FAR 47.305-16—Shipping characteristics.
Plain-English Summary
FAR 47.305-16 tells contracting officers when to include transportation-related clauses in solicitations and contracts so the Government can evaluate freight costs realistically and structure shipments economically. It covers four related topics: required shipping weights for f.o.b. origin carload and truckload shipments, guaranteed shipping characteristics when transportation costs are part of the evaluation, minimum shipment size when volume rates may apply, and the special case where total requirements and destinations are known but the exact quantity to each destination is not. In practice, this section helps the Government compare offers on a true delivered-cost basis, prevents unrealistic shipping assumptions, and protects both parties when shipment patterns are uncertain. It also requires the award document to reflect the shipping characteristics actually used in the evaluation, which is important for transparency and contract administration. For contractors, these rules affect how offers are priced and how shipments must be packaged, sized, and planned to match the evaluated assumptions.
Key Rules
Insert required shipping weights
When f.o.b. origin carload or truckload shipments are contemplated, the contracting officer must include the clause at 52.247-59, F.o.b. Origin-Carload and Truckload Shipments. This supports realistic freight cost evaluation and encourages economical shipment sizes.
Use guaranteed shipping characteristics
For acquisitions above the simplified acquisition threshold, the contracting officer must include 52.247-60, Guaranteed Shipping Characteristics, whenever shipping or other characteristics are needed to evaluate transportation costs. If not all listed characteristics are needed, the contracting officer must delete the unnecessary ones from the clause.
Record evaluated characteristics in award
The award document must identify the shipping characteristics used in the evaluation. This creates a clear record of the basis for award and helps avoid disputes about what assumptions were applied.
Require minimum shipment size when volume rates apply
When volume freight rates may apply, the contracting officer must insert 52.247-61, F.o.b. Origin-Minimum Size of Shipments. This clause addresses situations where shipment size affects the transportation rate and overall evaluated cost.
Address unknown quantities by destination
If total requirements and destinations are known but the exact quantity to each destination cannot be predetermined, solicitations must state that offers are to be submitted on both f.o.b. origin and/or f.o.b. destination bases and evaluated on both bases. The contracting officer must also include 52.247-62, Specific Quantities Unknown, to protect both the Government and the contractor during performance.
Responsibilities
Contracting Officer
Determine whether transportation-related evaluation factors apply, insert the correct FAR clauses, tailor the guaranteed shipping characteristics clause when not all listed characteristics are needed, state the required pricing basis in the solicitation, and ensure the award document shows the characteristics used in evaluation.
Contractor
Submit offers consistent with the solicitation’s required shipping basis, provide accurate shipping characteristics and pricing assumptions, and plan performance to meet any agreed shipment sizes or characteristics that were used in the evaluation.
Agency
Support acquisition planning by identifying whether freight costs, shipment size, destinations, and shipping characteristics will affect evaluation and award, so the solicitation can be structured correctly.
Practical Implications
This section matters because freight can materially change the evaluated price, especially for f.o.b. origin buys, so the Government must evaluate offers using realistic shipment assumptions rather than guesswork.
A common pitfall is failing to include the required clause or failing to tailor it to the actual shipping characteristics needed, which can undermine the evaluation and create protest risk.
Another frequent issue is not documenting the shipping characteristics in the award document, leaving no clear record of the basis for the transportation-cost evaluation.
Contractors should pay close attention to shipment size, destination assumptions, and whether the solicitation expects f.o.b. origin, f.o.b. destination, or both, because pricing on the wrong basis can make an offer noncompetitive or nonresponsive to the evaluation scheme.
When destinations are known but quantities are not, both sides need the specific-quantities-unknown clause to avoid disputes later over who bears the cost impact of changing shipment patterns.
Official Regulatory Text
(a) Required shipping weights. The contracting officer shall insert in solicitations and contracts the clause at 52.247-59 , F.o.b. Origin-Carload and Truckload Shipments, when it is contemplated that they may result in f.o.b. origin contracts with shipments in carloads or truckloads. This will facilitate realistic freight cost evaluations of offers and ensure that contractors produce economical shipments of agreed size. (b) Guaranteed shipping characteristics. (1) The contracting officer shall insert in solicitations and contracts, excluding those at or below the simplified acquisition threshold, the clause at 52.247-60 , Guaranteed Shipping Characteristics, when shipping and other characteristics are required to evaluate offers as to transportation costs. When all of the shipping characteristics listed in paragraph (a) of the clause at 52.247-60 are not required to evaluate offers as to transportation costs, the contracting officer shall delete the characteristics not required from the clause. (2) The award document shall show the shipping characteristics used in the evaluation. (c) Minimum size of shipments. When volume rates may apply, the contracting officer shall insert in solicitations and contracts the clause at 52.247-61 , F.o.b. Origin-Minimum Size of Shipments. (d) Specific quantities unknown. (1) When total requirements and destinations to which shipments will be made are known, but the specific quantity to be shipped to each destination cannot be predetermined, solicitations shall state that offers are to be submitted on the basis of delivery "f.o.b. origin" and/or "f.o.b. destination" and that offers will be evaluated on both bases. (2) The contracting officer shall insert in solicitations and contracts the clause at 52.247-62 , Specific Quantities Unknown, when total requirements and destinations to which shipments will be made are known, but the specific quantity to be shipped to each destination cannot be predetermined. This clause protects the interests of both the Government and the contractor during the course of the performance of the contract.