47.306-2
Lowest overall transportation costs
Only transportation rates effective and published by bid opening are used to evaluate offers, ensuring fairness and consistency in cost comparisons.
Overview
FAR 47.306-2 outlines the requirements for evaluating offers based on the lowest overall transportation costs. The regulation mandates that contracting officers must use the lowest available freight rates and related charges that are effective on or before the expected date of the initial shipment and are on file or published at the time of bid opening. Rates or charges that become available after the bid opening or offer due date cannot be used in the evaluation, unless no applicable rates existed at the time of bid opening. This ensures fairness and consistency in evaluating transportation costs as part of the overall offer evaluation process.
Key Rules
- Use of Lowest Available Rates
- Only freight rates and related charges effective by the initial shipment date and published or on file at bid opening are to be used in offer evaluations.
- Exclusion of Later Rates
- Rates or charges that become available after bid opening or offer due date are excluded from evaluation, unless no applicable rates existed previously.
Responsibilities
- Contracting Officers: Must use the lowest available, published, or filed rates effective by the shipment date for evaluation; must not use rates published after bid opening unless no prior rates existed.
- Contractors: Should be aware that only rates effective and published by bid opening will be considered in evaluations.
- Agencies: Ensure transportation officers provide accurate, timely rate information to contracting officers.
Practical Implications
- This section ensures a level playing field by preventing the use of post-bid rates that could unfairly influence evaluations. Contractors must ensure their offers reflect transportation costs based on rates available at bid opening. Common pitfalls include relying on anticipated rate changes or failing to verify the effective dates of rates used in proposals.