materials.

Total Connection leaves no room for irresponsible driving, irrespective of whether we are transporting sparkling clean water or the most sensitive hazardous chemicals.

●      Updated equipment maintenance records.

Wouldn’t it be incompetent of us to tell you we couldn’t transport your products on time because we had some equipment breakdown? That is why we never let our carriers provide us with that same excuse. Instead, they provide us with up-to-date equipment maintenance records for all of their equipment.

●      Valid and reputable industry reference.

Even after a carrier scales through the four checklists above, they still need a reputable industry reference before we allow them to transport your liquid bulk chemicals.

We leave no stone unturned when it concerns the safety of your products. Total Connection fully commits to transporting your liquid bulk chemicals in the best conditions and as fast as possible.

What Liquid Bulk Transport Offerings Do Total Connection Have?

Here’s the short answer: Total Connection transports anything and everything that relates to chemicals. And as for the long answer? The liquid bulk transport that Total Connection offers fall into three major categories:

●      HAZMAT and Dangerous Chemical Transport

A high level of management standard is required for the transport of HAZMAT and dangerous chemicals. This is not surprising, as the effect they may have on the environment when they are mismanaged could be devastating. A chemical spill at a strategic highway could render the highway unusable. It could potentially lead to the loss of millions of dollars, as businesses that depend on the highway are unable to access it. Those unlucky enough to be caught at the scene of the accident may have to pay with their lives.

DOT Placards Displayed on the Rear of a Fuel Tanker

This is why regulatory bodies keep updating their regulations on the transport of hazardous chemicals to ensure that lives and properties remain safe. A violation of the regulations could land your business in a lot of trouble. To help you avoid these unnecessary but costly mistakes, Total Connection offers you its highly trained and deeply experienced team to handle your HAZMAT and dangerous chemical transports.

The HAZMAT chemicals Total Connection transports include:

  • Corrosive materials
  • Explosives
  • Flammable liquids
  • Flammable solids
  • Gases
  • Oxidizers and organic peroxides
  • Poisons
  • Radioactive materials

●      Temperature Controlled Chemical Transport

You need a reliable temperature-controlled chemical transport service for the transport of temperature-sensitive chemicals.

Total connection offers you two main options of temperature-controlled chemical transport. One is through the use of tanker trucks fully equipped with in-transit heat. This is very useful for the transport of chemical substances that need to get to their destination at the same or a higher temperature at which they were loaded.

The other method is through tanker steaming, which steams the chemical substance at regular intervals during transport. As you might imagine, products whose temperatures you want to raise at delivery go in here.

There is so much more to gain when you depend on the decades of experience Total Connection has for your temperature-controlled chemical transport.

●      Agricultural Chemical Transport

Agriculture without chemicals is almost impossible, especially agriculture on a large scale. Farmers rely on chemicals for crucial purposes, including growth development, storage, preservation, and more. Without these chemicals in place, hunger looms.

Entrust the transport of your bulk agricultural chemicals with the wrong company and your farm may suffer for it. A slight drop in the quality of the transported chemicals could plummet your productivity and harm your profitability. Don’t take this risk with just any kind of liquid bulk transport service. Go for a reliable one.

So, if you need a company that can help with your bulk agricultural chemical transport, your search ends here. Total Connection has had decades to build up experience, trust among other businesses like yours, and healthy collaboration with many leading suppliers of agricultural chemical supply. The ultimate goal is to maintain the quality of the chemicals during transport so that your farm reaps increased productivity and profitability.

What You Need to Know About Bulk Liquid Transport Equipment

An enormous amount of effort goes into bulk chemical transport. There are many processes involved, and it is usually not as simple as getting your pizza delivered to you. Without helping the transport company to the proper knowledge of the chemical you want to move, there could be some costly mix-ups. This could lead to a reduction in the quality of the chemicals, which may dent your productivity and profitability. And that is only the best-case scenario.

Things could get way worse when a spillage occurs, potentially leading to inconvenient issues with regulatory bodies, total loss of products, and many more. And in all these scenarios, there isn’t one that could cost you less than thousands of dollars at best.

That is why it is important that you at least have a little understanding of the bulk liquid you intend to transport. That little understanding of your products would go a long way in helping us know the best transport equipment. We will ask you some simple questions to help us extract the information we need without wasting your time.

Key Questions that Help Us Pick the Best Equipment for Your Products

  • What is the product you’re shipping?
  • What is the nature of the chemical? (Is it toxic? Flammable? Temperature-sensitive?)
  • What is the layout of the loading plant?
  • What is the layout of the delivery plant?
  • Does the receiver have the ability to offload without a pump?
  • What kind of tank is the product delivering into?
  • What is the maximum offloading pressure your receiver can handle?
  • Is there any safety equipment or requirement at the receiver’s facility we need to know about?

From experience, we know that answers to these questions help us simplify the transport process by about 60% and reduce the risk of any mix-ups or costly mistakes by 75%. There are some more questions like these, and you can contact us to get more.

How these Questions Help Us Determine the Equipment We Use for Your Bulk Chemical Transport

After you provide answers to those questions, we can filter through our thousands of equipment to reach those that are perfect for your chemical products.

Questions on temperature, for instance, help us determine the best way to transport your chemicals according to your temperature requirement. We have in-transit heat trailers with steam coils in them to maintain the temperature of your chemical. There are trailers with other heating options which make them suitable for products that can be cooler or hotter at delivery than they were at loading.

When we ask questions that involve volume, we simply want to know what trailer size to bring to the party. Excessively big trailers could agitate your chemicals during transport, and it could lead to the foaming of the products. Anything could go wrong from there, especially with some sensitive chemicals. But tight-fitting trailers reduce agitation, cutting out unnecessary risks. Some of our trailers have compartments in them, so you need not worry if your product volume is less than our smallest trailer.

When you find pumps or compressors in the questions, we only want to know the best equipment for unloading your chemicals. We wouldn’t unload corrosive liquids with a pump, for instance, as the liquid could ruin the metal in the pump. Similarly, air compressors for unloading flammable liquid could be dangerous, as the static electricity could cause little sparks. And you know what happens when sparks meet flammable liquids.

Liquid Bulk Transport Tailored to Your Specific Needs

Total Connection offers you the best mix of experience, expertise, and affordability for the transport of bulk chemicals tailored to your specific needs.

If you have an urgent liquid bulk transport shipment or need a quote, call us. Our ever-friendly bulk chemical experts are eager to help get a quote for your shipment. And if you’d prefer an email, fill out our comprehensive liquid bulk quick-quote form below.

We look forward to hearing from you and servicing your liquid bulk transportation needs.

Filing a Chemical Freight Claim: The Ultimate Guide for Shippers

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As much as shippers and liquid bulk freight brokers would like to say they have never encountered a chemical freight claim, more often than not this is never the case.  With so many outside forces at play, if you have chemical freight moving at high volumes, at one point in your supply chains life-cycle you will stumble upon the need to file a chemical freight claim with your liquid bulk freight broker.

This short guide will give you actionable advice that you will need to not only maximize the amount you can recover from a freight claim, but to do it in a way that keeps your relationships with your brokers and carriers positive after its conclusion.

When can you file a freight claim?

In general, you can file a chemical freight claim any time you suspect there to be loss or damage to your liquid bulk freight that is quantifiable and substantial.  Some examples can be when a consignee receives a contaminated load, a spillage that occurs in transit or a number of other scenario’s where you or your client suffer a loss due to the transportation of material that you contracted with your liquid bulk broker or carrier.

Who do you file a claim with

A common misconception is that a broker is the one who a shipper files a claim with when this is actually not the case.  Your broker, if they are well versed in the chemical shipping industry, actually acts as your liaison with the carrier when you choose to file a chemical freight claim.

It is wise to go through your freight broker as they are typically well experienced in the claims process and can ensure that you receive the maximum compensation for your loss of product.

The carrier is the one who will be compensating you for the loss from their insurance policy.  While some smaller claims are settled outside of insurance, larger more significant losses will have to go through a strict reviewal process.  That’s why it is of utmost importance that you be sure to follow each of these important steps to maximize your chances of your claims being approved.

Steps to file a Chemical Freight Claim

  1. Notify your broker of your intent to file a claim

The first step to filling a claim is to make all parties aware of your intention.  Now, according to the Carmack amendment, which outlines your rights of a shipper and the rights of the carriers, a claim against freight must be acknowledged if placed within a 9 month time-frame of the delivery date noted on the proof of delivery.

In our liquid bulk freight brokering experience, the sooner this can be done, the better chance you have at receiving a quick response to your bulk chemical claim.

  • Do not dispose of any material you are claiming against

This is where most shippers and consignee’s go wrong in the freight claim process.  Legally, once you file a claim on freight, the carrier has the right not only to inspect the freight to verify your claim, but upon paying out the claim take complete ownership of the damaged goods with the option to dispose or sell at a salvage value.

If the carrier is never given the right to inspect the freight or to take possession of the freight, there is a very slim chance that your claim will ever be approved.

  • Gather all paperwork and communication with your bulk broker

It’s imperative during the chemical freight claims process to gather all of your communications, tender and delivery paperwork and have it sent promptly to your broker in order to expedite the freight claims process.

Insurance companies will often ask questions such as,

“Was damage or shortage noted on the proof of delivery?”

“Where is the original rate confirmation for the order?”

“Do you have any evidence of communication as soon as the damage occurred?”

If you were fortunate to be in the hands of an experienced liquid bulk freight broker then they should be able to not only gather all of your necessary documents, but also provide a detailed account as to what happened throughout the entire load.

  • Be honest about every aspect of the claim

While unfortunate, as with every industry there are cases where some shippers, unknowingly or not will try to exaggerate their claim in order to “cash in” on their carriers mistakes.

As with any insurance fraud, overclaiming the amount of freight lost, even if it’s done in error can result in your claim being denied and significant fines.

In general, you want to claim only the value of what you lost, not the value of which you sold the product for.  Some of the required documents to process a claim call for proof of the value or proof of the repair of your losses so the insurance company will be able to verify the true value of your chemical freight loss.

  • Be respectful and courteous at all times

It is extremely important, even more so in times of high tension to maintain composure to eliminate any unwanted friction with your liquid bulk freight broker and carriers alike.  It is easy to get wrapped up in emotion’s but this will only make processing your chemical freight claim more difficult for the broker, your carrier and their insurance company.

Always make an extra effort to be polite and courteous, understand that there are forces outside of everyone’s control that can result in a freight claim but there is no problem that can’t be solved.

While chemical freight claims are not always an easy process, following the above guidelines can not only expedite the processing time, but maximize the recovery value you will get for your chemical loss.

To put your company in the best possible scenario it is best to avoid this situation from the start by using a qualified liquid bulk chemical broker like Total Connection Logistics.

We have a liquid bulk dispatch team with over 50 years of combined experience ready to ship any liquid bulk freight including Hazardous Materials.

If you need a quote for a chemical shipment or would like to ask some questions about how the claims process works, feel free to fill out any form on this website or give us a call at 732-817-0401

Legal Disclaimer: This article is provided for entertainment purposes only and is not to be construed as legal advice.  This article is based on general research and 20 years of industry experience shipping liquid bulk chemicals and is not to be used as legal advice.  Total Connection is not responsible for any actions you or your company takes as a result of reading this article.  Always consult a professional transportation attorney before filing a freight claim.

In Transit Heat Trailer: Top 5 Benefits

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As a bulk chemical shipper if you are tasked with shipping a temperature sensitive product, one of the most efficient ways to move the chemical over the road is using an transit heat trailer.  The process is simple.  Using coils that are run through the trailer hot liquid is run from the engine through the network of pipes on the underbelly of the tank.

By using heat naturally produced by the engine, the product is maintained at the temperature specified by the shipper or receiver.  Amongst all of the ways to maintain the temperature of a shipment, an in transit heat trailer remains one of the most popular for these following reasons.

Readily Available Equipment

While tanker trucks come with many different specs and functionalities, in transit heat is relatively easy to locate in the world of tanker trucks.  Many carriers maintain a fleet equipped with plenty of trucks equipped with in transit heat to accommodate temperature sensitive material.  The abundance of resources makes these tanker trailers easy to locate which brings us to benefit number two of in transit heat trailers.

Cost Effective Options

It is generally inexpensive to ship a chemical using an in-transit heat trailer because it does not rely on any outside components or additives.  Customers usually pay only a modest flat fee in order to utilize the trucks functionality throughout the duration of the trip

Low failure rate

Even a Ferrrari breaks down once in a while, but rarely is a shipment moved where the heat in transit component of the trailer fails to maintain its temperature.  Due to the accessibility of this temperature controlled option it is very easy for a driver to test their equipment before a shipment ever leaves the origin.  There are very few moving parts to make it work so the occasion that the system fails on an in transit heat trailer is rare.

Be careful though…If you don’t use a reliable liquid bulk carrier for your chemical shipments there is always a larger chance of human error to occur.

Versatility

In transit heat trailers can be used to accommodate a wide range of temperature requirements from heating a product to maintaining its temperature, to full recovery scenarios if a product were to solidify during the move.  A lot of products ship with strict requirements especially during the winter months.  In transit heat allows you much more versatility in your chemical shipments.

No Risk of Contamination

While some heating methods depend on steam which could be harmful to products sensitive to moisture, the delivery system of in transit heat is separated from the shipment so much so that the risk of direct contamination is a non-issue.

These reasons amongst many others are why using in transit heat if you are shipping a temperature sensitive chemical is the best decision you can make for your chemical shipment.

If you are shipping a liquid bulk load and want to hear more about how an in transit heat trailer can satisfy your shipping requirements, be sure to fill out the liquid bulk quote form on this page and request an instant quote.  Total Connection has been a dependable liquid freight broker for over 28 years and our bulk liquid team has a combined 60 years of experience shipping chemicals of every kind over the road and across the entire continental US.

Watch this video showing how In-Transit Heat Trailer Works
Credit to our friends at Prime Inc. Tanker

Temperature Controlled Chemical Transport

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Unlike moving freight in dry vans, temperature controlled chemical transport is done slightly differently due to several factors.  These can be depending on factors such as the nature of the product, the climate, the specific lane being shipped and requirements the receiver may have while delivering temperature controlled chemical transport.

Temperature controlled chemical transport can mean that the temperature of a liquid bulk chemical in a tanker trailer is either heated, cooled or maintained from the original state that it was loaded.

Many shippers will choose to ship temperature controlled chemicals in a liquid bulk tanker for many reasons including cost efficiency vs. tote shipping and ease of unloading a chemical tanker.

Methods of Temperature Controlled Chemical Transport

In Transit heat for tanker trucks

One of the ways to maintain or manipulate the temperature of a chemical substance during transport by tanker truck.  It is useful when a chemical substance needs to arrive at the destination at a temperature at or above the temperature at which it was loaded.

Why In-Transit Heat is useful

In transit heat is useful for substances prone to solidify at cooler temperatures.  A challenge that many temperature controlled chemical transport shippers face, especially in the winter months.  It is advantageous to other methods of transport because the equipment is so readily available.

How does In Transit Heat Work

In transit heat is delivered to the product through a network of coils that run through the bottom of a tank truck.  Antifreeze heated by the engine circulates through the coils near product in the tank providing a warm “blanket” to maintain the temperature.

In this instance, the actual heat provided depends on the temperature at which the engine is operating and can not be manipulated on a per case basis.

Steaming the Tanker

Another method of moving a temperature controlled chemical transport shipment is be steaming a product at regular intervals during the chemical tanker movement.  It is useful for products that need to arrive at a temperature much higher than that of which it was shipped.

Many shippers and receivers will opt to steaming trailers when there is any sort of unexpected delay that requires a carrier to remain loaded with a temperature sensitive liquid chemical longer than anticipated.

Why is Steaming A Tanker useful

It is useful because it allows for much faster heating of a large volume of liquids.  Steaming a trailer allows a solidified product to be salvaged after hardening in a trailer while in most cases maintaining the integrity of the loaded product.

How Steaming a Tanker Work

Steaming works by a liquid bulk tank driver bringing the loaded tanker to a station that provides steaming as a service.  Hot steam is run through a network of coils that surround the outside of the truck.  As searing hot steam is run through, the internal temperature of the product is monitored until it reaches the desired temperature.  From there the freight is delivered quickly before the heat dissipates or the steam is maintained until further direction is given from the shipper.

Time

Sometimes the most efficient method of cooling a tanker truck is good old-fashioned father time.  The natural insulation in the tanker truck allows hot products to be cooled to the desired temperature before delivery.

Of course with time accuracy is lost and actual temperatures are a little more unpredictable than the other methods of temperature controlled chemical transport.

If you need transporting a chemical that has strict temperature requirements, don’t let that integrity of it and the relationship with your customer to chance.  Hire a reliable liquid bulk carrier familiar with every option of temperature manipulation to move your chemical freight safely and on time.

Total connection is an experienced liquid bulk freight broker with over 30 years of experience in every industry.  Request a free liquid bulk quote today and one of our chemical experts will reach out right away and give you a cost-effective quote for the safe handling and on-time transport of your liquid chemical shipment.

Watch This: High Heat Tank Trailer
Credit to: Superior Carriers