Carriers, Defense Agency to Meet To Discuss Automated Billing

A controversial automated freight payment system initiated last year by the Department of Defense will be the subject of a meeting March 1 between top military transportation officers and American Trucking Associations.

ATA Senior Vice President Paul T. Stalknecht Sr. said the primary focus of the meeting will be to review and discuss “concerns and successes” with the implementation of PowerTrack, an Internet-based bill payment service offered through U.S. Bank of Minneapolis.

Some motor carriers have been critical of the fees charged for the service and have had problems in making the necessary electronic connections at some military installations.

Under the PowerTrack program, carriers receive payment within three days of completing a delivery, as opposed to 30 to 60 days under the old system. The system also gives carriers and shippers a way to resolve billing disputes online and to keep abreast of the status of shipments and payments. Carriers are charged a fee of up to 2% of the invoice, an amount that some carriers, mostly truckload freight haulers, say is too high.

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