What is a Transportation Discrepancy Report in Foreign Military Sales?

Transportation Discrepancy Reports (TDR) apply only to materiel that is lost or damaged while being transported in the Defense Transportation System (DTS). The TDR is not one of the categories of reporting discrepancies afforded to international partners. The TDR procedures are used to document carrier performance and are not intended as a reimbursement option for international partners.

Transportation discrepancies occur when there is loss or damage to an item that can be attributed to the carrier (e.g., loss of a crate or package or a hole put through a container by a forklift during loading). These types of discrepancies are usually easy to detect by a visual inspection of the containers or by ensuring the number of items received matches the carrier’s bill of lading for the number of items shipped. If a container was damaged when the carrier picked it up from the shipping activity, the damage should also be reflected on the bill of lading.

Transportation discrepancies are normally filed by the shipper against the carrier. The freight forwarder will report these discrepancies to the DoW shipping activity with a letter or memorandum. The shipping activity will use these reports to initiate tracers or damage claims with the inland CONUS carrier using the DD Form 361, Transportation Discrepancy Report (TDR), process. If non-receipt is suspected, FMS customers should submit a Supply Discrepancy Report (SDR) in accordance with the SAMM, Chapter 6.

Transportation discrepancy reporting procedures apply to any security cooperation shipment made within the DTS. This includes FMS shipments to overseas destinations and ports of debarkation (DTCs 7, 9, G, and J), to DoW CONUS ports of embarkation (DTCs 8, B, and C), and to DoW/USG CONUS-located activities and contractors (DTC 2). For overseas shipments, when the carrier is DTS, the FMS purchaser should contact the SCO, the defense attaché, or the closest U.S. representative. That individual then submits a TDR to the United States Army Transportation Command (ARTRANS). If there is no U.S. representative available in country at the time a DTS shipment is received, the FMS purchaser may submit an SDR. The TDR procedures also apply to FMS materiel shipped to non-DoW consignees within the CONUS (e.g., FMS freight forwarders, customer country embassies, or carrier facilities identified in notice of availability responses) and BPC LOA shipments when the USG arranges the prepaid transportation via the LOA.

When the shipment is prepaid to the freight forwarder (DTC 5 or H) different procedures apply. Prepaid shipments to these destinations, regardless of the funding source, involve a contractual relationship between a DoW/USG shipping activity and the inland CONUS carrier. The FMS customer (the consignee) is not a party to that contract; therefore, they cannot submit claims or tracing requests directly to the carrier. Also, as a non-DoW/USG entity, the FMS customer cannot submit TDRs. For these reasons, the freight forwarder or the country representative will report these discrepancies to the DoW shipping activity with a letter or memorandum. The shipping activity will use the TDR to initiate tracers or damage claims with the inland CONUS carrier. Any proceeds from these claims are forwarded by the Implementing Agency to the purchaser’s account at DFAS-IN.

All lost or damaged security cooperation shipments, regardless of value or classification of the materiel, should be reported by the shipper or SCO on a TDR when shipment is through the DTS.

Submission of a TDR only serves to initiate a tracer for missing shipments and/or to report mishandling by the carrier. It does not itself provide financial compensation to the FMS customer; any compensation comes from the claim against the carrier that the TDR supports.

The FMS customer will receive neither replacement materiel nor credit for the full value of the loss. FMS customers who are unwilling to accept this risk should consider purchasing commercial insurance for their DTS shipments. Further guidance on TDRs can be found in the DoD 4500.9-R, Defense Transportation Regulation Part II, Chapter 210.