Grade freight rates refer to the rates for transporting specially designated grade goods within or between specified business areas.
The goods subject to grade freight rates include live animals, containers and cages for live animals, valuable goods, corpses or ashes, newspapers, magazines, books, catalogs, publications such as equipment and books for the blind and deaf-mute, and luggage checked as cargo.
Grade freight rates are calculated by adding or subtracting a certain percentage from the ordinary freight rates. The rules for additions or subtractions are published in the Tact Rules, and the use of freight rates must be used in conjunction with the Tact Rate Books. Grade goods with additions, no additions, or no subtractions are represented by the code “S”; grade goods with subtractions are represented by the code “R”. Live animals, valuables, corpses, ashes, etc. are subject to the calculation of additional grade freight rates, while newspapers, magazines, books and other publications, and luggage checked as cargo are subject to the calculation of subtracted grade freight rates.