Cubic minimum charge introduced  FORT SMITH, Arkansas - ArcBestSM (Nasdaq: ARCB) announced that effective August 1, 2017, it will apply space-based minimum charges for less-than-truckload (LTL) shipments to better reflect freight shipping trends that have evolved over the last several years.  These trends include the overall growth and ongoing profile shift of bulkier shipments across the entire supply chain. In addition, many shipping and logistics solutions now include unique requirements. “The logistics industry continues to change rapidly,” said ArcBest Chairman, President and CEO Judy R. McReynolds. “We believe this initiative is the natural step for us to take now to ensure that the value we provide is appropriately reflected in the compensation we receive for our shipping and logistics services. We view this as a logical complement to the current weight-based pricing common in the LTL industry.” A simplified process will take effect in which customers provide freight dimensions (length, width and height) or ArcBest will calculate those for them, as it has for many years, to determine applicable cubic minimum charges (CMC) that will supplement weight-based metrics when appropriate. ArcBest has dimensional data on more than 90 percent of the freight shipped in its asset-based network. To assist in comprehensively capturing shipment dimensions and to help validate the shipment dimensions provided by our customers, the company will install static dimensioners at the majority of its distribution centers, expected to be in place by the time the CMC is effective on August 1. ArcBest has resources available to assist customers through this transition, including Weighing & Research experts and packaging engineers who can help improve product packaging for greater transport efficiency and security.