Short answer
A blind shipment is one where the party arranging the freight keeps the shipper, the consignee or both from learning who the other is. It’s done with separate bills of lading that show different names. On LTL freight the carrier has to agree before pickup and charges a fee, which ran from $90 to $210 at the four carriers whose tariffs we read.
Blind shipping exists because of middlemen. A distributor sells a product it doesn’t stock, and the factory ships it straight to the distributor’s customer. If the customer sees the factory’s name on the paperwork, the next order may skip the distributor. A blind shipment takes the name off. This post covers how it’s done, what carriers charge and require, and the ways it falls apart.
What a blind shipment is
Carrier tariffs define it more plainly than most glossaries do. PITT OHIO’s rules tariff says, “A blind shipment is when a third party controls the movement of the freight but does not want the shipper or Consignee to know the name of the other.”
Old Dominion’s tariff describes it from the carrier’s seat: a blind shipment happens when the carrier is asked “to act as the intermediary in instances when the shipper is unaware of the actual destination and/or the consignee is unaware of the actual origin.”
The third party in those definitions is whoever is paying for the freight and controlling it. That’s usually a distributor, a reseller or a freight broker’s customer. The shipper is the party loading the truck and the consignee is the party receiving it.
Blind vs. double blind
| Type | Who is kept in the dark | Paperwork |
|---|---|---|
| Blind shipment | One side. In DHL’s definition of a plain blind shipment, “only the buyer is kept in the dark” | Two bills of lading |
| Double blind shipment | Both sides. DHL: the seller “hides the identity of both a shipper and a buyer from each other” | Up to three bills of lading: one for the shipper, one for the consignee and the carrier’s own |
Sources: DHL Freight’s logistics dictionary entries for blind and double blind shipments, and Worldwide Express.
Worldwide Express lays out the three versions: a shipper’s bill that may leave off the consignee, a consignee’s bill that may leave off the shipper, and a carrier’s bill with “full shipment, routing and billing details.” The carrier always knows both ends.
How a blind shipment works
The details change by carrier. PITT OHIO’s tariff describes the sequence clearly, so the steps below follow it.
The third party sets it up before pickup
The request goes to the carrier ahead of time. PITT OHIO’s rule is short: “Only requests prior to pick up will be considered for this service.”
The shipper tenders on the original bill of lading
The original shows the real shipper and is consigned to the third party, in care of the carrier’s terminal that serves the consignee. The shipper never sees the consignee’s name.
The carrier applies the corrected bill of lading
The corrected bill names the third party as the shipper, with the real shipper’s city, state and ZIP code, and shows the actual consignee’s name and address. The carrier’s invoice is generated from this one.
The consignee receives the freight
The delivery paperwork shows the third party as the shipper. The signed copy is still the proof of delivery.
The third party pays
The freight charges and the blind shipment fee are billed prepaid to the party that asked for the service.
One thing doesn’t get hidden. R+L Carriers’ tariff says shipments “must show originating city and state of pickup point,” and adds, “This cannot be changed under any circumstances.” FedEx Freight keeps the actual origin and destination city, state and ZIP code on its bill too. A consignee can often tell what town the freight came from.
What LTL carriers charge for a blind shipment
The fee is an accessorial charge on top of the freight.
| Carrier | Fee | How to request it | Tariff item |
|---|---|---|---|
| PITT OHIO | $90 | Before pickup. The requester needs established credit | Item 1020, read October 5, 2026 |
| R+L Carriers | $106 | Get a quote number from the rate department before pickup | Item 365, effective August 4, 2025 |
| Old Dominion | $150 | Blind Shipment Coordination form and an amended bill of lading before pickup | Item 821, tariff effective April 14, 2025 |
| FedEx Freight | $210 | Letter of Authority for Blind Shipments sent before pickup | Item 822, tariff effective January 5, 2026 |
| Central Transport | Not offered | The tariff says blind shipment service is not provided | Item 822, effective August 17, 2026 |
Sources: each carrier’s published rules tariff, linked at the end of this post. Fees change, so check the current tariff before you quote.
Miss the pickup deadline and it costs more. PITT OHIO handles a late request “as a reconsignment.” Old Dominion’s tariff says the “charges for both blind shipment and reconsignment” will apply.
The rules carriers attach
Every tariff we read puts conditions on the service.
- The requester has to control the goods. Old Dominion requires that it “be the owner of the goods, or someone authorized to act on behalf of the owner.”
- The charges are prepaid by the requester. FedEx Freight says they “must be billed prepaid and paid by the party requesting the service.”
- The shipper can’t use the bill of lading’s Section 7 clause to refuse liability for the charges. PITT OHIO: “Section 7 of the Bill of Lading cannot be signed.”
- Nothing is guaranteed. FedEx Freight “will make a diligent effort to execute a request for blind shipment but will not be responsible if such service is not effected.” Old Dominion caps its liability for failing to provide the service at the $150 fee.
- Guaranteed transit is off. FedEx Freight and R+L both exclude blind shipments from their guaranteed service programs.
- Old Dominion limits the service to the contiguous United States and says it may refuse a blind shipment at any time.
Read the fourth one twice. If the consignee finds out who the shipper is, the most a carrier owes you is its fee back, and some owe nothing.
Blind shipments on brokered truckload freight
The tariffs above cover LTL. On a truckload there’s no tariff item to go by. The arrangement lives in the broker’s instructions to the carrier.
Put three things in writing on the rate confirmation:
- which bill of lading the driver signs at pickup
- which bill of lading goes to the receiver, and that the driver keeps the original out of sight
- who the driver calls with a problem, so the call goes to you
The broker’s own file doesn’t go blind. Federal rules require a broker to record the real consignor and the carrier on every load (49 CFR 371.3). Keep both bills of lading with the load. If there’s a claim, you’ll need the real one.
Where blind shipments go wrong
The failure is nearly always paperwork in the wrong hands. Unishippers warns that “the improper BOL may inadvertently be used, resulting in your freight being delivered to the wrong place or alerting the consignee to where the shipment actually came from.”
- The wrong bill of lading travels with the freight, and the consignee reads the shipper’s name off it.
- The details on the two bills don’t match. Worldwide Express lists the result as “billing errors or delivery delays.”
- Nobody followed the carrier’s procedure, and the shipment is refused, delayed or billed extra.
- The paperwork is clean and the cartons aren’t. A packing slip or a pallet label with the manufacturer’s name gives it away, so ask the shipper to send the freight unbranded.
- The driver answers honestly when the receiver asks where the load came from.
None of these is the carrier’s problem under its tariff. The party that asked for the blind shipment owns the result.
Where FreightVero fits
FreightVero is a TMS for freight brokers. The paperwork for a load is filed with the load, and delivered loads sit in a billing queue that’s checked against each customer’s paperwork rules before an invoice goes out.
Final thoughts
A blind shipment is a paperwork arrangement, and it’s only as good as the paperwork. Set it up with the carrier before pickup, pay the fee, keep the bills of lading straight, and get the shipper to strip its name off the freight. Then assume the origin city is visible anyway. For the other charges that show up on an LTL invoice, see our accessorial charges guide.