Freight Management: National Motor Freight Traffic Association, Inc. (NMFTA) Publishes 2007 Standard Carrier Alpha Code Directory
The National Motor Freight Traffic Association has published the 2007 Standard Carrier Alpha Code Directory. The publication consists of more than 72,000 unique 2-to-4 letter codes used to identify transportation companies worldwide. NMFTA has published a directory of the codes since the 1960s to facilitate computerization in the transportation industry
The SCACs are the recognized transportation company identification code used by:
- U.S. Customs and Border Protection to support the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE), Automated Manifest System (AMS), Pre-Arrival Processing System (PAPS) for goods imported into the United States;
- Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) transaction sets approved by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) Accredited Standards Committee (ASC) X12 and United Nations EDIFACT;
- Carriers participating in the Uniform Intermodal Interchange Agreement (UIIA);
- The petroleum industry to support their integrated software programs that expedite the movement of bills of landing, pipeline tickets, product transfer orders and inventory data;
- Carriers transporting goods for the account of the U.S. Government;
- The U.S. Department of Transportation's Surface Transportation Board to identify tariffs filed with the agency;
- Other key transportation identification systems used by many commercial shippers and receivers to support their freight bill audit and payment systems.
In accordance with international standards, certain groups of SCACs are reserved for specific purposes. Codes ending with the letter "U" are reserved for the identification of freight containers. Codes ending with the letter "X" are reserved for the identification of non-railroad-owned railroad cars. Codes ending with the letter "Z" are reserved for the identification of truck chassis and trailers used in intermodal service.
"NMFTA has been assigning SCACs and producing the directory for more than 40 years," stated Bill Pugh, Executive Director of NMFTA. "Each year more organizations adopt the SCAC for uniquely identifying transportation companies and saving time in their information technology systems."
The directory is updated quarterly and republished annually to capture new carriers and eliminate those that are out of business.
The printed Directory is available for $168.00 plus shipping, and additional copies may be purchased for $59.00 plus shipping. The directory is also available in electronic form as an ASCII data file on CD for $820.00. For more information or to order the directory, go to www.nmfta.org or call 703-838-1810.
About NMFTA
NMFTA is the non-profit association headquartered in Alexandria, VA representing more than 1100 less-than-truckload (LTL) carriers in North America. On behalf of its participating member motor carriers, NMFTA's autonomous National Classification Committee (NCC) develops and maintains the National Motor Freight Classification (NMFC).
NMFTA is also the global source for transportation company identification codes — the Standard Carrier Alpha Code (SCAC). — as well as location identification codes for shipping and receiving points throughout North America — the Standard Point Location Code (SPLC)
SOURCE: The National Motor Freight Traffic Association