Shipper load and count (SLC)

Shipper load and count (SLC) is a bill of lading notation saying the shipper loaded and counted the goods — typically into a sealed trailer the driver never saw inside. Under US law the carrier is then not liable for damage caused by the shipper's improper loading. It does not move liability for anything else.

What the law says

A carrier is not liable for damages caused by improper loading if the shipper loads the goods and the bill of lading contains the words "shipper's weight, load, and count" or words of the same meaning; "said to contain" works the same way (49 U.S.C. § 80113). When the carrier does the loading, the notation has no effect except for freight concealed by packages. The shipper also answers for its own description: under the UCC it must indemnify the carrier against damage caused by inaccuracies in it.

Proving a claim on an SLC load

Sealed loads change who has to prove what. In A.I.G. Uruguay v. AAA Cooper (11th Circuit, 19 June 2003), the court held that for a sealed shipment the shipper is held to a higher standard of proof, and the bill of lading by itself is never sufficient to establish a prima facie case.

Worked example: a sealed trailer short 12 cartons

1. The shipper loads 1,000 cartons, seals the trailer and the bill of lading is marked SLC with the seal number.
2. The consignee breaks the intact seal and counts 988.
3. Because the driver never counted, the bill alone does not prove the carrier received 1,000 cartons.
4. The shipper's claim rests on its own loading records — and an intact seal points away from the carrier.

How carriers treat it

FedEx Freight writes SL&C on the bill of lading when the shipper loads, but agrees not to decline a claim just because of that notation; Old Dominion's tariff says liability is determined by the facts alone. In international road carriage, the CMR convention has the carrier enter its reservations on the consignment note when it cannot check the goods, and relieves it of loss caused by loading or stowage by the sender.

The mistake people make

Treating SLC as a liability waiver. It protects the carrier only against damage the shipper's own loading caused; a crash, a theft or a pallet dropped at a terminal is still the carrier's.