Shipping and Claims · 2 of 3
Between a finished item and a moving shipment there is often one message. "A Notice of Availability (NOA) (Defense Department (DD) Form 1348-5) is sent by Shipping Activities to the appropriate Military Assistance Program Address Directory (MAPAD) address to notify a purchaser or Foreign Military Sales (FMS) freight forwarder that an item is ready for shipment" (SAMM C7.11.1).
It exists for cargo that cannot simply be handed to a carrier. Its purpose is "to coordinate release of materiel requiring special receipt, export processing, or special storage procedures, to allow sufficient time to prepare for its receipt and/or processing" (SAMM C7.11.1).
Ignoring one is expensive. "Storage or staging charges may accrue when an NOA response (or failure to respond) requires the items to be held for more than 30 calendar days. Any storage costs are charged to the FMS case" (SAMM C7.11.1). The bill lands on the buyer's own case, which is the quietest way for a program to lose money.
Buyers do not get these on request as a tracking service. "Purchasers can request NOAs only when special materiel is involved" (SAMM C7.11.1.1). Unclassified notices go to a coded address in the directory; classified ones do not go to the forwarder at all, but "to the country representative listed in the Special Instructions of the appropriate MAPAD address" (SAMM C7.11.1.2).
Whether a notice is sent at all is settled long before the item exists. "Offer Release Code (ORCs) are included in Letters of Offer and Acceptance (LOAs) and identify how materiel should be released and whether an NOA is required" (SAMM C7.11.2). The code then travels into the requisition number, so the release behavior follows every order placed against the line.
The difference between Y and Z is the difference between a fifteen day silence releasing a crate and a fifteen day silence holding it. Both can be the wrong answer, which is why the code is a decision worth making deliberately when the case is written.
One exception exists for geography. Because transport can run directly from a depot or vendor without a forwarder, codes are not used for Canada, and the need for a notice is decided by the classification of the materiel instead (SAMM C7.11.2.1).
Most transportation on a case is never quoted as a real number. "When preparing a Letter of Offer and Acceptance (LOA), standard transportation percentages are normally applied based on the Delivery Term Code (DTC)" (SAMM C7.12.1). The percentages follow from the delivery term, which is covered in delivery term codes and freight forwarders.
The alternative is an estimate built from a published table. "The Transportation Cost Look-up Table (See Appendix 2) is used to compute estimated actual transportation costs for the items listed", and where those are used a note states the amount for each element by line, such as inland movement, port loading and ocean transport (SAMM C7.12.1).
Either way the money does not sit on the line with the equipment. Estimated actual costs are "placed below-the-line (vice as a separate line item) in an LOA, and the funds are placed in the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) Trust Fund Transportation Cost Clearing Account" (SAMM C7.12.1). That is why a case document can look as though transport is free.
Three situations take transport out of the standard treatment and put a visible number on the case.
The first is dedicated lift. Where a special assignment airlift mission or another form of dedicated premium transport must be used, a separate transportation service line goes on the case. "If it is One Time Only premium transportation (i.e. booking a One Time Only vessel or SAAM), transportation costs must be above the line" (SAMM C7.12.1). Where the movement is shared with other shipments and not premium, it may sit either side.
The second is reconciliation. Once real money is spent, "this line is adjusted to meet the full cost of the special transportation" and a transportation account code is supplied so the charge reaches the service contract moving the freight (SAMM C7.12.1). An above-the-line transport figure is an estimate that will be trued up.
The third is the category buyers most often forget. Containerization, storage in transit, escorts and other special accessorial requirements "are not included in the standard transportation percentages nor in the cost provided in the transportation cost look-up table", and are placed above the line and adjusted to actual cost (SAMM C7.12.1). A program moving sensitive cargo that needs escorts is paying for them separately, whatever the headline percentage suggested.
Commercial movement runs on a commercial document. "The Commercial Bill of Lading (CBL) is an industry-wide form used by transportation carriers. This document will be used for the receipt of goods, as proof of title and delivery" (SAMM C7.12.2.1). That second function is what makes it the first thing asked for when something goes missing.
Carrier selection is mostly not the buyer's to make. "A purchaser or its Freight Forwarder may be involved in the carrier selection process only if a collect shipment requires a Notice of Availability (NOA) or if special instructions in the Military Assistance Program Address Directory (MAPAD) apply" (SAMM C7.12.2.1).
There is a warning against a natural instinct. Because most shipments to forwarders are prepaid, special instructions in the directory "are inadvisable since they do not apply to pre-paid shipments and would delay their release" (SAMM C7.12.2.1). A partner adding handling instructions to its directory entry may be slowing its own cargo without gaining anything.
Small parcels move prepaid through a parcel carrier to keep costs down, with the charge recovered afterwards from the buyer's account. The manual is blunt about the drawback: "Pre-pay and add procedures are not recommended for FMS due to a lack of in-transit visibility" (SAMM C7.12.2.2).
| NOA | Notice of availability, the message that an item is ready and needs release coordination. SAMM C7.11.1. |
|---|---|
| Offer release code | The letter on the case that decides whether a notice is sent and what silence means. |
| Below the line | Where standard transport charges sit, which is why they are easy to miss. |
| Accessorial | Containerization, storage in transit, escorts and similar, all charged separately. |
| CBL | Commercial bill of lading, receipt of goods and proof of title and delivery. |
Every statement above links to the document behind it. The full source list for this piece is on the sources page.
This page describes public United States government programs for general information. It is not legal, regulatory or procurement advice, and it does not address the facts of any particular case.
A crate held at a port is a program stalled. Sentfore provides secure movement, protective security, facilities and life support around defense programs in complex environments. Requirements can be sent through the contact page.