SC DOE - Textbook Freight Services

South Carolina Department of Education is requesting bids for textbook freight services under IFB Solicitation #5400030024, with bids due October 16, 2026 at 11:00 a.m. and questions due by September 17, 2026. The solicitation is open to competitive bidding with potential awards to primary and secondary vendors; however, bidders must be established, asset-based freight carriers with multiple operating terminals within or near South Carolina, excluding freight brokers and third-party logistics providers — a core capability filter.

The scope covers pickup and delivery services for textbooks and instructional materials shipped from publishers to a central depository managed by R. L. Bryan Company in Columbia and return shipments of surplus materials from approximately 1,200 schools throughout South Carolina. Bidders must submit unit pricing as a flat rate per 100 pounds for shipments from zero to 25,000 pounds, with deliveries required within forty-eight hours (excluding weekends and Sundays) at no additional charge for rural locations. During peak periods (June through September), the contractor must maintain a minimum of two drop trailers at the depository and pick up loaded trailers within twenty-four hours of notification. The contractor must provide a minimum of 250 wooden shipping pallets initially and replace them weekly or as needed. All costs — equipment, pallets, inside delivery and pickup services, web-based tracking, and web-based returns request form — must be included in the flat rate bid with no separate charges permitted.

Insurance requirements include Commercial General Liability of at least $1 million per occurrence, Auto Liability of $1 million per accident, and Freight insurance at $25.00 per pound for NMFC Class 60 commodities.

The contract term begins November 1, 2026, and expires November 21, 2033, with automatic annual renewals unless the state provides thirty days' notice of non-renewal. The initial contract period is two years. Award notification will be posted on October 23, 2026. No pre-bid conference is scheduled.