Other Sevices
​RSG can offer you countless other transportation related services. Below is a list of the services we're able to provide at this time.
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Equipment Recovery
RSG has experienced field investigators throughout the United States and Canada who can assist you in recovering tractors, trailers, and cargo which may have been hijacked, lowjacked, or appropriated by disgruntled personnel.
RSG maintains a company-staffed 24-hour hotline that is answered every day of the year. We can have an RSG investigator on site very quickly, often with an hour. Speed is essential to successful recoveries.
RSG has numerous resources and law enforcement contacts throughout North America who are willing to assist us in our search for stolen equipment and cargo. We have a very good success rate, which can be enhanced by the cooperation of your dispatchers, safety managers and claim personnel.
If you can provide the details of the trip quickly we can pick up the trail and have an excellent chance of succeeding in our search. We charge only for the time necessary to pursue the matter to a conclusion and we work quickly and efficiently.
Should you be faced with a hijack, a lowjack, or the misappropriation of a tractor, trailer or cargo we invite you to call us so we can begin our investigation as soon as possible after the theft has been discovered.
Ocean Shipping Containers
​Ocean shipping containers and imported cargo often present special and significant issues which RSG can address in order to mitigate claim costs. Most of the problems encountered by products imported from foreign countries by ocean carriage involve cargo which has become wet in transit. The wetting of the cargo is often pervasive when it occurs early in the transportation cycle or when a large quantity of water enters the containers. Significant claims can result, which can be difficult to resolve unless a thorough inspection of the ocean shipping container and the cargo is performed as soon as the damage is discovered.
At your request RSG will dispatch a field inspector to wherever the container is located in the United States or Canada. We will closely examine the shipping container to determine the source of the wetting. We will perform random examination of the cargo to provide an estimate of the extent of damage. We will also take samples of the wetted packaging material or product and perform, at no additional cost, a halide test to determine if the wetting was caused by fresh water (rain, ice or snow) or saltwater (seawater).
We will check the ocean shipping container carefully for evidence of defects or damage which allowed water to reach the cargo. Most often the damage involves punctures to the roofs of the containers caused by careless handling when the containers were loaded or off-loaded to and from vessels at port facilities. Sometimes the water enters through faulty door seals or broken floorboards when the containers are transported inland by highway or rail. Incidents where the holds of ships become flooded due to heavy seas are sometimes encountered. And infrequently the wetting is caused by condensation within the containers because of high humidity at the shippers� facilities or the cargo having a high moisture content and being exposed to temperature variations when loaded above-decks on container ships. Occasionally the damage to the cargo is caused by a load shift, rough handling of the container, or highway or railroad accidents. RSG can inspect the container and the cargo to establish the cause and the extent of damage. If transloading of the cargo to another container is required then RSG can be on hand to witness the process, document the damage, take photographs during the transfer, and protect your interests. Our field agents and marine reviewers are experienced and qualified to establish the cause of the damage to the cargo and estimate the measure of damages. We complete all assignments within 24 hours, support our findings with digital photographs, and will transmit our reports and photographs to you electronically within 24 hours of completing the survey. The next time that you are faced with a problem involving containerized import cargo we hope that you will call us any time of day or night so we can move quickly to represent your interests and document the incident.
Packaging Evaluations
Good packaging is critical to the safe transport of shipments. We have all seen examples of damage to cargo which has been directly caused by the inadequacy of the packaging. RSG can determine if packaging is adequate to protect the cargo during transportation and, if not, can offer reasonable and economical suggestions for improvement to the mutual benefit of shippers, carriers and customers.
RSG can help if you are faced with a significant damage claims or repetitive damage claims that you suspect have been solely and proximately caused by poor packaging. We can examine a specific shipment while it is in transit or we can arrange to visit the shipper to discuss the problem. We will carefully examine the outer shipping container and the inner packing materials and devices. Photographs will be taken at each stage of the unpacking of the product to memorialize our findings. Corrugated fiberboard shipping boxes will be measured and weighed to determine whether the specifications of the box makers certificate (BMC) have been met. If the packages have been unitized we will also determine if the units are soundly secured and safe for loading into and removal from trucks, trailers and sea containers.
The data gathered on site, together with the digital photographs, will be analyzed by our resident packaging and classification expert who has more than forty years of experience. A formal report will be issued describing the packaging and its adequacy, as well as compliance with the provisions of the National Motor Freight Classification* (NMFC). If improvements are deemed necessary so that the packaging at least meets minimum established standards they will be offered in our report. Shippers are usually cooperative with the process and appreciative of our efforts to ensure the safety of their products and the satisfaction of their customers that will receive those products in good order.
If you believe that a professional evaluation of the packaging of a shipment would be useful to you or your shipper we encourage you to call us so that we can assist you in successfully resolving the matter. You will find that our fees are nominal and that our pro-active approach projects your company as caring and professional.
* Your company must be a member of the National Classification Committee in order to formally invoke the terms and conditions of the NMFC, which have the effect of law. Your Traffic Manager can advise you if your company is a member of the Committee. Nonetheless, the NMFC is the only publication memorializing accepted standards for the classification and packaging of cargo and invoking those standards is seldom challenged by shippers or other members of the shipping community.
