Transportation Costing Group announced several upgrades to its cost information system for LTL operations.
The enhanced Version 13 LTL/CIS solution for new and existing users is meeting the changing needs of LTL carriers by incorporating a new interface with ALK's PC Miler Tolls, enhancements to the database viewer display, and several other changes.

The PC Miler Interface for Toll Costs pulls truck tolls between zip codes with the "tolls discouraged" setting to avoid toll highways only if it is cost effective to do so.

Using this capability, linehaul tolls are created using location codes in the freight terminal profile, and local P&D tolls are created from the carrier's points list.

"This particular feature is an alternative to options we added to LTL/CIS previously to interface with E-ZPass files to obtain and maintain actual toll costs," said Ken Manning, president of TCG. "With theses capabilities our clients can accurately and quickly assess the toll cost applicable to a specific shipment rather than requiring tolls to be applied as averages."

Additional updates to LTL/CIS include:

- Database Viewer display changes include adding a bill number search capability to an on-screen field in the tool bar, saving steps in retrieving specific shipments for analysis by simply entering a number into the field to retrieve the record. The display screen has also been changed to include customer names in the shipper, consignee, bill-to and rate-to fields, and to display city names in the origin and destination fields in place of codes.
- Cost program changes include embedding the previously separate program to read-in shipment data from text files in the new cost shipments program, adding to the existing XML capability.
- Programs for shipment file creation and costing have been upgraded to a newer software platform.